HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A 1922 Masonic Temple repurposed as a chiropractic history museum, with campus-documented reports of footsteps and phantom voices on the upper floors
115 W 17th Street, Davenport, IA 52803
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Palmer Family and Chiropractic History Museum — contact college for admission details
Access
Wheelchair OK
Urban campus building with elevator access
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1922 · 1922 Masonic Temple — silent film venue and lodge hall · Palmer College acquisition 1998 — conversion to Chiropractic History Museum · Palmer College of Chiropractic — world's oldest chiropractic institution, founded 1897
The building at 115 W 17th Street was completed in 1922 to serve as a Masonic Temple for Davenport's Masonic lodges. In addition to private lodge functions, the hall hosted public events including silent film screenings during the 1920s, a common secondary use for large assembly halls in that era. The lodge's activity declined through the mid-20th century and the building sat largely vacant for several decades.
Palmer College of Chiropractic acquired the structure in 1998 and undertook renovation work to convert it into the Palmer Family and Chiropractic History Museum, now officially named Vickie Anne Palmer Hall. The museum documents the founding of chiropractic medicine by Daniel David Palmer, who developed his theories and began treating patients in Davenport in the 1890s. The college—the oldest chiropractic institution in the world, founded 1897—traces its direct lineage to D.D. Palmer's original Davenport practice.
The building's identity as a former Masonic hall has attracted attention from paranormal investigators and local history enthusiasts, who associate Masonic lodges with esoteric ritual and, sometimes, residual activity. The Darker Side of Davenport ghost tours have cited seances historically documented in connection with the Palmer campus as part of their interpretive narrative.
Sources
Reported activity at Vickie Anne Palmer Hall centers on the upper floors of the former Masonic Temple section. Claims include disembodied footsteps heard in otherwise empty corridors, phantom voices captured on recording equipment, and objects found displaced from where they were left. Some visitors describe the sensation of being touched by an unseen presence, a report more common in buildings associated with gathering spaces or ceremonial rooms.
The building's prior identity as a Masonic lodge is frequently invoked in paranormal accounts, with investigators speculating that lodge rituals or the emotional intensity of fraternal ceremonies might contribute to reported activity. No independent verification of specific incidents has been published in local news sources.
The Palmer campus's broader association with paranormal lore—including references to seances documented in Davenport ghost tour materials—gives Vickie Anne Palmer Hall a supporting role in the city's dark tourism circuit even if the hall itself lacks a singular documented incident.
The museum inside Vickie Anne Palmer Hall traces the founding of chiropractic medicine by D.D. Palmer in Davenport. The 1922 Masonic Temple building itself is part of the interpretive story, with exhibits on the Palmer family's century of influence on the profession.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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