Facilities
The Rivermont Collegiate campus is located on the corner of 18th Street and Sunset Drive in Bettendorf, Iowa. The entrance to the campus is on Sunset Drive while the exit opens onto Mississippi Blvd. Situated on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River the campus provides a beautiful, quiet setting for students to focus on learning, engage in nature study, and enjoy playgrounds and playing fields.
- Mansion-- houses the administrative offices of the school, the Middle School Commons and classrooms, and Upper School English, Science and Foreign Languages.
- Carriage House--home to Rivermont’s visual arts and music classrooms and studios.
- Becherer Hall--built in 2001 and is home to the Early and Lower School classrooms, the cafeteria, auditorium and Central Hall. Becherer Hall also serves as the main entrance into the gymnasium located on the lower level.
- Wallace House-- contains the Upper School math and social studies classrooms, the Deans’ office, a study room and a student lounge.
- Early School playground--fenced and accessible from their classrooms.
- Lower School playground--adjacent to the soccer field near the entrance to the campus.
- Terraces-- on the south side of the Mansion; provide a space for play, exercise and fair weather class gatherings.
- Parking--available in one of two parking lots: one at the entrance to the campus and the second behind Becherer Hall.
Campus Map
Rentals
Unparalleled Charm-Affordable Price: Whether you are planning a lustrous wedding affair or a polished corporate soiree, The Bettendorf Mansion and surrounding landscape provides the ideal backdrop....at a price that spares the piggy bank.
The Bettendorf Mansion is an equisite, elegant historical landmark situated atop a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. The Mansion has been the site for numerous corporate gatherings, weddings, receptions, banquets, meetings and artistic perfomances. Call or e-mail Tina Fulcher for tours, reservations and an event consultation.
Tina Fulcher
fulcher@rvmt.org
(563) 359-1366 x315
Event Photographs
Historic Bettendorf Mansion
Joseph W. Bettendorf, head of the Bettendorf Company, built his English manor style home on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in 1915. He hired noted architect Arthur H. Ebeling to design and build his dream home for his family and to entertain railroad magnates from the east. Mr. Bettendorf maintained a close eye on all aspects of design and construction. Hasselgren Studios of Chicago was hired as the overall decorator. The foyer and breakfast room ceilings were painted in their studios and shipped by rail to the mansion. Some rugs were specially ordered by Mr. Bettendorf and took over two years to complete in the Orient. Construction of the exterior was done by plant employees with all bricks on the mansion measured to be exactly the same size with uniform grout lines. Italian and German craftsmen were brought to the mansion to carve the woodwork and inlays on-site.
The 28-room mansion is 150 feet in length and has three floors and a full basement, for a total of 21,000 square feet of finished space. In addition to the mansion, the original estate, which covered 24 acres, consisted of a large greenhouse, a carriage house, a bath house and pool, a large guesthouse, and numerous formal gardens. The building was ahead of its time in many ways: base electrical outlets, metal lathe when wood was standard, slate roof with copper gutters, steel I-beams throughout the house for extra support, heating and plumbing enclosed in the walls, and a central vacuum system.The mansion remained a residence of the Bettendorf family until it was sold to Marist Society in 1959 when it was used as a seminary. In 1973, St. Katharine’s-St. Mark’s School purchased the mansion and carriage house and moved the school from Davenport. The school built a gymnasium in 1975 and Becherer Hall in 2001. In 1981, the school purchased the former guest house to house the Upper School. In 2002, the school was renamed Rivermont Collegiate since the school was no longer affiliated with any religious organization. Today only the mansion, carriage house and guest house remain on 8.57 acres of the original estate. In 1984 the Bettendorf mansion was recognized for its historical significance to the people of Iowa and was entered in the National Register of Historic Places.
Historical Photographs
