Midwest Traveler: Quad Cities is another gem of a river city

By Sarah Johnson Special to the Star Tribune

October 25, 2014 — 5:12pm

Whether it's the Twin Cities or the Quad Cities, there's nothing quite like a river city. Encompassing Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, and Rock Island and Moline, Ill., and home to half a million people, the Quad Cities represent the largest metropolitan area between Minneapolis and St. Louis. During the fall, a stroll past a blue tile marker designating the various water levels of Davenport's flooding over the past 50 years takes you to a paved boardwalk with an excellent vantage point of the fiery orange leaves along the Mississippi River.

About a mile north, near the churning brown water flowing through Lock and Dam 15, you can cross the 118-year-old double-decked railroad bridge to take in our nation's largest government-owned and -operated arsenal. Rock Island Arsenal, an active U.S. Army facility about a mile wide and 3 miles long, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1969.

The Rock Island Arsenal Museum (1-309-782-5021; www.arsenalhistoricalsociety.org/museum), which is free and open to the public year-round, showcases more than 1,200 pieces of U.S. and foreign small arms weaponry, from rifles used during the Battle of the Little Bighorn to World War II anti-aircraft guns. As Rock Island served as a prison camp during the Civil War, you can also visit the Confederate Cemetery, final resting place for more than 1,100 soldiers.

A rainy or cold day offers a perfect chance to check out the Figge Art Museum (1-563-326-7804; http://figgeartmuseum.org), relocated to downtown Davenport in 2005 to a $47 million blue-glass building designed by Sterling Prize-winning British modernist David Chipperfield. The Figge (as it's locally known — and pronounced "figgy") is home to an extensive collection of American, European, Haitian and colonial Mexican artifacts dating from the 16th century to the present, as well as painter Grant Wood's personal effects and correspondence.

Festival, groceries, historic hotel

Holiday fest: Every November for nearly 30 years, the Quad Cities have celebrated the Festival of Trees (1-563-324-FEST; http://quadcityarts.com/festivaloftrees), an eight-day holiday event featuring intricately designed Christmas trees and gingerbread houses, concerts and a Macy's-like parade filled with helium balloons.

Eating out: The Freight House, home of the year-round Quad Cities food hub, includes an indoor farmers market, Fresh Deli run by Nostalgia Farms and a local foods grocery store (1-563-322-6009; http://freighthousefarmersmarket.com). After checking out a few shops at NorthPark Mall, you can head to Tantra's Thai Bistro (1-563-445-8898), an unassuming hot spot for ethnic cuisine.

Checking in: Recently reopened after a $35 million renovation, the Hotel Blackhawk (1-888-525-4455; www.hotelblackhawk.com) welcomes you into its Italian Renaissance-style lobby with a stained glass skylight that fills the area with a warm, natural glow. Guests who have stayed at this nearly 100-year-old hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, include Cary Grant and President Obama. (Grant passed away in Davenport while performing at the nearby Adler Theatre in 1986 but, contrary to popular belief, he didn't actually die in the hotel.)

Something to look forward to

Davenport's Modern Woodmen Park, named the best minor league ballpark in the country by USA Today, is home to the Quad Cities River Bandits (1-563-324-3000; http://tinyurl.com/7w7lh8u), the Single A affiliate of the Houston Astros. (They were also the Single A affiliate of the Twins from 1999-2004.) Native son Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke, the Grammy Hall of Fame jazz cornetist and pianist who died at age 28, is honored every summer with the Bix Festival (1-563-324-7170; www.bixsociety.org). Nearly 10,000 people descend upon the Quad Cities annually to hear jazz artists and ensembles such as Randy Sandke and the Jim Collum Jazz Band.

No matter the season, a trip to the Quad Cities wouldn't be complete without a stop at Whitey's Ice Cream (various locations, www.whiteysicecream.com), a local icon since 1933. With more than 40 flavors (plus seasonal flavors like pumpkin and egg nog), they were named in "Best of the Midwest" by Midwest Living magazine.