The Rock Island Line may have been a “mighty good road”, but the Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific passenger station in its namesake city is surprisingly humble. Built in 1902 and designed by Frost & Granger out of Chicago, this was the CRI&P’s third (and final) passenger depot in Rock Island.

A flamboyant brick and terracotta movie theater opened in 1921, the Fort Armstrong Theater is a preservation success story from an era where those were rare for small cities like Rock Island.