A 1906-era postcard of the Market Square building in Rock Island shows Market Square's surroundings on 17th Street, looking south from 2nd to 3rd avenues.

In contrast to other city ``squares'' which were intended as parks, Market Square's original purpose was as a market, a place where farmers could sell their products -- corn, potatoes, hay. With a railroad station only a block away at the foot of 17th Street, farm items easily could be shipped out of the area.

Neither its name nor address was unique.

Moline had its own Market Square, at the identical address of Rock Island's -- 17th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. (Note that the street numbering system used today was not adopted in the early days of either of these cities.)

Market Square wasn't really a square, but a triangle. It was not landscaped, and consisted of mostly open space. Its most important improvement was a water pump. In 1868, the editor of the Rock Island Daily Union said the city should put a town pump here, preferably in a ``neat, durable'' enclosure with four entrances and a ``tasteful and ornamental'' roof, and noted that water would be useful to farmers and handy in case of fire.

In 1874, only a few years after city water mains had been installed but before river water was purified, a drinking fountain and horse trough were installed. Folks were pleased with the result, but noted that the trough was too small. An early picture shows a small one-story building with a big bell on the roof. It was replaced some years later with the more impressive structure shown on our postcard.

What went on in the buildings surrounding Market Square? The street level stores housed plumbers and restaurants, saloons and harnessmakers, gunsmiths and more saloons.

Then there were the hotels. Originally, the hotels were used by the farmers and other transients who came to town. Single men maintained permanent residence in a hotel. But as the century advanced, some hotels deteriorated into little more than brothels or gambling houses.

The large building in the left foreground of our postcard is the Bengston Block, and still is standing although missing its top three stories. Next to it is a towered building that operated as a saloon for many years.

Beyond is a streetcar barn, which later became a feed and seed store. The upper stories of the four tall buildings at the far end of the block were hotels with names that changed every few years. Among the names used were Commercial, Independent, Pullman, Richardson, Market Square, Ritz, and on the far corner, the Sherman.

The old Sherman Hotel site now is a parking lot, but the other three hotels still are standing, one with an added story, all with changed cornices.

On the west side of the street (right on our postcard), the large building in the foreground was the Schafer House hotel. It was removed in the late teens for an Illinois Oil Products gas station. The other multi-story buildings offered even more hotel space on the upper floors.

By the 1920s, the fancy Market Square pump building on the postcard had been removed and only a drinking fountain and small watering trough remained. Photos taken in the 1930s show Market Square as mostly a large parking lot, its market function no longer needed.

In 1964, the buildings on the west were razed so a new Sheraton Hotel could be built. The new hotel also covered half the old market area leaving only a street width open.

At first glance, the story of Market Square is just that of a utilitarian trading area that outlived its utility. But there was a bloody history to Market Square as well. John Looney is the man credited with that crimson image.

In the first quarter of the 20th Century, Mr. Looney published the Rock Island News -- yellow journalism at its worst -- for the purpose of blackmailing local citizens. If a man didn't give in to Looney's demands for payment, he would find his name in the paper, libelously claiming he was involved in some scurrilous dealings.

John Looney was involved in other illicit vices, from prostitution to gambling, with murder, mayhem and revenge added as required. Many local politicians and policemen were on his payroll. His story -- what we know of it -- is too long to tell here. But two major events in Market Square involved John Looney.

In 1912, the square was the scene of a huge riot as Looney's henchmen got 1,500 people attending a rally in the square angry enough to storm city hall to protest Looney's beating at the hands of Mayor Harry Schriver. Ultimately, martial law was proclaimed, with 600 militiamen arriving to bring peace to Rock Island.

Mr. Looney's other bloodshed in the square took place on Oct. 6, 1922, when four of his former friends and partners in crime turned against him. They went to the Sherman Hotel -- a gang hangout which Looney owned -- intending to gun down him and his bodyguard son, Connor. John Looney escaped, but Connor died in the shootout.

The four men were captured and sent to prison, while Mr. Looney escaped to his ranch in New Mexico. After he was charged with conspiracy, ``Wanted'' posters were posted near his known hangouts. A New Mexico neighbor recognized him on a poster, and he was arrested.

He was returned to Rock Island for trial and sent to jail in 1925 with a sentence of 14 years. Although eventually released, he never returned or achieved his former notoriety.

The Sherman Hotel must have gained a bad reputation as a result of the shootout, too. Although still a hotel, the address no longer was listed as 17th Street, instead it used the entrance on 3rd Avenue. Its name changed as well from Sherman to Richardson. Fifteen years later, the address once again was listed as 17th Street.

It's also interesting that in the early 1920s, the Sherman House held a ``Java House'' in its 17th Street and 3rd Avenue corner. However, whether it specialized in coffee or other ``beverages'' during these early prohibition days is open to speculation.

Perhaps John Looney had the last laugh. His nefarious legend has been the inspiration for books and film. ``Road to Perdition,'' a movie starring Paul Newman, Tom Hanks and Jude Law, is being released this week. It's based on a novel written by Max Alan Collins and is a very loose interpretation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Connor Looney.

If you attend the opening evening of Summerfest Thursday in The District, there will be lots more Looney lore. Trolley tours of Looney-related sites, folks wearing 1920s garb (How about dressing up yourself!), and Looney memorabilia all will be featured.

Postcards from Home features vintage Rock Island postcards with text that has been researched and prepared by the Rock Island Preservation Society as a public service. Readers are invited to make suggestions to The Dispatch and Rock Island Argus for this series.