In 1838 -- 10 years before Moline officially incorporated as a town -- David B. Sears and others started building a brush dam near the present 15th Street.

The dam helped power a sawmill, flour mill, machine shop and foundry -- all built by Sears. It also furnished power for a small furniture factory and helped attract blacksmith John Deere, who established a plow factory on the banks of the Mississippi in 1847.

Deere took advantage of water power from the Mississippi River to make his plows. This is where John Deere's vision took shape, where his pioneering steel plow changed the shape of agriculture -- the home of Deere & Co. for 150 years.

Deere & Co. got involved in the late 1980s to help redevelop vacant areas of downtown Moline, and has invested a massive $43 million in the Renew Moline development program. When consolidation and modernization made many area factories obsolete, Deere & Co. donated 24 acres for development of the Commons.

The Commons opens

John Deere Commons, which opened in Moline in 1997, is the area's newest hub for downtown activity near the Mississippi River. The investment in downtown Moline offered a key example of how corporations can help taxpayers combat urban sprawl, according to a national group of city and county environmental managers.

The thrust behind the recent development was to honor Moline's heritage and help ensure the prosperity of The Mark of the Quad-Cities, an 11,000-seat area and convention center that opened at River Drive and 12th Street in 1993.

At the heart of this area where Deere smokestacks once rose is the John Deere Pavilion, a $7 million, 14,000-square-foot exhibition hall which pays tribute to the company's rich heritage. It offers interactive displays about agriculture and models of modern-day and vintage John Deere equipment. Pavilion hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 12:30 to 5 p.m. on Sunday; phone 765-1000.

Next to the pavilion is John Deere Health Care's headquarters. On the first floor is the John Deere Store, where people can shop for apparel, miniature tractors and other John Deere merchandise.

Other features of the area, which is still being redeveloped, include a six-story, 160-room Radisson Hotel; a TGI Friday's restaurant; and an 8,000-square-foot ground-transportation center with a two-level, 300-space parking ramp on the top. Total cost of these projects is about $50 million.

Centre Station, the Metro Link bus terminal and parking garage, opened at 1200 River Drive. The garage is reserved during business hours for employees of John Deere Health Care next door; it also is used for Mark events. The new 911 dispatch center in the bus terminal opened earlier this year.

Vacant space in the terminal occasionally has been used for public meetings, forums, and children's activities. Centre Station also houses an art gallery, gift shop and community-policing office.

Retail returns

Several shops and eating and drinking establishments have moved into restored century-old buildings in the area as well, centered on River Drive at 14th Street.

Isabel Bloom's sculpture studio and retail shop moved this summer from Moline's Olde Towne area to downtown's new Heart of America Restaurants & Inns corporate headquarters, the 100-year-old former Consumers Warehouse at 211 16th St. Once renovations are complete, the building will provide convenience for Isabel Bloom customers and collectors. The new location will provide about 4,500 square feet of retail and storage space for the locally made concrete sculptures, which are sold in gift stores and art galleries nationwide.

Moline officials are seeking 80 percent federal funding of $1.6 million for a new traffic light, pedestrian skywalk, landscaped median and crosswalks at the Commons/Mark area along River Drive, between 12th and 15th streets.

The city has a commitment for $900,000 for the enclosed skywalk, to connect The Mark and the parking garage at Centre Station. The skywalk was first recommended in a 1993 traffic study from Bi-State Regional Commission.

Area restoration continues

Moline's oldest remaining commercial buildings are in the 400 and 500 blocks of 12th and 13th streets. The Birdsell Chiropractic building at 1201 and 1209 5th Ave. dates from 1845 and was a grocery store until the 1920s.

Some of the historic buildings that have been restored include Model Printers (1872), Finney's Bar & Grill (1884), Renew Moline (1885), Killir Outdoor Sports (1889), Gatsby's (1896), Moline Club (1912), LeClaire Apartments (1922), C'est Michele (1922) and Bent River Brewing Company (1922).

Perhaps the oldest continuously operated downtown business is Lagomarcino's, which has occupied a 1902 building on 5th Avenue since 1918.