Lewis M. Glenn
29 YOA
Zion Lutheran Church
West 8th and Taylor streets
Davenport, IA
Scott County
Case Number: 2002-31717
August 5, 2002
At twenty minutes to midnight on Monday, August 5, 2002, 29-year-old Lewis M. Glenn was shot dead in the parking lot of Zion Lutheran Church at West 8th and Taylor streets in Davenport, Iowa. Police believe a dark blue vehicle with a tinted back window was involved.
The Glenn murder was just one of many acts of violence that plagued the west Davenport neighborhood. Much of the trouble originated at the notorious Chief Tavern at the corner of West 8th and Fillmore streets near the church.
Courtesy photo Carroll Daily Times HeraldThe Chief had served patrons for 75 years. In its early days, it was a friendly and safe neighborhood “watering hole” with baroque light fixtures from the old Davenport Columbia Vaudeville House and a huge wooden arched bar.
But as time passed, violence increased inside the tavern and spilled out into the surrounding neighborhood. An unsavory and unruly crowd gathered there and some believed the tavern was connected to the local drug trade.
Not long before The Chief closed permanently in September of 2002, a man fired three shots inside the tavern – none struck a patron but one dented the brass beer tapper — and then robbed the cash register of $500. In the previous eight months, police were called there 74 times.
After the closure, the Zion Lutheran Church rented the property and transformed it into Noah’s Ark Community Coffeehouse. Church members patched 8 bullet holes in the walls, tore up the beer-soaked floor, and painted and repainted the nicotine-stained walls. Bright flowers were planted in front where cigarette butts and broken glass once littered the sidewalk.
Bagels, hot chocolate, and coffee were served from the old bar, which was renamed “the counter.” There were flowers at tables where rowdy patrons once sat and a donated organ and piano replaced a dice table.
Drinking, drug activity, and gambling gave way to knitting classes, video and television watching, bingo, and quiet conversations with religious overtones.
In August 2008, the former tavern became home to the True Faith Deliverance Ministries Churches, lead by Pastor Elizabeth Sanders, while the group was waiting for a permanent location.
Ironically, Lewis Glenn’s tragic murder may have changed the violent behavior in the neighborhood and helped create positive changes that made it safer for families and businesses.
A year after Lewis Glenn’s murder, the Zion Lutheran Church held a memorial cookout in his honor.
If you have any information about the 2002 murder of Lewis Glenn, contact the Davenport Police Department at 563-326-7979. If you wish to remain anonymous, call the Quad Cities Crime Stoppers at 563 -762-9500. There is a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.
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