Kahl Building
About this property
The Kahl Building is a historic building located in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District. The building also includes the Capitol Theatre. The Kahl Building is ten stories tall and rises 146 feet (45 m) above the ground. It was designed by Davenport architect Arthur Ebeling who used as inspiration the works of Chicago architects William Holabird, John Root and Louis Sullivan. In fact Sullivan's Wainwright Building in St. Louis is considered a model after which the Kahl Building was designed. Sullivan's influence can be seen in the more elaborate ornamentation on the lower floors while the upper floors are relatively plain. Their decoration is confined to recessed spandrel panels. The building is capped with a staccato pairing of round-arch windows and an elaborate cornice. In 1920, the building was constructed by Henry Kahl and Walsh-Kahl Construction for $1.5 million. It was considered high-quality office space, which was in demand at the time, and was fully leased before construction was complete. The building is composed of steel frame construction with stone and decorative terra cotta facing materials. The building's sense of height is highlighted by recessing the spandrel panels between the floors and behind the vertical piers. It is considered an "exceptional example of the influence of the Chicago School on commercial architecture." Historically, the building has contained 184 office suites, several retail shops, a restaurant, and the Capital Theater. The lobby walls were faced with Alabama marble that is swirled in pinks, and it featured bronze and copper doors. In 1994 the family of Davenport Banker V.O. Figge and his wife Elizabeth, who was Henry Kahl's daughter, donated the building to the Scott Community College Foundation, which used it for academic purposes. The Eastern Iowa Community College District announced in August 2014 their intention to leave the Kahl Building and relocate to a new campus in the former First Federal Savings and Loan Association Building and First Midwest Bank building on West Third Street between Brady and Main streets. The new college campus was opened in January 2018, and the Kahl Building was sold to Jim Bergman of JNB Capitol Building for $2 million in June. A $20 million project renovated the Kahl Building into 65 market-rate apartments. That project was completed in 2023. It preserved the building's original gold elevators, marble floors, handcrafted plasterwork, and detailed artwork.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Kahl Building listed on the National Register?
Kahl Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 6, 1983.
What type of historic resource is Kahl Building?
Kahl Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Kahl Building?
The period of significance for Kahl Building is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Kahl Building?
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