The big power pole in the foreground and the absence of street signs, are
the only clues that this is a vintage depiction of the Safety Building at on
3rd Avenue at 18th Street. The sepia-toned postcard was printed in Germany
and was mailed in 1910, only two years after the building was completed. One
of Rock Island's most beautiful commercial buildings, it is one of our most
architecturally intact as well.
The Safety Building was designed by local architect Olof Z. Cervin, who was
also an owner. Mr. Cervin said that this was the first time reinforced
concrete was used for construction in the Quad Cities. The concrete was
used for floors, ceilings, roof, and supporting columns. As a result,
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps noted the building as fireproof. It is 60 by
150 feet, contains 6 stories and cost about $125,000 to construct in 1908.
Another financial partner in the venture was Levi S. McCabe, of McCabe's
Department Store. Mr. McCabe wanted to enlarge the business district that
was located primarily on 2nd Avenue. His investment in the Safety Building
was intended to promote that expansion. The third original owner was the
Rock Island Safety Deposit Company, who gave the building its name. Cervin
sold his interests to McCabe heirs in 1923. The building remained under
their control until 1975, when it was sold to a group of local businessmen.
The upper stories have always been used for offices and the ground floor has
seen both office and retail use. Initially, in addition to the Safety
Deposit Company, other ground floor space was occupied by People's Power
Company (predecessor of Mid-American) and Tri City Railway Company (who
built an amusement park at what is now Blackhawk Park to entice people to
ride their streetcars there). The northeast corner was rented as a jewelry
shop for many of its early years and, much later, a drugstore located there.
For the first few years, the 6th floor was vacant, until it was occupied by
Royal Neighbors of America, who also expanded to areas on the 4th and 5th
floors before they built their own building (another postcard!). Other
offices were occupied by insurance companies, doctors, dentists and
attorneys.
Architect Cervin reserved suite 401 for his architectural practice. He
expanded his firm in 1915 by taking his first partner, Benj. A. Horn. Over
the years new partners joined as old ones retired. Through it all, the firm
remained in the Safety Building. Now the architectural practice begun by
Cervin is known as Scholtz Gowey Gere Marolf, and their offices are still
here, but on the sixth floor.
A careful look at the design of Safety Building reveals three distinct
horizontal divisions separated by cast stone bands. Such a division of
structure was becoming increasingly common in Chicago skyscrapers during
this time. If we imagine the entire building represents a Greek or Roman
column (look at a vintage home porch to see different column styles), the
divisions are immediately apparent as representing the base, the shaft (or
pillar) and the capital (or top).
In the Safety Building, the first story base is dark brick that creates a
visual heaviness that supports the building. The classically inspired
entrance on the north is trimmed with shell-like carvings called anthemions.
The middle shaft portion is four more stories high, with aligned windows
accentuating the vertical rise. The buff colored brick used here has a
slight surface irregularity and is assembled with very narrow mortar lines.
Near the upper corners the bricks are laid so as to create an arrow-like
relief. The arrows continue into the top story or capital, which is nicely
finished with a bracketed cornice that is punctuated by recently restored
electric lights. Since these cornice lights are unique downtown, it's easy
to speculate a connection between their use and occupancy of the building by
People's Power Company who sold electricity.
Architectural changes to the Safety Building are minimal. The postcard
shows the entrance to People's Power on 3rd Avenue, near the corner of 19th
Street. That entrance has now been shortened to a window and stucco covers
the lower area of the first story at the corner and along 18th Street as
well. Horizontal triple paned windows have replaced the original
double-hung sashes, probably to help accommodate the small air conditioners.
Otherwise the Safety Building is a pristine example of Rock Island's own
version of the skyscraper.
If you'd like to know more about other downtown buildings, be sure to pick
up a free copy of the Downtown Walking Tour booklets at the Preservation
Commission kiosk at Rock Island's downtown library.
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