Lend-A-Hand Club

	Lend-A-Hand Club
	Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Lend-A-Hand Club
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Location	105 S. Main St.; Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates	41°31′30″N 90°34′26″W / 41.52500°N 90.57389°WCoordinates: 41°31′30″N 90°34′26″W / 41.52500°N 90.57389°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1923
Architect	Frederick G. Clausen
Architectural style	Renaissance Revival
MPS	Davenport MRA
NRHP reference No.	83002525
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	July 7, 1983
Removed from NRHP	December 19, 2014

The Lend-A-Hand Club was located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States, along the riverfront. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.^[1]

History[]

The Lend-A-Hand sign from the old building at the new facility at Third and Ripley Streets

The Lend-A-Hand Club was established in Davenport in 1886 as a chapter of the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons.^[2] It became an affiliate of the national network of Lend-A-Hand Clubs launched during the 1870s by Edward Everett Hale, a Unitarian minister who had risen to nationwide prominence as an abolitionist and writer for the Atlantic Monthly prior to the American Civil War.^[3] The club was a place for young women who lived and worked away from home to associate in a safe environment.

Initially, it occupied various downtown locations that it rented. When it was housed in a department store it offered rest and reading rooms. When it moved to larger facilities it expanded to a cafeteria, reading rooms, parlor, shower and bath, laundry, arts and crafts, and a gymnasium.^[2] It also provided a lecture series on various women's topics. The Lend-A-Hand Club was the city's main woman's service facility and usurped any potential for the YWCA to establish itself in Davenport.^[2]

Money was raised and in 1922 a permanent location was secured and a building was constructed along South Main Street opposite the Dillon Memorial. The facility contained dormitory rooms, a lounge, cafeteria, and a swimming pool.^[3] Its construction was a part of major riverfront improvements there were completed in Davenport between 1912 and 1931.^[4] Programs offered by the club covered women's issues as bicycling for women, the pros and cons of women working outside the home, woman's suffrage, and other topics.

The building closed as a woman's facility in the 1960s. It was rented to the city of Davenport who converted it to elderly housing in 1973. A new building was constructed for the elderly at Third and Ripley Streets in the late 1980s and the Lend-A-Hand Club building was torn down in 1990. It was removed from the National Register in 2014.^[5]

Architecture[]

The Lend-A-Hand Club was a three-story, brick, U-shaped building that was built over a raised basement. It was designed by Davenport architect Frederick G. Clausen in the Renaissance Revival style. It featured terracotta pilasters and cornice. Four decorative urns were located on the parapet. The shape of the building allowed the residential spaces to receive full natural light and air circulation.^[4] The main floor was a rectangular box that housed the social service elements of the facility.

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Svendsen, Marlys A., Bowers, Martha H. (1982). Davenport where the Mississippi runs west: A Survey of Davenport History & Architecture. Davenport, Iowa: City of Davenport. p. 14.6.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Lend-A-Hand Club, Davenport, Iowa" (PDF). Davenport Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Martha Bowers; Marlys Svendsen-Roesler. "J.H.C. Petersen's Sons Wholesale Building". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
^ "Weekly List". National Park Service. August 19, 2005. Retrieved 2015-03-22.

[nris-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[Svendsen-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Svendsen, Marlys A., Bowers, Martha H. (1982). Davenport where the Mississippi runs west: A Survey of Davenport History & Architecture. Davenport, Iowa: City of Davenport. p. 14.6.

[qcmemory-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Lend-A-Hand Club, Davenport, Iowa" (PDF). Davenport Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2010-11-09.

[Wehner-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b Martha Bowers; Marlys Svendsen-Roesler. "J.H.C. Petersen's Sons Wholesale Building". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-03-22.

[nrhp-5] "Weekly List". National Park Service. August 19, 2005. Retrieved 2015-03-22.

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show v t Historic buildings and structures in Davenport, Iowa
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Commercial Buildings	Henry Berg Building Brammer Grocery Store Building at 202 W. Third Street Building at 813–815 W. Second Street Building at 1119–1121 W. Third Street Central Office Building City Market Democrat Building Donahue Building Ficke Block Finley Guy Building Forrest Block Frick's Tavern Hoffman Building Iowa Reform Building Kahl Building Koch Drug Store Koenig Building Nicholas Koester Building Meiser Drug Store Miller Building Mueller Lumber Company Peters' Barber Shop J.H.C. Petersen's Sons' Store J.H.C. Petersen's Sons Wholesale Building Prien Building Priester Building Putnam-Parker Block Charles F. Ranzow and Sons Building Jacob Raphael Building Renwick Building Riepe Drug Store/G. Ott Block Schmidt Block Schroeder Bros. Meat Market Rudolph H. Sitz Building Washington Gardens Werthman Grocery Wolters Filling Station Col. Joseph Young Block
Financial Buildings	Davenport Bank and Trust First Federal Savings and Loan Association Building First National Bank Building First National Bank of Davenport Northwest Davenport Savings Bank Union Savings Bank and Trust
Fire Houses	Central Fire Station Hose Station No. 1 Hose Station No. 3 Hose Station No. 4 Hose Station No. 6 Hose Station No. 7
Hotels	Burtis–Kimball House Hotel Clifton-Metropolitan Hotel Davenport Hotel Germania-Miller/Standard Hotel Blackhawk Hotel Hotel Mississippi-RKO Orpheum Theater Schauder Hotel
Industrial	Davenport Bag and Paper Company Building The Linograph Company Building Littig Brothers/Mengel & Klindt/Eagle Brewery Schick's Express and Transfer Co. Shields Woolen Mill Woeber Carriage Works Zoller Bros-Independent Malting Co.
Structures	Dillon Memorial W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion Soldier's Monument
Transportation	Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Freight House SAINTE GENEVIEVE (dredge) Union Station and Burlington Freight House
Utilities	American Telephone & Telegraph Co. Building Davenport Water Co. Pumping Station No. 2 Union Electric Telephone & Telegraph WOC Broadcasting Center
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Lend-A-Hand Club

Contents

History[]

Architecture[]

See also[]

References[]