Looking much as it did when constructed in 1894, "Old" Lincoln School still
stands at the corner of 7th Avenue and 22nd Street. It that era, each Rock
Island ward had its own grammar school. Ward 4 was served by P.S. No. 4, as
Lincoln was called originally, although it's only coincidence that the ward
and the school number were the same. A few years later in 1897, the school
board decided to discontinue the numbering of schools and rather name them
for "deceased men of letters." Lincoln School was chosen as the new name
for P.S. No. 4. Until its closing in 1980, this building was the neighborhood
school for much of what is now known as the Broadway Historic District.
The square block between 21st and 22nd Streets and 6th and 7th Avenues was
the educational center of Rock Island ever since the Rock Island School
District was organized in 1857. Lincoln was built on the site of an early
high school building. A "new" high school had recently been built on the
part of the block diagonally opposite at 21st Street and 6th Avenue (21st
Street was still a through street.) Lincoln had a great resemblance to
that high school and was likely designed by the same architect. Both
buildings had similar arched entryways, horizontal stone banding and steep
gables.
This circa 1905 postcard, which appears to have been created from a photo
used in "Picturesque Tri-Cities" (1902-04), was published by the Rock Island
Postcard Co. There's no flag today, but comparison to the original photo
shows that the flag was a painted-on enhancement. The only significant
change over the years is the loss of the top story of the bell tower, which
was removed in the 1940s. Unfortunately, the bell disappeared at that time
as well.
Early in the 20th century, Lincoln averaged an attendance of about 600,
including a "school for the deaf" in the lower level. At its closing in
1980, the function and name of Lincoln was transferred to the former Central
Junior High building to the west. Old Lincoln, P.S. No. 4, was sold and by
1984, it was scheduled for demolition. A stay of execution was granted when
it was designated a Landmark structure by the Rock Island Preservation
Commission. It was later purchased by private owners who achieved its
listing on the National Register of Historic Places. They hoped to restore
and adapt the building for a new use. Unfortunately, it is still vacant and
unused, although it is secure and dry. Revived interest and investment in
Old Lincoln's traditional neighborhood of Broadway should make reuse more
financially feasible in the not too distant future.
P. S. No. 4 was an architectural masterpiece in the Richardsonian Romanesque
style and was designed by architect Edward S. Hammatt. Born in Geneseo New
York, Hammatt was educated at MIT and later worked for the nationally known
architectural firms of Ware & Van Brunt in Boston and Hardenbergh & Le Brun
in New York. He came to the Quad Cities in 1883 and maintained offices in
both Rock Island and Davenport.
Lincoln School provided Hammatt a marvelous palette for his talent. Costing
$46,900, construction was done by John Volk & Co. The foundation of the
brick building was made of Anamosa limestone with Bedford (Indiana)
limestone used for trimming. Bedford is a hard and smooth-grained stone,
which is ideally suited for carving - notice the beautiful carving of the
entrance arches. Those arches over the two recessed entrances are
characteristic of the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
As well as being beautiful, Lincoln was noted for its unusual open floor
plan. Classrooms line the exterior walls of the building with a massive
"split" staircase in the northwest corner surrounded by huge open hallways.
According to a 1905 Argus article, "The great center halls of the building
have proved to be one of the most satisfactory arrangements in the schools
of the city. The (school) buildings erected later than 1892 have halls
patterned largely after the plan of the Lincoln building."
In addition to several downtown buildings, an early Inn at Black Hawk Park,
and buildings for Augustana College, Hammatt also designed three other
schools in Rock Island, as well as the remodeling of the Weyerhaeuser dining
room (now Augustana's House on the Hill.). Lincoln School is the only
remaining Hammatt building in Rock Island, and our oldest surviving public
school building as well. Hammatt was only 50 when he died in 1907, but
fortunately his masterwork P. S. No. 4, Lincoln School, endures into its
eleventh decade.
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