Project Detail
As an integral component of Moline’s Riverfront Civic Renewal Project, the John Deere Commons has invited citizens and tourists to its downtown locale. The area is a combination of office space, shopping, entertainment, and restaurants, and the name is really just the term to identify them all. The John Deere Pavilion is the centerpiece of this designated area as it brings in those looking to catch a glimpse of the famous green and yellow machines.
Opening in August of 1997, the John Deere Commons was designed to be a showpiece and attraction for downtown Moline. Today, the Commons, as it is most commonly referred to, encompasses several structures including:
- The TaxSlayer Center
- Radisson on the Commons
- Centre Station
- The John Deere Pavilion & Store
The John Deere Pavilion is a massive open structure that houses some of the oldest and some of the newest John Deere equipment ever made. The mix of history and history-making is enjoyable for the many tourists that fill in throughout the year. Outside, during the months of April through September, the Pavilion displays some of John Deere’s largest machines from combines to bulldozers.
The John Deere Store is connected to the Pavilion and provides a large variety of John Deere merchandise. The area has become known to the locals as “The Commons” as made more ubiquitous by the annual “Lighting of the Commons” holiday event where the large Christmas Tree and surrounding shrubbery are illuminated all at once during the celebration.
According to Deere & Company’s website:
“To date, the John Deere Pavilion has attracted over one and a half million guests from over 50 countries and all 50 states. It has become the Quad Cities’ most popular tourist attraction and is now recognized as one of Illinois’ top five tourist attractions.
The John Deere Pavilion and John Deere Commons projects have drawn on the combined efforts and support of federal, state, and local officials. It is a great example of a public-private partnership that can help a city develop an attraction that will benefit an entire community socially and economically for years to come.”