“Molette: The American Dream Realized in Moline – Celebrating 75 years of Affordable Housing" at the Moline Public Library -- August 3.
Wednesday, August 3, 6 p.m.
Moline Public Library, 3210 41st Street, Moline IL
Held in honor of the City of Moline's Sesquicentennial, Moline Preservation Society Board member Brandon Tidwell will, on August 3, treat Moline Public Library patrons to three-quarters of the century worth of local history, sharing a fascinating tale of entrepreneurship and growth titled Molette: The American Dream Realized in Moline – Celebrating 75 years of Affordable Housing.
With a population of 42,985 as of 2020, Moline is the largest city in Rock Island County, and was initially incorporated on April 21, 1848, and granted a charter for a trustee form of government. But in the 1940s, Moline witnessed a continued population increase after World War II with the completion of "Molette," a subdivision of mass-produced starter homes selling for $5,000 each. Molette was the first Moline neighborhood produced on a mass scale and one of the largest single-unit housing projects in the Midwest at the time. Near Molette on 41st Street, the Defense Department funded an $800,000 housing project known as Springbrook Courts, which served as housing for Rock Island Arsenal employees before being converted into a non-military-affiliated public housing project managed by the Moline Housing Authority. It was in this time that one of the major factors shaping the modern layout of Moline first came into play: the rough topography of the inland bluffs.
As Moline grew, the traditional rectilinear grid of the downtown area gave way to smaller subdivisions containing cul-de-sacs, curvilinear roadways, and courts. As a comprehensive plan of Moline later stated, "The topography has had a decided influence upon the growth and development of the city ... . The city is literally interlaced with fingers of wooded ravines draining surface water to the north into the Mississippi and to the south into the creeks and drainage ditches tributary to the Rock River. This condition has greatly influenced the building of underground utilities, the location of thoroughfares, the selection of sites for schools and parks, the design and development of residential areas, and the location of business and industrial areas. The customary ‘grid’-type subdivision planning so common to most Midwestern cities is impractical of adaptation when looking at a map of the present city."
Molette: The American Dream Realized in Moline – Celebrating 75 years of Affordable Housing will be presented on August 3, participation in the 6 p.m. program is free, and more information is available by calling (309)524-2470 and visiting MolineLibrary.com.
