Floreciente

Traditionally called the “West End,” this area hosted 19th and early 20th century immigrants from several countries—Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, and Italy among them—most of whom came to work in the nearby factories. A neighborhood business district developed along 4th Avenue, the route of the trolley line to Rock Island. Among the early 20th century immigrants were a few Mexicans who came primarily for work as railroad laborers. The small Mexican community persisted and by the early 1950s the neighborhood theatre was showing movies in Spanish. Beginning in the 1980s many more people arrived from Mexico, drawn by jobs in meatpacking and the service sector. In 1992 the neighborhood took on the name Floreciente and today has a neighborhood association. With assistance from the City of Moline, the neighborhood has undergone significant revitalization.

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