Union Station and Burlington Freight House

Union Station and Burlington Freight House is located near the riverfront in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The buildings are in a section of downtown with several historic structures. Across Ripley Street to the west is the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Freight House, and to the east across Harrison Street is the Dillon Memorial. On River Drive northwest from the Burlington Freight House is The Linograph Company Building. Across Beiderbecke Drive to the south are the W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion and the Mississippi River.HistoryRail service through Davenport was being discussed and planned starting in 1842. Up to this point, however, the Mississippi River had never been crossed by a bridge anywhere. That was accomplished by 1856 when the first railroad bridge was built between Davenport and Rock Island, Illinois, and the city’s rail history began. By 1895 several rail lines already passed through Davenport when Frank Blair organized the Davenport, Rock Island and North Western Railway. In five years the company completed its route to Clinton, Iowa and the Crescent Bridge (1899) across the Mississippi between Davenport and Rock Island. The bridge is downstream from the site of the first railroad bridge that crossed the river.