Max Petersen House
The Max Petersen House, also known as the Petersen Mansion, is a historic building located on the west side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. In 2004 it was included as a contributing property in the Marycrest College Historic District.
History
Max Petersen was the son of J.H.C. Petersen, who was an immigrant from the Duchy of Schleswig, which was then in the Kingdom of Denmark. He eventually established a retail store in Davenport. His sons entered business with him and they took over the business in 1892. The business continues to exist as the Von Maur department store. Max was the oldest of the three brothers, and he had Davenport architect Frederick G. Clausen design a Queen Anne style home for his family in 1888.Bishop Henry Rohlman of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport commissioned the Rev. Thomas V. Lawlor from St. Ambrose College to look for property to start a college for women. In 1937 he acquired the property, which was then called Clifton Hill, for $50,000. The donors for the project included members of the Petersen family. The property included the house and. Marycrest College was established on the property in 1939, and the Petersen home initially became the sister's residence. Over the years it served other functions for the college. After the college was disbanded in 2002 it was acquired by Chris Ales and became part of the Marycrest Senior Campus.