Ambrose Hall (Davenport, Iowa)
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Ambrose Hall
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Ambrose Hall in 2014
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| Location | 518 W. Locust St. Davenport, Iowa |
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| Coordinates | 41°32′20″N 90°34′51″W / 41.53889°N 90.58083°WCoordinates: 41°32′20″N 90°34′51″W / 41.53889°N 90.58083°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1885-1912 |
| Architect | Victor Huot |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| NRHP Reference # | 77000553 |
| Added to NRHP | April 11, 1977 |
Ambrose Hall, located in Davenport, Iowa, United States, is the first building constructed on the campus of St. Ambrose University. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
St. Ambrose University was founded in 1882 by John McMullen, the first bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport. The school initially held classes in two classrooms in the school building at St. Margaret’s Cathedral. The desire, however, was for the school to have a campus and a building of its own.
The school was formally incorporated as a "seminary" in 1885, however, its mission was never exclusively considered as a place that trained future priests. Instead, it was considered a "Catholic school for advanced studies". Courses were taught in the humanities, sciences and in business as well as theology. The school, in a sense, pioneered the concept of educating future priests and allowing them to reside with young men who might they might serve one day as their parish priests. It was typical at that time to cloister seminarians at an early age away and educating them separately from other people. The institutions name was changed to St. Ambrose College in 1908 and St. Ambrose University in 1987.
Bishop Henry Cosgrove, McMullen's successor, initially chose the corner of Eighth and Ripley Streets as the new location for the school, as it would be convenient for the day students. However, others suggested Noel's Grove along Locust Street as a possible location. Cosgrove was familiar with the location as he had held parish picnics at the location when he was the pastor at St. Margaret's. He was concerned that the location was too isolated and inaccessible, and Locust Street was not a decent roadway. In the end, convinced that the location was accessible by way of the Brady Street car line, Cosgrove bought Noel's Grove (renamed Moeller Grove in April, 2013). The cost for purchasing the property and building the central section of the building amounted to $20,000.Aloysius Schulte, the college president, and James Davis, the cathedral rector, toured the diocese to solicit funds for the project.
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