Rock Island Arsenal, Building No. 1, Gillespie Avenue between Terrace Drive & Hedge Lane, Rock Island, Rock Island County, IL

Significance: After taking command of Rock Island Arsenal in 1865, General Thomas Jefferson Rodman devised a master plan for construction of ten large manufacturing shops, five on each side of the island's major east-west thoroughfare. These core manufacturing structures were supplemented by a variety of administrative, residential, maintenance, storage, and utility buildings. Although only a few buildings were erected prior to Rodman's death in 1871, subsequent construction under Rodman's nineteenth-century successors closely conformed to the original plan. Located on the island's north-central shore, the Commanding Officer's Quarters was one of the first building's erected under the Rodman plan. Designed by Rodman, it was completed in the fall of 1871, a few months after his death. The richly ornamented limestone structure is a superb example of Italianate architecture. In its scale and detailing, it symbolized the arsenal's importance as a major government installation and strongly influenced the design of three neighboring subaltern officer's quarters (see HABS Nos. IL-1001F, IL-1001G, IL 1001H). The building is part of the Rock Island Arsenal National Register Historic District.
Survey number: HABS IL-1001-E
Building/structure dates: 1871 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: ca. 1905 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: ca. 1957 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 69000057