What to See in Rock Island - Top Sights and Attractions

The Downtown Rock Island Historic District is a national historic district encompassing 82.3 acres in downtown Rock Island, Illinois. The oldest buildings in the district are from the 1860s, two decades after Rock Island's founding, and buildings from then until 1969 can be found in the district, making it reflective of the city's development over time. The majority of the buildings in the district are commercial buildings, as downtown Rock Island has historically been the city's commercial center; these include several building types, mainly one-part and two-part commercial blocks, designed in a wide variety of the architectural styles popular in the late nineteenth and early to mid twentieth centuries. The district was also historically the center of Rock Island's social life, and many theaters and clubhouses for social organizations can be found in the district. Several of Rock Island's major government buildings, including the city hall and old county courthouse, are also part of the district.

The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 13, 2020.^[2]

Botanical garden in Rock Island, Illinois. The Quad City Botanical Center is a set of botanical gardens located next to the Mississippi River at 2525 4th Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois. It is open daily except major holidays; an admission fee is charged.

The center opened on June 20, 1998. Its gardens include:

• Sun Garden conservatory (6,444 square feet) - includes sweet acacia, allspice, arrowhead, bamboo, banana, bird of paradise, bromeliads, cacao, cardamom, cassava, coconut, coffee, ferns, frangipani, Arabian jasmine, lychee, orchids, palms, papaya, papyrus, pineapple, sapodilla, vanilla, and ylang-ylang, as well as a 14-foot (4.3 m) waterfall, reflecting pools with koi, and a 70-foot (21 m) skylight.
• Scott County Regional Authority Conifer Garden (established 2001) - over 40 conifers from the collection of Justin C. Harper, including cultivars such as Ginkgo biloba 'Todd's Broom', Taxus cuspidate 'Fastigiate Aurea', and Thuja standishii.
• Physically Challenged Garden (established July 2003) - planting beds at varying heights for gardeners with physical limitations.
• Scrambled Alphabet Garden - for children.

Museum. John Hauberg Museum of Native American Life is located in the Black Hawk Museum and Lodge at Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. The museum is in a historic building that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It is part of the Illinois State Park Lodges and Cabins Thematic Resources.

The park was established in 1927 and the lodge was built in 1934 as a project of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The museum itself opened in the lodge in 1939 with a collection started by Dr. John Hauberg, a Rock Island philanthropist. The museum interprets the story of the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes that lived in the area in a village called the Saukenuk. It was considered one of the largest Native American villages in North America. The collection includes winter and summer houses used by the tribes, and dioramas that depict the lives of the people who lived here from 1750-1830. Artifacts include authentic trade goods, jewelry, and domestic items.^[7]