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Moline, Illinois

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Moline, IL
Image:JDPavilionMar06.jpg
Image:ILMap-doton-Moline.PNG
Location in Illinois
Coordinates: 44°57′60″N, 124°0′40″W
County Rock Island County
Incorporated 1848
Mayor Don Welvaert
Area  
 - City 41.0 km²  (15.8 sq mi)
Population  
 - City (2000) 43,768
 - Metro 376,019
Website: www.moline.il.us

Moline is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,768 at the 2000 census.

Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Rock Island and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The corporate headquarters of Deere & Company and the Quad City International Airport are located in Moline, as well as the Quad Cities campus of Western Illinois University. Moline is a retail hub for the Illinois Quad Cities, as Southpark Mall and numerous big box stores are located in the city. In the mid 1990s, a project known as John Deere Commons led to the revitalization of Moline's central business district.

The name Moline comes from the French Moulin meaning mill, a reference to the function which the town originally served.

Due to its historical connections to inventor and industrialist John Deere--who relocated to Moline in 1848 to mass produce his steel plow there--and the company he founded, Moline is known as the "Farm Implement Capital of the World." Because of its location on the Mississippi River and the economies of scale for large-scale farm implement production that quickly developed around Deere & Company, Moline was a major center for the industry from the late nineteenth century through the 1980s.

The Quad City Steamwheelers af2 arena football team and the Quad City Mallards hockey team both play at The MARK of the Quad Cities, located in Moline.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Moline is located at 41°29′27″N, 90°30′7″W (41.490966, -90.502006)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.0 km² (15.8 mi²). 40.4 km² (15.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (1.39%) is water.

Moline is situated on a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Rock River. The flood plain along the Mississippi to the north quickly rises up the bluff to a broad highland before dropping back down to the Rock river flood plain to the south. The highland is cut across by many deep ravines that break the city up into many natural neighborhoods.

[edit] Location

Moline is located approximately 170 miles west of Chicago, approximately 164 miles north-west of Springfield, IL, and approximately 61 miles east of Iowa City, Iowa.

[edit] Major Interstate Highways

Moline is served by U.S. Interstate Highway 80 for East-West bound transit and is near the beginning of U.S. Interstate 74 for North-South bound transit. Tollway Interstate 88 also begins here, serving as a direct route from the Quad Cities to Downtown Chicago. Interstate 280 circles the area.

[edit] Neighborhoods

Moline has a variety of neighborhoods that have been in existence for decades if not a whole century or so. The most known and important ones are:

[edit] WEST SIDE (west of I-74)

Downtown: This part of the city was the traditional commercial district of the city, which was based on 5th Avenue. With the addition of South Park Mall much of the business downtown left, leaving that area increasingly run down and desolate until the 1980s. The city and private investors at that time put a new emphasis on downtown: getting rid of old factories, turning warehouses into viable new office buildings, building the Mark of the Quad Cities and the Raddison hotel, the construction of new office buildings and the John Deere Commons, and the redevelopment of the waterfront along 3rd Avenue and 17th Street. Meanwhile, some businesses have managed to stay put in the downtown area, most notably Temple's Sporting Goods, which has been in the same building for almost 80 years in the downtown and is still one of the area's leading sporting goods team/school retailers. Even more than ever the downtown is attracting more people with these new attractions, showing Moline as still viable.

Floreciente: This neighborhood, extending from the end of Downtown at around 12th Street west to 1st Street and Rock Island, is the primary entry point for the city's increasing Mexican population. The area was traditionally one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, with many of the houses being well into their second century of life. Also, there are scattered restaurants and townhouses in the eastern part of the neighborhood, making this neighborhood more traditionally urban than most other parts of the city.

Old Towne: Stretching along the Rock Island border south of Floreciente is Old Towne, the traditional home of the rather large Belgian and Dutch population in the city. In fact, according to the Belgian Museum of the Quad Cities, Belgian Moliners were once "the largest Belgian population in our nation" and now are the second largest. In recent times, the Mexicans from Floreciente have moved up into this neighborhood which has seen a good amount of integration. Along the 7th Street business district, which is the lifeblood of the neighborhood, there are traditional Belgian businesses, the Belgian Village and DeRoo Funeral Home being the most known, right by newer Mexican ones, such as Maria's Mexican Restaurant.

Uptown: East of Old Towne is a very similar neighborhood, though not traditionally as Belgian but rather German and Irish, called Uptown. 15th Street emerges coming south up the hill from Downtown and then hits 16th Avenue and angles towards 16th Street, merging with it at 19th Avenue. This odd thoroughfare comprises the central business district of the neighborhood, which isn't as bustling as the one in Old Towne. The houses in the neighborhood are also quite eclectic. Along 12th Street, they are very similar to the old houses in Old Towne, but as one gets to 14th, 15th, and 16th Streets, they become very large and have some characteristics reminiscent of Prairie School and Victorian architecture. Furthermore, some older Italianate mansions exist on the hill overlooking Downtown, like the Deere-Wiman house and Allendale, the headquarters of the Moline School District. East of 16th Street and south of 12th Avenue, the houses have a more working class look rather than the statelier ones immediately west of 16th.

Karsten's Park: This neighborhood is centered around the city park with the same name between 5th and 6th Streets and 22nd and 23rd Avenues. 7th Street is the main thoroughfare of this neighborhood; however, south of 19th Avenue (where Old Towne meets this neighborhood), 7th Street is little more than a resident throughway. As one moves south through the neighborhood, the neighborhood becomes mixed white ethnicities rather than Belgian and the houses become more upscale and less working class, but this area is still predominantly middle class. Around 2nd Street there are houses that are newer (1960s and 1970s era), but generally the houses date from the 1920s-1940s. On the eastern fringe of the neighborhood, a sub-neighborhood called Morgan Park, which is entirely older mansions and larger homes, bridges this neighborhood to the Wharton neighborhood east of it.

Wharton: Wharton is centered at the busy intersection of 16th Street and 23rd Avenue (known now as the Avenue of the Cities, though the locals mostly still refer to it as 23rd Avenue). Wharton Field House gives the neighborhood it name, and the field house (built in 1928 by the sale of community subscription bonds and named for P. T. Wharton, the then president of the Moline School Board) and the adjacent Browning Field (named after John T. Browning, who made a death-bed change in his will in 1910 to leave the land to the city of Moline for use as an athletic field) host many events, such as Moline Maroons basketball and football games as well as track events. Furthermore, Wharton Field House used to host the Quad City Thunder CBA Basketball before the Mark of the Quad Cities opened. The neighborhood itself on the west bordering Morgan Park and Karsten's Park is one of the nicest older neighborhoods in the city, containing many large two and three story brick Georgian homes. The eastern part of the neighborhood, across 16th Street, much like Uptown to the north is noticeably less wealthy than the western part, although it is still middle class and lower middle class. 16th Street becomes very commercial at this point going south with such local businesses as Hungry Hobo, Whitey's Ice Cream, Firework's Cafe, Rudy's Tacos, Donuts and More, and Happy Joes, the neighborhood pizza parlor.

Hamilton Heights: The neighborhood south of Karsten's Park is unofficially known as Hamilton Heights after the local elementary school in the area. Houses here mostly were built in the 1940s and 1950s and many more are made out of brick, especially along 7th Street. This is a completely residential neighborhood with little business aside from Katy's Market which is the most obvious token of the city's German heritage selling German sausages and other German groceries.

Wildwood: Right before 7th Street goes down the hill into the Rock River Valley, it comes across the neighborhood of Wildwood with its winding named streets and large newer houses. At the time it was built, the 1970s and 1980s, the neighborhood was the richest section of the city, although it has been eclipsed by other neighborhoods on the city's east side. Although the old Velie mansion, built when it was nothing but merely forest, is on the fringe of the neighborhood.

Prospect Park: This is a neighborhood designated by the city along 16th Street south of the Wharton neighborhood. Much like the other 16th Street neighborhoods, the side west of 16th is significantly more upscale than those east of 16th; however, the far west and east fringes both contain newer large houses built in the 1970s-1990s. 16th Street stays a very important thoroughfare, housing Trevor's, WQAD, and the actual park itself, one of the largest ones in the city. Behind the park are many older large homes, although some have fallen into disrepair and are not as well taken care of as similar homes in Karsten's Park and Wharton. It's a very eclectic neighborhood filled with various classes and ethnicities.

Fruitland: While much of this neighborhood is not actually part of the City of Moline, the Fruitland neighborhood is in South Moline Township and its children attend Moline Public Schools. Fruitland is so named because it was once covered by orchards, a fact one is easily reminded of by the number of mulberry, apple, and pears trees still thriving there. It is comprised of the Rock River valley from the Rock River to the hill between 7th Street and 16th Street. The neighborhood is more rundown than most of Moline, and does not have the city services which makes Moline desirable. It's residents also pay lower taxes than other Moline neighborhoods. The Rock River floods many years and about half of the neighborhood feels the brunt of that as drainage ditches and the low level of the land acquire standing water. However, South Park Mall is also in this neighborhood along with a group of stores that popped up due to the mall, like Best Buy and ToysRUs, among others. This neighborhood has convenient access to many of the cities busiest streets including I-74, 7th St, 16th St, and John Deere Rd. Along the river, there are houses on stilts which don't flood and are more desirable than any other part of the area. Towards John Deere Rd the land is high enough to avoid flooding. Many landowners have begun to remodel their properties in this neighborhood in hopes of being bought out by businesses as Moline does not have an unrban sprawl option. Fruitland is a fairly close knit community with many families living there for multiple generations. There are several homes with beautiful gardens and most homes have larger yards than found elsewhere in the city.

[edit] EAST SIDE (east of I-74)

Park Hill: This neighborhood, bordered by I-74 and Downtown on the west, the Mississippi River on the north, 12th Avenue on the south, and Riverside Park on the east, has two main parts: the northern end that really in a way is an extension of downtown and the southern end which is significantly more residential and sitting on the hillsides above the river valley. Likewise, the northern end is poorer than the lower middle class south end. However, along River Drive (3rd Avenue), development is changing the original neighborhood as high class riverfront condominiums are opening in place of warehouses and other light industry. Riverside Park, which gives the neighborhood its name, contains several baseball fields, a pond, two cemeteries, and a water park which was just newly renovated from a traditional pool.

Forest Hill: This neighborhood, centered along 27th Street between 12th and 23rd Avenues, is one of the many solely residential neighborhoods which predominate the east side of town. Because that side is newer, 23rd Avenue emerged as the only commercial drag as people could drive by the time it was developed. However, Forest Hill, much like Wharton, contains very nice older homes, unusual for the east side of town. In Forest Hill, these homes tend to be much larger, though, making it one of the most desirable areas in the city to live.

Highland: Along 23rd Avenue, the Highland neighborhood is the first neighborhood coming from the west side into the east. It was mostly built during the Great Depression. Consequently, the houses here are not as nice as the older ones in Forest Hill to the north or the newer ones in Villa Park to the south. But the business corridor of 23rd Avenue keeps people in the area, and this area is really the center of small business in Moline (Downtown has mostly office buildings and the John Deere Road Corridor has mostly the big corporate chains). Highland is the home of Hafner's Bar, which is a classier bar with a loyal following, El Pavito, among many other smaller stores that gives Highland a "main street" look. This neighborhood is demographically changing, as well, luring Hispanics from Floreciente with cheaper housing yet safe neighborhoods.

Villa Park / Green Acres: Together, these two miniature neighborhoods, which were built during the 1950s and 1960s, compromise another solely residential neighborhood on the east side. This neighborhood was one that was dramatically altered during the 1960s when several blocks as well as the old Oakwood Country Club were ripped out to construct I-74. This left part of the neighborhood across the interstate on the west side. Sometimes this area is known as Crestwood, as it is no longer connected in any way to Villa Park proper. In Villa Park, the houses are mostly one and a half or two story brick homes and are a bit older than those in Green Acres, which has mostly larger two story homes of various styles. Also, Green Acres has winding streets and looks somewhat like a slightly older and less wealthy version of Wildwood or any typical 1970s suburb.

Riverside: This neighborhood extends along the riverfront from 34th Street to 55th Street and East Moline. Originally lower middle class and white, the neighborhood has recently been increasingly Mexican and diverse. Along the 4th Avenue corridor, several businesses and old factories still exist, giving this neighborhood some life. Along River Drive there have been several new condominium complexes as well as some newer houses. Ben Butterworth Parkway provides a nice park for running and biking and beautiful riverfront views. This neighborhood runs into very industrial sections of East Moline as well as some more rundown parts as well. This keeps the neighborhood more working class than anything. The Riverside area is also home to the William Bruner Baseball Complex, a 5 diamond baseball facility that is host to Moline Little League. Recent years have seen many improvements to the complex, including a remodled concession stand, re-landscaped ball diamonds and lighting to allow the league to play in night games.

Molette: After World War II the influx of vets from the war made it necessary for huge swaths of land to be turned into small prefabricated homes. Molette was one of those neighborhoods. The area consists of winding streets that run between 34th and 41st Streets and 12th and 23rd Avenues, each with small two bedroom ranches, many of which have had porches and extra rooms add on to them. Despite the cheap nature of the houses, the neighborhood is well taken care of, and this keeps the neighborhood popular among younger families. Proximity to the local elementary, middle, and high schools help this as well.

Rockview Estates: This neighborhood west of 41st Street and between John Deere Road and Moline Senior High School is quite odd for neighborhoods in Moline. Most of the houses in this neighborhood are actually duplexes and more people rent than in most neighborhoods. Again, there are no commercial institutions in the area and the new Moline Public Library will be on 41st Street. The neighborhood sets on the ridges above the Rock River Valley and some apartment buildings take advantage of this location, although recent development along the John Deere Corridor, including Walmart and Lowe's has left the natural beauty of the Rock River wetlands largely destroyed.

Homewood: Much like Wildwood, this neighborhood spirals and twists around itself along the hill spreading into the Rock River Valley. It is bisected by 53rd Street but extends from 41st to 60th Streets south of 34th Avenue. Considered one of the richer sections of Moline, this neighborhood has high land values and the best school in the city. The houses were mostly built in the 1970s and 1980s and are of various styles. Similar to Rockview Estates, this neighborhood overlooks the Rock River valley and the Heritage neighborhood.

Heritage: Heritage is the most wealthy of the Rock River neighborhoods, and it is the only one that still has its elementary school. The neighborhood lies beyond the largely commercial sections of John Deere Road and lies south of the intersection of that road and 53rd Street. Furthermore, the neighborhood was better developed than others along the river keeping the neighborhood dry when others flood. Heritage is quite tight knit as Moline neighborhoods go.

[edit] Parks

Ben Butterworth Park
Browning Park
Green Valley Park
Karstens Park
Kiwanis Park
McCandless Park
Millennium Park
Optimist Park
Prospect Park
Riverside Park
Stephens Park
Sylvan Island Park

[edit] Schools

[edit] High Schools

[edit] Middle Schools

[edit] Elementary Schools

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 43,768 people, 18,492 households, and 11,594 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,083.3/km² (2,805.7/mi²). There were 19,487 housing units at an average density of 482.3/km² (1,249.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.38% White, 3.09% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.39% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 5.08% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.91% of the population.

There were 18,492 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,363, and the median income for a family was $48,207. Males had a median income of $36,586 versus $24,711 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,557. About 7.1% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Media

The Quad Cities has numerous media outlets, including dozens of radio stations, local affiliates of FOX, NBC, ABC, and CBS, and three newspapers. The Moline Daily Dispatch has been the traditional paper of the city as well as Coal Valley, East Moline, and local points east of that. Now the Dispatch is merged with the Rock Island Argus, and both papers carry the same coverage. Furthermore, the Quad City Times, formerly the Davenport Times-Democrat, has quite a following with its Illinois Edition of that paper. Of the local television stations, the ABC affiliate, WQAD, makes its home in the Prospect Park neighborhood and actually sits adjacent to the park itself.

[edit] External links

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