Perhaps you have traveled past the corner of 8th Avenue and 20th Street and
noticed the incongruity of the large open lot on the northwest corner.
After all, this area in the heart of the Broadway Historic District is
filled with large homes which are placed fairly tightly together, with most
yards that tend to be 30 to 50 feet wide. If you traveled past this lot
before 1988, can you remember what you would have seen?
Today's postcard shows what you would have seen at this corner in 1908, as
the message on the back was postmarked that year. The home at 734 20th
Street was built for Frank Mixter in 1899, constructed by contractor John
Volk at a cost of $13,000, a very substantial investment at the turn of the
century. At the right of the postcard is the home of Phil Mitchell, Frank's
business associate, which still stands today and is undergoing restoration.
Not seen to the north of the Mitchell House is the Conner-Parker House,
commonly known as The Victorian Inn. The Mixter House was actually larger
than the Mitchell House and probably similar in massing to the Conner-Parker
House.
Frank Mixter was one of eight children of George and Susan Mixter, who were
early and prominent settlers of Rock Island. George was born and raised in
Massachusetts, graduated from Yale and was intrigued by what was then the
far, far west. Pleased with the climate and business prospects, he settled
in Rock Island in 1837 and, except for two years spent in Dixon, Ill, he
remained in Rock Island for the rest of his life. He married Mss Susan
Elizabeth Gilbert of Moline in 1845. By profession, George was a lawyer but
put aside professional engagements to manage vast business enterprises.
Frank was born in 1853 and received his early education in the Rock Island
Schools, then went to the university at Heidelburg, Germany. Frank was
associated with the Rock Island Stove Company for half a century, starting
in 1877 as a bookkeeper. In partnership with Phil Mitchell he purchased the
firm, rising to president and then chairman of the board. Aggressive
marketing of the high quality Riverside Stoves allowed the stove company to
flourish. In 1871, 205 stoves were sold, but by 1890 they claimed to have
sales of 20,000 stoves annually. Described as "a man of poise, foresight,
good judgement, and superior business acumen" Frank also had financial
interest in many other Rock Island enterprises, including the Rock Island
Buggy Company, The Republic Oil Refining Company, and the State Bank of Rock
Island. His neighbor, Phil Mitchell, was also usually involved in these
firms.
Frank was married at Southport, Conn., to Miss Elizabeth Bradley, "a
descendant of the old Bradley and Sherwood families of colonial days,
prominent in the annuals of New England." She was a member of the Daughters
of the American Revolution, serving as a regent in the Fort Armstrong
Chapter. They had two children: a daughter, Florence, who married and moved
to Southport, Conn., and a son, William, who after graduation from Yale
settled in Portland, Ore., "but after a fine start in life, died in New
York, June 30, 1912."
The Mixter House was a grand Colonial Revival structure with a stately
wraparound porch on the front. It also had a porte cochere - a covered
porch for carriages to pull under - on the north and a two- story carriage
house to the rear. While the style of the home was fairly simple, no cost
was spared on the decorative detailing. A massive arched-top stairway
window on the north contained stained glass in shades of gold, a triple
window in front was topped with leaded glass transoms, and a decorative
balustrade marked a roof gallery, which is just barely visible in the
postcard. The balustrade was repeated at the second floor level of the
front porch and the south side bay, which had a door with colored glass
sidelights opening to the balcony formed by the bay. The front of the house
had an exceptionally wide frieze (border between the siding and the eave)
and wide vertical boards in the front corners to give a pilaster effect.
Mr. and Mrs. Mixter lived in the home until his death in 1934. Elizabeth
moved to her daughter's home shortly after becoming a widow and died at age
85 in 1937. Perhaps she lived the remainder of her life not knowing that
her lovely home had fallen prey to a landlord that carved it into 10
apartments in 1936, increasing the density to 15 units by 1945. Over time,
much of the decorative detailing was lost.
The original wraparound porch was removed, along with most of the balustrade
detailing found on other porches. The roof top had been altered, due
partially to a fire, and the original roof gallery had been enclosed and
enlarged to form a room. The property fell into disrepair and was largely
neglected as it approached its demise in 1988, when it was torn down. Many
would say that these large homes were fated to become apartment houses
simply because of their mass and their locations, yet other homes in the
area, which were also converted to multifamily, did not experience the
extreme abuse and neglect this ill-fated structure succumbed to.
The Mitchell House next door suffered similarly under the same landlord but
today is undergoing restoration. The front porch is the most visible sign of
the restoration in progress, stopping traffic as gawkers admire the detailed
replica of the original porch, which is transforming the front facade of the
house.
(NOTE: In 2007, construction of a large new house was begun on the site of the Mixter House)
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