The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-08-12
AGAIN That River Front.

Again That River Front.
Quincy Herald: Quincy has the
reputation of having the worst levee
be an exaggeration. There may be
other levees dirtier and more I'M
slightly, but If they are, they must be
above Davenport. The river reporter
of the Herald has travelled over the
river at different times from St.
Louis to Davenport, and from the
decks Of packet boats has studied thG
water fronts of the cities and towns
along the way. While the boats
were unloading freight he went
ashore at the more important and
larger cities for a closer inspection.
And nowhere did he find river front
SO unattractive and neglected as thas
at Quincy.
More than ten years ago, Clinton,
Iowa, decided to fix up her river
front and at a big expense, cleared
the ground between the water
edge and the railroad tracks Of mum.
Der Of shacks and several rather sub
stantial buildings. Considerable fill,
ing and grading was necessary before
the park could be laid out; then con.
crete walks were built, electroliers
installed, benches placed along the
walks, a fountain was installed, the
ground was sodded end number Of
flower beds were planted. From the
park, which Is several blocks long, to
the shore, the ground was paved with
brick and concrete. Since then Gin
ton has had one of the most beauti-
full river fronts on the upper Missis-
sippi.
A few years ago Hannibal decided
to fix up it's front yard, and after raZ-
ing some shacks and cleaning up the
levee, built a nice little park just
east of the railroad tracks at the
slope to the river. The slope was
paved with brick. The improvement
was not nearly so extensive nor ex-
pensive as that at Clinton, but 1t was
sufficient, and Hannibal since has
seemed to the thousands of tourists
on the packet boats and the thous-
ands of passengers on the railroad
trains much more attractive, pro-
gressive and successful city than it
was before.
Now comes Fort Madison with a
similar project. With the compare.
lively magnificent sum OF $4,000,
Fort Madison has cleared its 1evee,
and part of it has been converted in
to a very pretty little park. AS at
Clinton and Hannibal, the park is at
the top Of the slope between the riv-
er and the railroad tracks. But the
park is not yet finished. 1t is now
only block long and when complete
will be at least two blocks and per-
haps three blocks long. The shore
has been paved with brick and held
in place by heavy chains are long mar
row floating docks made of heavy
pIanks which serve as a protection
for both the pavement and the bows
of the boats which land there. A
spring board has been installed on
one section of the floating docks, and
young people have great sport SWIM
ming there Fort Madison is in a
bend in the river and the water op-
posite the city is quite deep with the
channel free Of sandbars or other OBJ
structions at all seasons Of the year.
Not only has Fort Madison magnifi-
cent river front, but also there has
been erected a handsome frame pas
senger depot for the accommodation
and convenience Of river tourists. 1t
is about as large as the Wabash de-
pot here and although Of wood, Is
equally as attractive and clean. The
new freight depot when erected will
be a short distance north Of the pas
senger depot.
The city of Burlington lies closer to
the river than other cities, and the
paved streets run down to the water
front. There is no room for a park,
but the shore has been paved and the
landing is not dirty or neglected. Dav-
export and Rock Island also keep
their river fronts fairly clean, and the
landings are much more at
tractive tEan the landing at Quincy.
Quincy is the only city of any size
from st. Louis to Dubuque which has