This 18-room Rock Island house would be considered spectacular anywhere in
the country - in fact it was described as the "most magnificent residence
in the three cities" when it was completed in 1893. That's not surprising,
considering its reported cost of $50,000. That may not seem like a great
deal of money today, but consider this: Lincoln School at 7th Avenue and
22nd Street was completed the same year at a cost of $60,000. Extending
those numbers into today's dollars means the Rosenfield House would cost
millions to build today, if indeed the skilled artisans could be found.
Large mansions such as this are very vulnerable to demolition. Most of the
big estate homes in Rock Island have been destroyed, either to build
something else - from highways to commercial buildings - or because they
were so neglected and abused that restoration was impossible. Sometimes
they have been demolished for no good reason. How did it happen that
Morris Rosenfield's house still stands triumphantly, with its architectural
and historical features intact? Many people and organizations, and federal
law as well, are responsible.
When Morris Rosenfield built his massive brick and stone house, he called it
Spencer Place, because this was the original site of John Spencer's home.
Spencer, one of the first settlers and major landowners in Rock Island, had
sited his small home at the head of 19th Street (it came to a dead end at
his property) so he had a clear view all the way downtown.
Mr. Rosenfield was born in Germany and came to Rock Island as a young man in
1841, to join his uncles in a wholesale leather business. He made his
fortune, however, by operating the Moline Wagon Company, a factory that made
farm wagons. He was already elderly by the time his home was completed, and
he would only live here 6 years until his death, which is why the postcard
is identified as Mrs. Rosenfield's residence. The wagon company was sold to
Deere after Mrs. Rosenfield died in 1910.
The mansion remained in the Rosenfield family for some years, with son
Walter taking over ownership until the late teens, when he moved across 7th
Avenue to what was known as the Buford House. Walter was president of Rock
Island Bridge and Iron Works, and also served as mayor of Rock Island from
1923 - 1927.
Walter sold the house in 1916 to Martin Welch of Illinois Oil Company, who
sold it again a few years later to St. Joseph's Catholic Church for use as a
convent. Forty years later, in 1958, the church built another convent and
sold the mansion to the Tri-City Jewish Center for $85,000. The Center
already owned the Buford House across 7th Avenue and needed space for its
educational center.
When the Jewish Center purchased the property, it was saved from
destruction. Rabbi Jordan Taxon said other potential buyers had been
looking at the property to tear it down and build a motel or restaurant.
When Rabbi Taxon led a reporter on a tour of the home, he noted how the nuns
had taken loving care of the home. They had used the formal parlor, which
had a fireplace of white tile with inlaid flowers, as a chapel. He also
pointed out many details that would be restored - parquet floors, with each
10 inch square made of 14 kinds of wood; rooms paneled with hand carved
squares of different woods; a parlor ceiling, with angels painted in oils.
The Jewish Center continued the loving maintenance of the home,
accommodating their educational use with minimal change.
When a new Jewish Center was built on 30th Street in the late 1970s,
Harris-Weber Ltd. of Northbrook, Illinois purchased this site to construct
an 8-story senior citizen high rise. The Rosenfield Mansion was almost
certainly doomed. But wait! To the rescue comes a relatively new federal
law! Anytime federal dollars were involved in a project, the project had to
be reviewed for its impact on local historic resources. Since the high
rise was largely funded by federal dollars, an evaluation of the mansion was
mandated.
Fortunately it was found to be eligible for the National Register of
Historic Places (did we have any doubt?). Thus it could not be demolished
if the developers hoped to keep the federal subsidy. While they could have
chosen to finance the entire project on their own and proceed with
demolition, they decided to restore the mansion for a senior center
instead - and keep those federal dollars. That restoration was facilitated
by the Rock Island City Council, who voted in 1980 to give $40,000 towards
the restoration. The developers were permitted to demolish a brick carriage
house near 7th Avenue.
As a result of loving care through the decades, this beautiful home looks
like it over did a century ago. The high rise is now located to the east
where the postcard shows a peek at the Victorian Inn in the distance. The
Rosenfield mansion has been incorporated into Coventry apartments and is
used by the tenants.
So we thank you Morris Rosenfield for building this mansion. And more
thanks to St. Joseph's and the Sisters of Charity, to the Tri-City Jewish
Center, and to Harris-Weber and Coventry for maintaining and restoring it.
Twenty years ago the Rock Island Preservation Society sponsored a tour of
the home. Shall we ask the folks at Coventry if we can repeat that tour, to
share this wonderful piece of Rock Island history and architecture?
|