Mississippi Lofts and Adler Theatre facts for kids
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Hotel Mississippi-
RKO Orpheum Theater |
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | 106 E. 3rd Street Davenport, Iowa |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1931 |
| Built by | Lundoff-Bicknell Company |
| Architect | A.S. Graven Henry Dreyfuss |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Part of | Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District (ID100005546) |
| MPS | Davenport MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 98001273> |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 22, 1998 |
The Mississippi Lofts and Adler Theatre is a cool old building complex in downtown Davenport, Iowa. It has apartments and a theater! It's so important that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places under its first name, the Hotel Mississippi-RKO Orpheum Theater. The Hotel Mississippi was also added to the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 2005. In 2020, the whole complex became part of the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District, which is a special area with many important old buildings.
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The Hotel Mississippi and RKO Orpheum Theater's Story
The Hotel Mississippi was one of the last big hotels built in downtown Davenport during a time when many new hotels were popping up. It was built after the Davenport Hotel (1909) and the Hotel Blackhawk (1915).
The hotel and theater were designed by A.S. Graven from a company in Chicago. Henry Dreyfuss, an art expert from New York City, also helped with the theater's design. He was known for designing theater sets, so he made sure the theater looked great and worked well for shows.
A man named George Bechtel helped make sure the building could be built. He was good at getting money for projects, even during the Great Depression, which was a very tough time for the economy. The Lundoff-Bicknell Company built the complex. It stands on land that used to be the "Davenport Block," a business area built by Col. George Davenport, who helped start the city of Davenport.
Hotel Life and Changes
The hotel opened in November 1931 with 200 guest rooms and 50 apartments. It was first run by the Black Hawk Hotels Corporation. The hotel had a hard time making money in the 1930s because of the Great Depression. Only about 25% of its rooms were full.
The hotel had a restaurant and kitchen in its basement. Over the years, many different shops were on the first floor, like a coffee shop, a drug store, a clothing store, a real estate office, a flower shop, and a beauty salon.
By the 1970s, the building was owned by the Verdi Corporation. In the early 1980s, the hotel rooms were changed into apartments. The local chamber of commerce (a group that helps businesses) even had offices on the first floor for a while.
The RKO Orpheum Theater: A Grand Stage
The RKO Orpheum Theater was huge, with 2,700 seats! It was built at the same time as the hotel, which wraps around it. It was one of five RKO Orpheum Theaters to open that year and was also Iowa's largest movie theater.
The theater had the newest movie equipment and a full stage. This meant it could host all kinds of shows, like vaudeville (a mix of acts like comedy and music), concerts, and big Broadway shows. A pipe organ was planned, but it was never put in.
The grand opening was on November 25, 1931. The famous actress Ginger Rogers even sent a telegram from Hollywood to start the ribbon-cutting! The first night featured her movie and five vaudeville acts with the theater's own orchestra.
Because it was so big and modern, the Orpheum became the main place in the Quad Cities to see Hollywood's biggest movies. Many famous entertainers performed live on its stage, including Tallulah Bankhead, Paul Roberson, Liberace, Ella Fitzgerald, Jack Benny, The Beach Boys, Sonny & Cher, and The Pointer Sisters.
You can still see the original ticket booth and seven display cases at the main entrance today!
Art Deco Style: A Closer Look
The hotel part of the building is ten stories tall and shaped like an "L." It wraps around the seven-story theater. The ten-story section is about 120 feet (36.4 meters) high. Three elevators took people to the upper floors. All the hotel rooms faced outwards, so no rooms looked into the building's center.
The building looks tall because of its windows, which are lined up vertically and separated by cool decorative panels. The whole building, including the theater inside, uses the Art Deco style. This style is known for its sleek, modern look with geometric shapes. The outside of the building isn't overly decorated, but you can see the Art Deco shapes in the horizontal bands on the tenth floor. There are also pretty decorative terracotta panels with flower designs on the lower floors.
The theater's grand lobby has two stories and a ceiling that's about 22 feet (6.7 meters) high! It has a grand staircase and a mezzanine (a kind of balcony) to reach the balcony seats. The lobby ceiling has cool, stepped pyramid shapes. Two large chandeliers with crystal strands hang down, forming geometric patterns that fit the Art Deco style perfectly.
The Mississippi Lofts and Adler Theatre Today
Over the years, the theater started to get old and wasn't used much by the 1970s. This was partly because of its large size and the rise of multiplex movie theaters (which have many smaller screens). The last movie shown there was Cleopatra Jones on September 11, 1973. After that, it was only used sometimes for concerts or special shows.
In 1981, people started working to save and restore the theater. The Davenport Chamber of Commerce bought it and gave it to a non-profit group called RiverCenter For The Performing Arts. This group raised money to fix up the theater and run it as a place for live performances. The theater was restored between 1985 and 1986.
The project involved fixing the original crystal chandeliers and rebuilding the seats. New carpet was even made in England, copied from a piece of the original carpet found during the work!
The newly fixed theater is now part of the RiverCenter, a convention center that opened in 1983. A walkway connects the theater and the convention center. It was at this time that the theater was renamed the Adler Theatre. It was named after E.P. Adler and his son Phillip D. Adler, who were newspaper publishers and generous people in Davenport. The name change happened because a company they led, Lee Enterprises, gave $1.3 million to the theater.
In 2004, the City of Davenport bought the old Hotel Mississippi building to expand the Adler Theatre. In 2006, a big renovation costing $10.5 million was finished at the Adler. The theater's stage was made much deeper, extending into what used to be part of the hotel. The renovations also added a new loading dock, more dressing rooms, and better sound and lighting systems.
At the same time, the Hotel Mississippi building was also being renovated for $8.5 million. The last people living there moved out in 2004, and 56 new apartments were created, mostly on the south side of the building. This project was finished in 2007. The lobby area was also restored to look like it did in the past. Its colorful terrazzo floors, Art Deco-style elevator doors, and walnut and teak wood panels were all brought back to life. The manager's office for the apartments was even made from the hotel's old check-in desk!
In November 2010, a new temporary sign (called a marquee) was put above the theater's main entrance. This was replaced in April 2018 with a brand new $340,000 marquee. It has two angled panels with LED screens that show upcoming shows, and a tall sign with the theater's name. The new marquee was inspired by the theater's original 1931 RKO Theater marquee. The City of Davenport and private donations helped pay for this project.
Today, the Adler Theatre is home to the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Quad Cities. It also hosts a series of touring Broadway shows every year!
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