Quarters One stands at ease as it waits for its new mission
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By Mary Louise Speer | Wednesday, March 26, 2008 |
Quarters One at the Rock Island Arsenal is vacant right now, and new uses are being considered for it, ranging from a bed-and-breakfast inn to a museum addition. (Larry Fisher/Quad-City Times) Buy this Photo
VIDEO: Quarters One Tour
Quarters One on Arsenal Island opened its doors to the media to show off it…
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The hallways of Quarters One, home to the highest-ranking Rock Island Arsenal officers from 1872 until this year, are quiet these days.
Maj. Gen. Robert Radin, commanding general of the U.S. Army Sustainment Command, and his wife, Sara, recently moved out of the Italianate villa-style house as the U.S. Army seeks fresh uses for Quarters One.
Among those uses could be a bed-and-breakfast inn or guest quarters, or it could become part of the Rock Island Arsenal Museum.
In the meantime, the community is invited to tour the mansion this weekend and learn more about its history.
“We opened it up to the community so you could see what’s going on here,” said Joel Himsl, garrison manager for the U.S. Army Garrison-Rock Island Arsenal. “We’re excited about the future.”
Quarters One and other selected historic property on the Arsenal are available for other uses through the Enhanced Use Lease Program, he said. That program allows structures on U.S. Army installations to be used for commercial purposes that preserve or enhance the structure and comply with Army regulations.
Quarters One needs $3 million in work to convert it to modern standards and preserve the limestone exterior. The house, designed and constructed during Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Rodman’s time as commanding officer, was innovative for its time, with a forced-air heating system.
“We believe the bathrooms, running water, were all built into the house when it was built in 1870,” said George Eaton, historian for the Army Sustainment Command.
The house has more than 50 rooms spread out on three floors and in the basement. The first floor served as entertaining and work headquarters for the commander. It has striped hardwood floors of maple, oak and walnut and ornate door knobs and hinges made of brass recovered from ammunition production and melted-down Confederate rounds. Huge windows overlook the Mississippi River and Davenport.
Rodman died in 1871 before work on the house was finished, Eaton said. Senior officers after him entertained guests in the twin parlors that could be closed off, gentlemen guests on one side and women in the adjoining parlor.
Images of the 38 past commanders are displayed throughout the house. The second floor was used by the commanders’ families for their personal living quarters. Distinguished visitors, including aviator Charles Lindbergh in August 1927, stayed in the guest room on that floor, he said.
The rooms on the third floor are less elegant with lower ceilings than on the two main floors.
“We believe Brig. Gen. Rodman intended to have this used for boarding rooms,” Eaton said.
Sometimes, Army families stayed there as their husbands and fathers headed out to face hazardous situations.
The tower at the top of the house gives visitors breezy views of the island, Illinois and Iowa. Himsl hopes the Army and parties working with it will have an ironclad purpose for the building within a year.
“Within five years, we’re going to have all the BRAC moves done, 1st Army here. We’ll continue to have growth here,” Himsl said. “At some point, the war is going to be over and we’d like to keep the factory operational.”
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
If You Go
What: Guided tours of Quarters One
When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Admission: Free and open to the public. The tours will depart from the Rock Island Arsenal Museum and take about one hour to complete. To reserve a spot, go to www.ria.army.mil/sites/pa_tours/ or call (309) 782-3488. Individuals with reservations will have precedence over walk-ins.
People entering the Rock Island Arsenal should come through the Moline or Davenport gates, and those over 16 must show photo identification. Quarters One is not handicapped accessible and strollers are not allowed.
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