New Bix Museum Location to Hold Grand Opening Friday in Davenport
The Bix Beiderbecke Museum will have its grand opening celebration in the City Square Building at 112 W. 2nd St., Davenport, on Friday, July 24th from 3-5 p.m. You can see the new museum with light refreshments and live 78-rpm record spinning.
The museum (across the street from its old location) opened its doors by appointment in early June and has since begun regular hours leading up to Bix 7 Weekend.
“Our goal is to reintroduce the museum to the Quad Cities community this summer, with our official grand opening Bix 7 weekend, July 24th and 25th, to welcome the tens of thousands of people who will be downtown for the yearly race bearing his namesake,” said museum director Nathaniel Kraft.
Bix (1903-1931) is the legendary jazz cornetist, pianist and composer who was born in Davenport and is buried at Oakdale Memorial Gardens. The summer jazz festival named in his honor launched in 1971 and the seven-mile road race started in 1975.
The new museum is open Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and by appointment on the weekends. The museum honors the life and music of Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke and features many original artifacts related to Beiderbecke and his colleagues. The museum takes the visitor chronologically through the life of Bix. His jazz music is featured throughout the museum, along with videos, interactive displays, and photos.
The Bix Museum will have a grand opening Friday afternoon, July 24, with Bix 7 runners eligible for free admission all this week.
The relocation was made possible through a capital campaign from private donors and grants from the Regional Development Authority, the Scott County Regional Authority, and the Downtown Davenport Partnership. The Bix Museum is still accepting donations to further exhibit development and volunteers who can help at the admissions desk. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Nate Kraft at director@bixmuseum.org or visit the museum’s website at www.bixmuseum.org.
While historically a free museum, the Bix Museum has moved to an admission price to provide more stable funding for its operations. The new admission is $8 for adults; $5 for seniors, students, and children 5-17; and free for museum members, military, veterans, and children under 5. The museum has group rates and special deals available through partners.
As a special promotion, Bix 7 runners can bring their race bibs in for free admission Bix 7 Weekend. The race takes place Saturday morning, July 25.
A scene in the new home of the Bix Beiderbecke Museum in downtown Davenport recreates the stage Bix played in 1926, in Hudson Lake, Indiana, with a painting by Bruce Walters of Davenport in the background. Walters painted the mural for a similar scene at the old museum in the lower level of the Redstone Building. (photo by Jonathan Turner)
As the Bix Museum settles into its new home, a project transforming the permanent exhibit with a rotational gallery has begun.
“The museum has consistently added new artifacts to the permanent collection each year since 2020,” says Kraft. “A rotational gallery will provide the opportunity to show artifacts that don’t fit the main exhibit and better collaborate with like-minded organizations on joint projects in the future.”
The first exhibit on the history of the Bix Festival, featuring memorabilia, videos, photographs, and artifacts from musicians and attendees from past festivals all the way back to the first concert at Bix’s gravesite in 1971, will be on display starting Bix weekend and through the rest of the year.
Opening in 2017 in the lower level of the then-River Music Experience (today’s Common Chord), the Bix Museum is the premier location in the QC to learn about the life and legacy of legendary Davenport native Bix Beiderbecke. The museum is accompanied by the most extensive archive resource on Bix in the world and serves to preserve and teach that knowledge to future generations.
Over a year ago, the Bix Museum (which over the years had experienced flooding at the old space) closed to begin the lengthy task of relocating to a new home and after a $100,000 renovation (in space across the street formerly occupied by Junior Achievement).
The new spot also helps the museum be more visible, at street level.
Bix Museum director Nate Kraft, pictured in the new museum June 5, 2026. (photo by Jonathan Turner)
“I’ve had people that are, like, actively looking for the museum. They can’t find us,” Kraft said of the old spot. “I think the fact that we’re now visible, I mean, hopefully we’ll see it with the (Bix 7) race this year. Last year it rained, so there wasn’t too many people outside during the race that weekend, outside of the runners, obviously.”
“Second Street is where everyone, once they’re done racing and done seeing, at the end of the race, they’re told to walk down 2nd Street to go find their car, because they’re all parked down River Drive somewhere. So we have hundreds of people that weekend, maybe thousands, that walk down 2nd Street and, we put a sign out, hey, museum’s open.”
“They’re going to see Bix’s name, they’re going to see photos of him and stuff. And they’re going to kind of go, oh, there’s a museum,” Kraft said. “I’m sure people have come down the street so many times and have seen nothing going on in this building. And now that things are happening and the first time since Junior Achievement was here, this building is occupied, or at least this part of the building.”
The new museum is a bit larger – now 2,300 square feet, from 1,600 square feet, the new space mostly devoted to the new lobby, and some additional exhibit space, with a higher ceiling. Kraft said they’re still using the lower level at Redstone Building for storage and office space.
This will be the first time they’ve charged admission, which will be free for museum members (of which there are just about 50, starting at $25 per year).
“I think now that with us opening and stuff, and now that we have an admission, there’s more of a reason to become a member because membership starts at $25 and you get a shirt or calendar for signing up,” Kraft said. “Basically just for visiting the museum, the membership is kind of paid for. You know, it basically I would say that like a family of five and they came in, it’s probably about the same to get a membership as your trip with everything you get.”
“It helps us support us long term. But that’s kind of how we’re viewing it is we’re really going to try to get people to join and become longtime supporters,” he added. “Hopefully we can bring them back. And we’re always adding things to the museum. We’re always growing the collection.”
The Bix Museum’s new space first opened regularly in early June 2026, after closing a year before, eight years after operating in the lower level of Common Chord, 2nd and Main streets. (photo by Jonathan Turner)
That includes most of the Bix-related items owned by the late Bill Donahoe, who passed away in 2011, and his daughters contacted the museum to donate after his house was sold a couple years ago, Kraft said. That includes many records and a large red nylon banner for Donahoe’s Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Band, which will be displayed in the museum lobby.
Donahoe (of New Jersey) became a passionate fan of the cornetist – from 1965 to 1982, he and his wife hosted gatherings known as Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Stomps at their home, attracting 200 musicians, friends and jazz fans.
In 1971, the 40th anniversary of Bix’s death, Donahoe (who played washboard) and several notable musicians came to Davenport for “One Time Only” to play, in tribute, at Bix’s grave at Oakdale Memorial Gardens. It spawned the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Band and the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society, the Bix jazz fest and the annual Bix 7 Road Race.
The museum has a map of spots related to Bix in Manhattan, New York City. (photo by Jonathan Turner)
Though the museum has moved out of the Common Chord building, the Bix Society has formally merged with Common Chord, to operate under their umbrella.
“There’s always been kind of that close intermingling where we’ve been the tenants of Common Chord. But the big thing with the society is they were all volunteer run and these were just people that loved Bix and they wanted to put on a jazz festival,” Kraft said.
“None of them have professional experience with running things. They’re just doing it. Whereas Common Chord has. They have about a dozen employees and concerts is their bread and butter.”
Part of the displays in the newly relocated Bix Beiderbecke Museum in downtown Davenport, 112 W. 2nd St.
Downtown Davenport will come alive with other race-related events this week, including:
- Hilltop Brady Street Party, Thursday, July 23, 5 – 9 p.m., MLK Park, 501 Brady St.
Celebrate the sprinters, enjoy refreshments from food trucks and listen to live music from The Zach Harris Band.
- Bix Jazz & Family Jam, Friday, July 24, 4 – 7:30 p.m., Kaiserslautern Square, 119 E. 3rd
Kick off Bix weekend with live jazz, local eats and family-friendly fun. This free event celebrates the musical legacy of Bix Beiderbecke with performances by the Ron Tegeler Jazz Trio and The Blackhawk Broadcasters. Enjoy local food vendors and a variety of free family activities including caricatures, balloon art, face painting, magic and more.
- Bix Mix Street Party, Friday, July 24, 7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m., Saturday, July 25 starting at 11 a.m., 3rdSt. between Ripley & Harrison
The Bix Mix Street Party brings live music, vendors, food and drinks to W. 3rd St. throughout race weekend. Expect great music, dancing and a Downtown Davenport vibe that stretches late into the night. Highlights include:
- Friday night band, Dirt Road Rockers, 7:30 – 10:30 p.m., free admission
- Saturday, QC Rock Academy on the outdoor stage beginning at 11 a.m.; most businesses along W. 3rd Street open early
- Saturday night, Wyatt Weipert and For Those About to Yacht at 6 p.m., admission $10
- Saturday headliner and last show of the evening, Pork Tornadoes
The 55th-annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival will be July 30 to Aug. 2, 2026. For a full schedule of activities, click HERE.
To learn more about the museum’s plan and how to visit or help out, visit www.bixmuseum.org.
Bix’s grave at Oakdale Memorial Gardens, Davenport.
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