{"nrhp_refnum":"89000364","name":"Potter House","other_names":["1906 7th Ave."],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1906 7th Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rock Island","county":"Rock Island County","state":"IL","lat":41.50495140500004,"lon":-90.57375722499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-05-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Communications"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-building residential property at 1906 7th Avenue in Rock Island, Illinois, consisting of a Colonial Revival main house with Prairie School details, a servants house, and a carriage house. The main house was built in 1907 to designs by local architect George Stauduhar.","why_significant":"The house is tied to Minnie Potter, who lived there from 1907 until her death in 1936 and guided The Rock Island Argus newspaper to security and regional prominence. Under her leadership the paper outlasted its local rivals and helped bring down crime boss John Looney. The nomination argues significance in the area of Communications at the local level.","narrative":"Three buildings on 7th Avenue in Rock Island make up this property: a stucco main house, a servants house, and a carriage house. The main house, completed in 1907, was designed by local architect George Stauduhar. It combines Colonial Revival features, such as a dentil frieze, Tuscan columns, and a Palladian window, with Prairie School leaded-glass windows and two-tone stucco. The servants house dates to about 1900 and predates the main house, while the carriage house was built or moved to the site around the same time as the house. The property was home to Minnie Potter from 1907 until her death in 1936. After her husband's death in 1898 she led the J. W. Potter Company, publisher of The Rock Island Argus. Under her management the paper grew from about 400 subscribers to many thousands, absorbed its rival The Rock Island Union in 1920, and campaigned against crime figure John Looney. That role in local communications is the basis for the listing.","period_of_significance":"1907 - 1936","architect_builder":"Stauduhar, George","architectural_style":"Late 19th and early 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival, blended with Prairie School details","criteria":["B"],"status_note":"The form states the property is believed to retain its original appearance; current functions are listed as single dwelling and hotel.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.67097-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/87/8939/28893987/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/89000364.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000364/d0e9e0b558-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000364/d0e9e0b558-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Potter_House_RI_IL.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Potter_House_RI_IL.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893987","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potter_House_(Rock_Island,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14688034"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/rock-island-county/potter-house-89000364/"}