Davenport, Iowa
Davenport | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Nickname: Iowa's Front Porch | |
| Motto: Working together to serve you | |
Interactive map of Davenport | |
| Coordinates: 41°32′35″N 90°35′27″W / 41.54306°N 90.59083°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Iowa |
| County | Scott |
| Settled | May 14, 1836 |
| Incorporated | January 25, 1839 |
| Named after | George Davenport |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| Area | |
• City | 65.92 sq mi (170.73 km2) |
| • Land | 63.80 sq mi (165.23 km2) |
| • Water | 2.12 sq mi (5.50 km2) |
| Elevation | 656 ft (200 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• City | 101,724 |
| • Rank | 3rd in Iowa (US: 296th) |
| • Density | 1,594.55/sq mi (615.65/km2) |
| • Urban | 285,211 (US: 142nd) |
| • Urban density | 2,114.9/sq mi (816.6/km2) |
| • Metro | 384,324 (US: 147th) |
| • CSA | 474,019 (US: 90th) |
| Demonym | Davenporter |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 52801–52809 |
| Area code | 563 |
| FIPS code | 19-19000 |
| GNIS ID | 2394467 |
| Website | www |
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Davenport (US: /ˈdævənpɔːrt/ DA-vən-port) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 census, making it Iowa's third-most populous city, after Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. It is the largest of the Quad Cities in Iowa and Illinois, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a combined statistical area population of 474,019.
Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836, by Antoine Le Claire and named for his friend, George Davenport. From 1860 until 1980, Davenport enjoyed a long period of industrial and population growth, averaging yearly increases of about 760 people. Over that period, Davenport industries were diverse, from manufacturing locomotives, a major meat-packing plant, a Caterpillar loader plant, a historic movie-projector plant, to car and truck wheel manufacture. These and other industries left, and since 1980, population growth has been flat, hovering around 100,000 over the past 40 years.
The city is prone to frequent flooding due to its location on the Mississippi River and the city's resistance to building a modern levee, unlike its sister cities. Davenport's flood wall dates from the 1919, while Rock Island's higher flood wall dates from 1970 and Bettendorf's from the 1980s. The latter two protected their respective downtowns during the 2019 flood. The history and historical costs of proposed levee projects were summarized in 2023 by the local paper after Davenport received national media attention for the 2019 flood.
There are two main universities: St. Ambrose University and Palmer College of Chiropractic, where the first chiropractic adjustment took place. Several annual music festivals take place in Davenport, including the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, the Mississippi Valley Fair, and the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival. An internationally known 7-mile (11 km) foot race, called the Bix 7, is run during the festival. The city has a Class A minor-league baseball team, the Quad Cities River Bandits. Davenport has 50 plus parks and facilities, as well as more than 20 miles (32 km) of recreational paths for biking or walking.
Three interstates (80, 74 and 280) and two major United States Highways serve the city. Davenport has seen steady population growth since its incorporation. National economic difficulties in the 1980s resulted in job and population losses.