Former QC newspaper building comes down, plans unclear
A once major part of Quad Cities media history is being torn down.
The eastern edge of the former headquarters of Moline Dispatch Publishing Company, 1720 5th Ave., Moline, is being demolished by Valley Construction. Ryan Hvitløk, Moline’s community and economic development director, said Monday that the demolition permit is only for the eastern 130 feet of the building.
While there has been talk of redevelopment of the rest of the building for apartments, the city has not received any plans on what is proposed for the property at this time, he said.
“My understanding is that they are preparing the site for additional parking, to serve a future unknown redevelopment of the site,” Hvitløk said Monday.
The former newspaper building (once home to The Dispatch•Argus•QCOnline) has been vacant since late 2017. The media company announced in September 2017 that it would move to East Moline, at 1033 7th St., the home of East Moline Glass Co.
Long owned by the Small Newspaper Group, the paper announced June 19, 2017 that Davenport-based Lee Enterprises Inc., the owner of the Quad-City Times, agreed to purchase the assets of The Dispatch•Argus•QCOnline for $7.15 million. Those assets did not include the downtown Moline building that had housed The Dispatch since 1922.
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“We were determined to remain an integral part of the Illinois Quad-Cities,” Times publisher Debbie Anselm said on Sept. 1, 2017. “Since we announced the purchase, we have emphasized that the Dispatch•Argus•QCOnline and The Quad City Times would remain independent publications.
“Today’s announcement underscores both tenets — that the newspapers will remain independent of each other and Dispatch•Argus•QCOnline will remain in Illinois,” she said.
The Dispatch and Rock Island Argus (whose old building also remains vacant at 1724 4th Ave., Rock Island) were longtime competing papers, until Small Newspaper Group bought the Argus in 1986, and both papers switched from evening to morning publication in September 1995.
Lee Enterprises consolidated operations of the Dispatch/Argus in 2019 at the Quad-City Times building, 500 E. 3rd St., Davenport.
Retired former Dispatch/Argus editor John Beydler wrote of his old Moline office building in a July 16 Facebook post:
“I worked in it for nearly 45 years but I have no particular affection for it, beyond noting that some first rate journalists worked in it over the decades, putting out a damn good newspaper. A shadow of The Dispatch is still published in some other town but it is of little more importance to the community than this abandoned building. Sad times.”
A former business editor, Steve Jagler, posted:
“The building itself was nondescript as can be. The newsroom didn’t even have a window. We had to walk back into the library to see if it was snowing. But this is hallowed ground nonetheless … simply because of the talents and dedication of the journalists who thrived there.”
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