When Levi S. McCabe died in 1915 at the age of 79, our entire city mourned
the death of this tireless booster. McCabe's department store employees
marched en masse from the store to Broadway Presbyterian Church for the
services. All the other downtown stores closed in respect during the
funeral. Mr. McCabe was born in New York state and came to this area in
1868. After teaching school for two years, he and his brother opened a
drygoods business that eventually resulted in the McCabe name on one or more
downtown stores until not too many years ago.
But L. S. McCabe had many interests in addition to retailing. He owned
farms in rural Iowa and Illinois where he raised cattle and pigs. He was a
real estate developer and subdivider. He owned downtown's Colonial hotel on
Third Avenue and 18th Street, now demolished. He was President of the
Safety Deposit Company, owner of the Safety Building. He was involved in
the Moline Central Street Railway, and later, the Tri City Railway. And -
the explanation for our postcard's caption - he served a four-year term in
the Illinois state senate starting in 1902.
This, the residence of Senator L. S. McCabe, was located at 2920 Fifth
Avenue. The McCabe family purchased the home from the estate of Mrs.
Telitha Munro, the widow of John Munro, in the early 1900s. John Munro, who
listed his occupation simply as "blacksmith," had hired local architect
George Stauduhar to design the house. The plans, which are in the
University of Illinois Archives, are dated 1896. Preservationists trying to
determine the original interior appearance of a home would have been
delighted to own the Munro-McCabe house: Samples of the original wallpaper
were included with the architect's archived records.
Fifth Avenue, formerly called Moline Avenue, was an important residential
area at the turn of the century and earlier. Many of our city's finest
mansions were located here between 24th and 30th Streets. The McCabe home,
which faced north, was approached by a curving brick driveway which extended
under the porte cochere and probably on to the carriage house visible in the
background. This house, which is a delicious feast for the eyes, was an
advanced design in 1896. It combines elements of the older Queen Anne style
with newly popular Classical Revival details. The round tower with its
witch's cap roof and curved-to-fit window glass, the multiple bay windows,
and the cross-gabled hip roof are all Queen Anne features. Notice how
Stauduhar's design for the second story window on the far left looks very
much like the window he designed for the Kelly House at 1703 20th Street,
with a circular window embracing a rectilinear one.
Classical Revival elements are seen in the Palladian-inspired attic window -
three windows with an arch above the center one - as well as the simple round
porch columns, second story balconies, and the triangular pediment above the
main entrance. Although our postcard makes the dark red house appear to be
brick; fire insurance maps and a closer inspection of the postcard confirm
that it is indeed frame clapboard construction. The roof appears to be
slate, uncommon in Rock Island. The cupolaed carriage house seems nearly as
large as the main house. It would easily have accommodated horses and
carriages on the ground floor and hired household staff on the second.
Mrs. Marian McCabe and her daughters remained in the home for a time after
her husband's death. After being vacant for a time, their home was
purchased by Harry White in the 1930s. During the war years and
thereafter, Mr. White and his wife rented furnished rooms. The character of
Fifth Avenue began to change, too, with industrial use replacing some of the
old homes. Then some of the adjacent homes were demolished to create
parking lots. Finally, in the late 1950s, 2920 Fifth Avenue disappeared.
Its large lot site is now part of the large parking lot for Mid American
Energy across the street. And samples of deep red wallpaper are safely
tucked in a trunk in an attic at the University of Illinois.
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