Revised Architectural/Historical Survey
Planning Services Department
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864
Phone(319)589~10
Fax (319) 589-4149
5~~~E
~ck~
June 23, 2000
The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
City of Dubuque
City Hall - 50 W. 13th Street
Dubuque IA 52001
SUBJECT: Revised Survey Report on Architectural/Historical Resources
Dear Mayor and City Council Members:
This letter transmits the revised Survey Report on the Architectural and Historical Resources of
Dubuque from 1837 -1955, for review and comment by the City Council. The City Council
reviewed the draft report on May 1, 2000.
The report was prepared by James Jacobsen, of History Pays!, the consultant for phases 1 and 2
of the City's architectural/historical survey/evaluation project. As a Certified Local Government
(CLG) with the State Historical Society of Iowa, the City is required to conduct these types of
surveys. Funding for the survey project is a $12,758 CLG grant from the State, and matching CDBG
funds.
Under the terms of the City's grant agreement with the State for this project, the draft and revised
reports are to be reviewed by the City Council, Historic Preservation Commission, and other related
City departments or commissions. The revised report was made available for public review and
comment. The Historic Preservation Commission requested comments from the Dubuque County
Historical Society, the Center for Local History at Loras College, the Community and Economic
Development Department, the Housing Services Department, the Community Development Advisory
Commission and the Housing Commission. No comments were received.
The Historic Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the revised report on June 15, at
which time progress on the project was reviewed and questions about the report were answered.
No public comments were received.
The Commission asked that the buildings which were identified as having been demolished include
the year in which those structures were demolished. The Commission also learned that the clarity
of the photographs will be much clearer in the final report.
The requested action is for the City Council to review the revised report, and then offer any
comments. Comments from the City Council will be included in the Historic Preservation
Commission's correspondence to the consultant and the State regarding the report.
Sincerely,
~lrt~le~
Ken Kringle, Chairperson
Historic Preservation Commission
Enclosure
Service
People
Integrity
Responsibility
Innovation
Teamwork
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v"JL '-', '!',} I\;,V
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03/\/3:.138
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REVISED SURVEY REPORT
THE ARCHITECTURAL AND HISTORICAL
RESOURCES OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
1837 - 1955
Prepared by:
James E. Jacobsen
History Pays!
4411 Ingersoll Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50312
for the
City of Dubuque
Planning Services Department
50 W. 13th Street
Dubuque,IA 52001
and the
State Historical Society of Iowa
600 E. Locust St.
Des Moines, IA 50319
CLG Grant No. 19-99.003
ArchitecturallHistorical Survey !Evaluation
Phase 1
May 7, 2000
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NPS Form 10-900-b
(Oct. 1990)
United States Department of the Interior
NationalPark Service
OMB No. 10024-0018
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National Register of Historic Places
Multiple Property Documentation Form
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This form is for use in documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contects. See instructions in How to Complete the Multiple Property
Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. For
additional space, use continuation sheets (Form 1O-900-a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items.
_X_ New Submission
Amended Submission
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A. Name of Multiole Property Listinl!
The Architectural And Historical Resources of Dubuque, Iowa, 1837-1955
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B. Associated Historical Contexts
(Name each associated historic context, identifying theme, geographical area, and chronological period for each.)
Context #1, Frontier City on the Mississippi River, 1833-1858:
Context #2, The Key City, 1859-1893:
Context #3, Fitful Growth and Maturation, 1893-1910:
Context #4, An Era of Stability, 1910-1955:
Context #5, The Architecture of Dubuque, 1833-1955
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C. Form Prepared Bv
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NametTitle
Organization
Street & Number
City or Town
James E. Jacobsen
History Pays!
4411 Ingersoll Avenue
Des Moines State Iowa
Date May 7. 2000
Telephone (515) 274-3625
Zip Code 50312
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D. Certification
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As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this
documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related
properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements
set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic
Preservation L See continuation sheet for additional comments).
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Signature and title of certifying official
Date
State or Federal agency and bureau
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I hereby certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for
evaluating related properties for listing in the National Register.
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Signature of the Keeper
Date of Action
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Expanded Survey of Davenoort Historic Neighborhoods
Name of Multiple Property Listing
Iowa
State
Table of Contents for Written Narrative
Provide the following information on continuation sheets. Cite the letter and the title before each section of the narrative. Assign
page numbers according to the instructions for continuation sheets in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form
(National Register Bulletin 16B). Fill in page numbers for each in the space below.
Page Numbers
E. Statement of Historic Contexts E-
F. Associated Property Types F-
G. Geographical Data G-
H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods H-
I. Major Bibliographical References 1-
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for
listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with
the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).
Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18. I hours per response including time for reviewing instructions,
gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief,
Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, PapetWork
Reductions Projects (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503.
INTRO D U cn ON : ..................................................................................................................................................................................
1
CONTEXT #1, FRONTIER CITY ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, 1833-1858:..............................................................................9
LEAD MINING AND EARLY TALES: .. .......................... ........ ........... ............ ............ ........... .................. ......................................... .........
10
REGIONAL DOMINANCE AND SELF IMAGE: ..... ...... .... ................... ............ .............. ........... .... ............... ... ..................................... .........
11
RIVER TRAFFIC DOMINATES: ................................................................ ................................... ......... ...................................................
12
MUNICIPAL GROWTH, 1833-1858:... .............. ............................................................... ...... ..... ......... .......................................... .........
14
SERIOUS TOWN BUILDING: .... ........... ................... ... ..................... ............ ............... ... ....... ......... .......... .................................................
17
BANKING AND CAPITAL IN DUBUQUE: ........................................ ............ ...................... ................... ....................................................
20
ETHNICITY AND SETTLEMENT: ................................... ................. ........................ ......................................... ............................ ............22
THE ROLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN DUBUQUE HISTORy:............................................................................................................ 23
EMERGING INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL BASE: .... ..................... .................... ... ....... ... ........ ........ ........................................ ............24
THE RAILROAD ARRIVES AND FOSTERS GROWTH: ...................... .................................. ........ ........... ....................................................24
CONTEXT #2, THE KEY CITY, 1859-1893: ..................................................................................................................................... 26
THE WOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY HAs ITS FIRST BEGINNING: ..........................................................................................................26
INDUSTRY DRIVES MUNICIPAL GROWTH: ........................ ...... ....................... ....... ......................... ................................................... .... 27
WHOLESALING AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT: ....... .................................... ..................... ... .... ... ......... ........ ........ ................. .........29
RIVER TRAFFIC DECLINES IN THE FACE OF RAILROAD DOMINANCE AND GROWTH: ............................................................................ 30
DUBUQUE AS A KEy RAILROAD HUB, BELATED RIVER BRIDGES: .......................................................................................................32
MUNICIPAL GROWTH, 1859-1893: ........ ...... ................................................. ................. ........ ................... .......... ....... .......... .................
33
FITFUL STREETCAR SERVICE: ..... ..... .......... .............................. ...... ................................ ... ..... .... ................ .... ..... ................. ....
............. 40
CAPITAL AND BANKING: ........................... ..... ......................... ........... ........................... ..... ....... ............... ......... ........ .......... .................4
0
ETHNICITY AND DUBUQUE: ......... .............. ..... .................. ........... ....... ..... .,. .................. ....... ...... ......... ................................. ........
.........41
THE CIVIL WAR DIVIDES THE CITY: .....................................................................................................................................................41
REGIONAL AND STATE DOMINANCE:... .......... .............. ...... ............... .......... ................... ........... ............. .................................... ...........
49
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN DUBUQUE: ................................................................................................................................................ 49
CONTEXT #3, DUBUQUE'S GOLDEN AGE, 1893-1910: ............................................................................................................... 51
UNFALTERING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS; WEATHERING THE PANIC OF 1893-94, ...............................................................................52
FIGHTING FOR SECOND PLACE IN STATE POPULATION: ....................................................................................................................... 53
INDUSTRIAL MIGHT AND LABOR STRIFE: ............. .... ................... .... .......... ..................... ........ ......... .... ..... ................................... .........
54
RETAIL TRADE, THE ACHILLES HEEL? ........... .................. .......... ........ ................... ....................... .................................. ......................
58
POLITICAL STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND: .....................................................................................................................................59
MUNICIPAL GROWTH, 1893-1910:..... .............. ........... ...... ................ .......... ........ ....... ......... ................. .......... ..................... .......
.......... 60
THE MATURATION OF STREETCAR SERVICE:.... ................................... ....... ................... ........ .......... ......................... ....... ......... ............
66
MISSISSIPPI RIVER TRAFFIC EBBS: .... ....... ....... .................. ........... .......... ................... ....... ...... ...... ...... ......... .............. .......... ........
...... ... 67
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THE CITY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT IN DUBUQUE: ................................................................................................................................ 67
CONTEXT #4, AN ERA 0 F STABILITY, 1911-1955: ...................................................................................................................... 70
THE STATE OF DUBUQUE: ............ ............................. ......... .... .... ..... ......... .......... ... ........... ........... ................ ................. ..........
.......... .... 70
WARTIME MOBILIZATIONS AND EFFORTS TO RESTORE THE ERODED MUNICIPAL INDUSTRIAL BASE:................................................. 71
TAMING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER:................................................................................................................................................ 73
MUNICIPAL GROWTH, 1910-1955: ............... ....... ....... ....................... ............... .......... ........... ........... ........ ........ ..... ....... .......... ........
...... 75
THE EMERGENCE OF MUNICIPAL PLANNING AND LAND USE CONTROLS: ............................................................................................ 83
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN DUBUQUE: ................................................................................................................................................85
COMMERCE AND BANKING: .................. ...... ................ ...... ........................ .... .... ........ .................... ..................................... ...................
85
DUBUQUE'S RELIANCE ON INDUSTRY Is SHAKEN: ............................................................................................................................... 86
HARD TIMES, THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND STATE AND FEDERAL INTERVENTION: ..........................................................................90
WORLD WAR II AND DUBUQUE: ..........................................................................................................................................................91
THE EARLY TOURISM INDUSTRY AND DUBUQUE'S SELF IMAGE:.........................................................................................................92
POSTSCRIPT, DUBUQUE, 1956- PRESENT: .................................................................................................................................... 93
CONTEXT #5, THE ARCIDTECTURE OF DUBUQUE, 1833-1955 .............................................................................................. 95
KEY DUBUQUE ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS AND PROPERTY DEVELOPERS: ............................................................................................ 102
Dubuque Architects: .............................................................................................................................................................. ........
102
Dubuque Carpenters and Builders: .. ...... ................ ............. ......... ..................................... ...................... ....... .......................... .....
109
Realtors/Developers: .............................................................................................................................. .....................................
.. 116
PHASE I SURVEY REPORT: ........................................................................................................................................................... 121
ASSOCIATED PROPERTY TypES:................................................................................................................................................ 139
VERNACULAR AND STYLISTICL Y INFLUENCED HOUSE/COTTAGE SUB-TYPES/STYLES: .......................................139
ROMANTICSTYLE HOUSES, 1820-1880: ............................................. .............. .......... ......... ........... .................................................... 139
Victorian Era House, 1860-1900; The Second Empire, Victorian Gothic, Queen Anne, and Richardsonian Romanesque styles.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................
160
ECLECTIC HOUSE STYLES, 1880-1940: .................................................... .......... ....... ....... ............... ..... ............ ..................................
183
Anglo-American, English and French Period Houses: .................................................................................................................183
Mediterranean Period Houses: ..................................................................................................................................................... 195
Modern Houses: ............................................................................................................................................................ ................
197
VERNACULAR Corr AGElHOUSE TYPES: ...... .......... ..... .... ....... ... .............. .............. ................ ... ... ... ....... ....... ... ............... .... .........
....... 204
Hall and Parlor/Double Pen (c. 1817-c. 1870): .................................................... .......................................................................... 204
Pyramidal Cottage or Pyramidal Hip Cottage (c. 1865-c. 1920): .................................................................................................. 204
Gable Front (pre-185 0-1930+):............................................................................................................................................ ........ 204
Shotgun (c. 1860-70) : .......... ....................................................................................................................................................
....... 205
Side Hall Plan (c.1830-1880):............................................................. ..........................................................................................206
Gabled Ell (c. 1850-1920): .............. ......................................... ...... ......................... .................................. ................ .....................209
I-House (c. 1850-1890) : ................................................................................................................................................................
. 210
L-Plan (1850-1900):.................................................................................................................................................. ....................
210
T-Plan (c. 1860-1920): ............................................................ ...... .............. .................... ...............................................................
210
Cross Plan (c. 1900-1920) : ..................................................................................................................................................... .......
211
POPULAR Corr AGElHOUSE TYPES: ......... ........ ............... .......... ............................... ...................... ............................ ................ .........
211
The Bungalow (J 91 0-1930): ..... ..... ............................................................... ..... ......................................................... ...................
211
Foursquare (J 904-1940): ..............................................................................................................................................................
213
Minimal Traditional Cottage (c. 1931-55): ....................................................................................................................................214
The Ranch (19 38-present): .. ................................... .......................... ............................................... .............. ................ ...........
..... 215
The Split Level (19 38-present): .....................................................................................................................................................
217
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS: SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TYPE: ............................................. 218
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS: MULTIPLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TYPE: ...................................... 220
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS: INDIVIDUAL COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TYPE: ................................................... 222
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS: INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY TYPE: ....................................................... 225
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS: RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT PROPERTY TYPE: 232
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS: PUBLIC AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONAL PROPERTY TYPE: ........................236
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. S-S61
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
1
The Architectural and Historical Resources of DubuQue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Introduction:
To us Dubuque means. . . the hills and river that we long for when we go away, for the
sunset light in the valley, the morning mists on the hills, the queer streets that go up
among them, the glory of the crest, with its wide view east and west, the lovely light on
the river shining away to southward, blue Sinsinawa, and the opal of the distant hills, the
'castled crags' and battlements of the bluffs,---this is Dubuque.
Edith N. Lane, "The Beauty of Dubuque, Dubuque Enterprise, November 26, 1904
By any standard Dubuque is and has always been a distinctively different place by Iowa standards. On one hand
the city served as the port of entry for Iowa settlement and was the state's first city. On the other hand Dubuque has
always been geographically separated from the state and has made her fortune from a tri-state market area. IfIowa is
protestant, Republican, and less than friendly with organized labor, Dubuque has assumed the opposite extremes by being
predominately Catholic, Democrat and strongly pro-labor.
The city has been strongly self-reliant from the start, eschewing the out-of-state investors who dominated the
development of the other Iowa cities. During the Civil War the city dared to lead in the political opposition to the
national war policy and its attending repression of thought and action.
This conservative bastion has opened up in recent years. The invention of color photography brought fall
tourism to Northeast Iowa, the queen of fall leaf colors. Belated road improvements finally conquered the topographical
obstacles to integration. Mississippi River bridges, early and later, revived regional markets, and opened doors to the
city (or as some allege, allow passersby to pass on by). Today like most cities the future hopes for continued growth are
as rooted in suburban industrial parks and arterial road systems as they are in the historic city.
Dubuque, unlike most Iowa cities, never reached the vaunted 100,000-population figure (it was predicted to
achieve that number by 1940), and large-scale growth sputtered out by World War 1. The city never gained the acres and
acres of bungalows and Tudor cottages, Lustron houses and the like. Its building inventory largely pre-dates 1920 and
consequently the architectural legacy of Dubuque is unmatched elsewhere in Iowa, both in quality and scale.
Dubuque is a strikingly different place because of its many differing heritages. Predominant among these is an
Irish-German and strongly Catholic population which left their mark architecturally in beautiful and massive churches
and vernacular 19th century housing. Exploring the streets and alleyways of Dubuque's history teaches the visitor to
appreciate the wealth of architectural surprises which mirror the heritage ofIowa's "Key City."
Historical Historv:
It is a daunting task to attempt to synthesize not only the findings of previous Dubuque historical surveys but also
the historical and architectural contexts of the city. Dubuque has rightfully intrigued Iowa historians since the beginning
of a state historiography and suffice it to say that the available secondary literature which treats Dubuque is extensive and
fairly contextually exhaustive.
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. S-S6)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
2
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
The availability of generations of talented and inquisitive scholars at Dubuque's many institutions of higher
learning has necessarily added to this historical legacy. Numerous religious histories, covering the range from parish to
diocese, supplement the reading list.
All of these historical compatriots, both past and present, have contributed to whatever quality this report can
claim to possess. Absent their efforts, this writer would have labored with considerably less guidance and certainly less
knowledge.
Geographv:
Much of the Mississippi River channel which borders Iowa is of very recent origin. The ancient river course
diverted from the present one below Clinton, Iowa, and followed what is termed the Princeton Channel, flowing
southeast beyond present day Hennepin, Illinois, and then generally following the Illinois River southwest. This course
developed as an ice margin drainage of Pre-Illinoian glaciers. Twice, Illinoian glaciers flowing southwest from the Lake
Michigan area pushed the Mississippi's course westward into southeast Iowa. The ice closed off the channel and backed
up river flow until an interim alternative course was created. Between 60,000 and 100,000 years ago, the present river
course eroded its bed by as much as 100 feet. Between 25,000 and 21,000 years ago glacial flows from the northeast
permanently closed off the Princeton Channel, and forced the Mississippi into its present Port Byron Gorge channel. The
Quad Cities are located along this most recent river course, at a point where the river makes a pronounced westward turn.
Up until 9,500 years ago the river channel was periodically flooded with catastrophic late Wisconsin glacial outwashes.
Fine-grained sediments formed the Savanna Terraces which line the lower ranges of the watershed. Dubuque is
positioned on one of these terraces. Since 9,500 channel changes have more gradual with reduced lateral channel
movement and the formation of deltas. The Couler Valley, in the northwest part of the original city is an earlier channel
fQr the Little Maquoketa River which now empties due east into the Mississippi (Bettis, pp. 12-15).
The Mississippi forms a reversed S shaped channel at Dubuque. The eastern bank is firmly defined by 200-foot
high limestone bluffs. The river valley widens below Eagle Point Park and the west bank of the river was and remains
less well defined. A broad and extensive network of islands and sloughs. There are no rapids in this stretch of the river
and consequently no potential for hydropower. Note also that the lock and dam system construction site is just above the
city and not at or below it. This meant that the city site had as much river depth as could be obtained although getting
landed on firm shore was a challenge. The Savanna Terrace upon which the primary city developed lies 50-70 feet above
the mean water level of the river (late 19th century city boosters would double this figure so as to quiet fears of flooding
and pestilence). The terrace measured a half-mile in width with a length of two miles. Sheer-faced bluffs, rising some
200 feet, encircle the city site. It is said that like Rome, Dubuque had its seven hills and each hill sported a steeple or a
college. Galena and Trenton limestone comprise the bluffs with Niagara limestone being present in the north end of the
city. Several steep and narrow ravines radiated out from the terrace. On the north end, broader and flatter reaches of the
terrace radiated out to the northeast and northwest, offering a distinct advantage for growth in that area (Horton, The
Urbanization Process..., p. 2)
For a 15-mile radius beyond the bluffline lay rugged unglaciated country. The closest prairie lay several miles
west. Good timber supply was to be had from atop the bluffs or from the river islands but the city site itself was adorned
with a scattering of willows and other softwoods. Any future tree canopy would have to be planned and planted (Ibid.).
Building stone was readily available as was clay for making bricks. A high-grade lead ore was also to be found
buried just at the bedrock surface. The terrace soil was gravelly and sandy and was easily drained a distinct health
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OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
3
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
advantage although one that was balanced out by the proximity of backwater sloughs along the river frontage. While
main river flooding was restricted, flash flooding down the several ravines was a real threat to life and property (Ibid., pp.
2-4).
It is the Galena Limestone which figures so prominently in the foundations of most of Dubuque's buildings.
This stone was used in preference to brick and continued in its popularity right through the pre- W orId War I years. The
stone is described as being almost pure dolomite with from three to eight percent silicon, and carbonate of lime and
magnesium. In its natural state it is a light gray in color but iron oxidation transforms it into a light buff upon prolonged
exposure (The Industries ofDubuaue, p. 15).
Historian Raymond Lyon dared to challenge the idea of the seven hills of Dubuque. He explained that in
actuality the bluff lines which surround the city are ridgelines or crest lines which have been eroded into a series of
valleys (Lyon, p. 173).
Places and Names:
Dubuque, given the complexity of its history and physical setting, has accumulated an impressive array of place,
landmark and neighborhood names. The following list of place names is derived from various sources:
Air Hill Near Julien (now University) Avenue (Tribune, December 21, 1871)
Beach's Hill South of Bluff and Dodge streets (Wilkie, p. 504).
Flatiron Park Jones and Main (Wilke, p. 328).
Flats An area defined by 14th_16th streets, Sycamore Street and the Railroad (Lyon, p. 159).
Heidelberg of America A citywide nickname which alludes to the hills and stonebluffs of Dubuque (Lyon, p. 330).
Kelly's Bluff Above 2nd Street (Wilkie, p. 143).
Key City A citywide nickname coined by the Miner's Journal in 1854, became particularly popular in
the late 1880s, the most enduring of Dubuque's several names (Lyon, p. 330).
Langworthy Hollow Appears to reference the southern portion of the Couler Valley along Kaufmann Avenue
and East 22nd streets with specific reference to the area lying west of Central Avenue (Wilke, p.
132).
Near South Bluff (Express-Herald, March 18, 1857)
opposite Jackson Square (Wilke, p. 207)
A West Dubuque collective of miners (Lyon, p. 141).
Unidentified, scene of house building 1889
A lead and zinc mining hilly area located south and southwest of the city. The name was coined
During the California gold rush of the late 1840s (Lyon, pp. 313, 351-52).
Along the bluffs, Smith & Company Brewery built along same in 1856 (Express-Herald, Nov.
21, 1856)
Mentioned Tribune, December 21, 1871
A city nickname which alludes to the claimed seven hills of Dubuque (Lyon, p. 330).
unidentified, scene of house building 1889
A city nickname which alludes to Dubuque's independence in politics during the 19th century and
state and federal prohibition early in the 20th century(Lyon, p. 359; Wilkie, p. 221).
J. H. Hill builds a frame house (Tribune, December 21, 1871)
Captain West builds a 100-step stairway (Tribune, December 21, 1871)
Madden Hollow
Madison Hill
Monkeytown
Park Hill
Pikes Peak Range
Plank Road
Prospect Hill
Rome of America
Summer Hill
State of Dubuque
Summer Hill
West Point
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. B.B6)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
4
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
West's Bluff
Whiskey Hill
M. Mattison builds a brick dwelling (Tribune, December 21, 1871)
J. H. Hill builds a frame house (Tribune, December 21, 1871)
Numerous key streets were renamed over time and those which traversed the several gorges in the western bluffs
identified their respective cuts. Julien Avenue became University Street while the Lorimer Hollow Road became Julien
Avenue, Couler Avenue became Central Avenue, West Eagle Point Road became Kaufmann Street, West 14th Street
became Loras, West 17th became Locust, Mineral Street became West Locust (Lyon, pp. 430-31.
Key regional roads were wholly or partly renamed as the city expanded. The Cascade Road became Fremont,
Centre Street became Asbury Road, the Military Road became Rockdale Road (Ibid. ).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
I
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
I
Section number E
Page
5
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I
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
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Area name map/list, Victor Gruen Report (opposite p. 28)
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8.86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
6
Page
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
DISTRICTS AND NEIGHBORHOODS, CITY OF DUBUQUE
MT. CARMEL DISTRICT
BRYANT DISTRICT
Mt. Loretta Neighborhood
Cleveland Neighborhood
Grandview Neighborhood
Curtis Neighborhood
Country Club Area
Southern Avenue Area
W ARTBURG DISTRICT
Fremont Neighborhood
Sunset Ridge.Neighborhood
Coates Street Neighborhood
HILL DISTRICT
West Eighth Street Neighborhood
West Seventh Street Neighborhood
Fenelon Neighborhood
Langworthy neighborhood
Mercy Hospital Neighborhood
West Eleventh Street Neighborhood
West Fifth Street Neighborhood
Ange1la and Cornell Neighborhoods
Loras Neighborhood
Finley Hospital Neighborhood
Henderson Neighborhood
KAUFMANN AVENUE DISTRICT
PARK HILL DISTRICT
Fulton Street Neighborhood
Gay Street Neighborhood
Muscatine Neighborhood
KANE STREET DISTRICT
Oakcrest Neighborhood
Shady Lane Neighborhood
Scenic View Neighborhood
LINWOOD DISTRICT
Windsor Neighborhood
Burden Neighborhood
Jefferson Neighborhood
RHOMBERG DISTRICT
Lower Rhomberg Neighborhood
North Rhomberg Neighborhood
Eagle Point Neighborhood
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT
Decorah Neighborhood
Sunnyview Neighborhood
Green Street Neighborhood
Devon Neighborhood
Delhi Neighborhood
St. Joseph Neighborhood
FLORA PARK DISTRICT
Hillcrest Neighborhood
Lenox Neighborhood
Falk Neighborhood
WESTERN SUBDIVISIONS
WEST LOCUST DISTRICT
Jackson School Neighborhood
CLARKE DRIVE DISTRICT
Madison Park Neighborhood
Clarke Drive Neighborhood
Montcrest Neighborhood
NORTH END DISTRICT
Twenty-Second Street Neighborhood
Broadway Neighborhood
Comiskey Neighborhood
Holy Ghost Neighborhood
Thirtieth Street Neighborhood
Sacred Heart Church Neighborhood
DOWNTOWN DISTRICT
Jackson Park Neighborhood
St. Raphael Neighborhood
Washington Street Neighborhood
INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT
The Flats
Sub-area neighborhood list, Victor Gruen Report (p. 28)
Whv Is Dubuaue at DubUQue?
Iowa historian Loren Horton concluded that Dubuque was established because of its ~earby lead de~~sits an~ for
no other re~son. There were good reasons to avoid the future city site. It was a "c~l de sa~" m Horton's opmlon, bemg
hemmed in physically to the west, isolated from what normally would be a supportIve agncultural market and supply
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PS Form 1 0-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
7
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
source. It was equally isolated from points east by its initial lifeline, the Mississippi, given the long-term lack of a bridge
of any sort and the difficulties which the location presented to bridge building. It wasn't until 1887 that the first wagon
bridge was opened and it provided at best an indirect route to Il1inois via Wisconsin. There was no water power source
and the advantages of river commerce were hindered by the difficulty of accessing deep-water navigation. There was no
federal interest in canal construction, arsenal establishment or national roads which might otherwise have spawned town
building interests. It was finally the ready wealth offered by the lead, a wealth that apparently was more democratic in its
distribution than were the later gold and silver stampedes, that explained why the city started and why it grew to achieve
the scale that it did (Ibid., p. 4).
If one surveys alternative city founding sites along the Iowa side of the Mississippi River in the vicinity of
Dubuque, a better location is not to be found. Invariably other nearby towns occupy similar raised, elongated and narrow
terraces. Dubuque's alternative site might have been the mouth of Catfish Creek but the earliest settlers instinctively
knew where to mine and where to live. Mississippi River city sites commonly occupied the mouths of rivers so as to take
advantage of inland markets and power generation. Rock Island, Il1inois, is another example of a city that chose not to
build at the mouth of the Rock River, preferring a main channel frontage which did provide both the power and a readily
bridged transportation corridor.
There were surely secondary explanations for Dubuque's establishment. As the story will indicate, Dubuque was
the initial front door to Iowa settlement, and it was that state's first city. It served as a "forwarding and commissioning"
support base for both points west and points northwest, up the Mississippi River. Early on the city was the base for
religious and ethnic settlement for the Catholic Church's Irish and German adherents. The groundwork for future far-
flung dioceses were laid up from Dubuque, one parish at a time.
Dubuque's success was perhaps unwitting. Initially it was hoped that Dubuque would become a territorial
administrative center and the northern boundary for the Iowa Territory was by no means fixed. As late as 1844 Edward
Langworthy, attending the state constitutional convention in Iowa City, attempted to set the boundary at the 45th Parallel,
deeply inside what became Minnesota. Dubuque would have been the "hub" of a larger state rather than a large city in
the distant corner of a smaller state. One superlative advantage gained by its location was primary access to the log rafts
which came in escalating numbers down river. Dubuque had first pick and the best shipping costs for these logs and
consequently the city's lumber trade survived that of cities down river (Lyon, p. 56).
From the start, Dubuquers believed so fervently in their collective future that even fundamental questions about
the legality of their land titles failed to dull their town building efforts. The very lead legacy which brought the first
miner/settlers to the area resulted in a land ownership squabble that took 21 years and the U.S. Supreme Court to finally
quiet. The same self-advocacy defeated Galena in its intention to become the western railroad hub along the Mississippi.
Instead Dubuque was the only rail hub along the entire Mississippi River (north of Davenport-Rock Island) during the
Civil War years. This was clearly a significant advantage for its industrial and retail growth and development during the
lengthy 10-year hiatus in westward railroad expansion which followed the economic panic of 1857-58 (Ibid., p. 6).
Clearly Dubuque paid a heavy price to imposing its growth upon its selected site. The Julv 1934 HousinlZ Reoort
observed that the city had faced "unusual topographical difficulties" which presented a severe handicap in laying out a
street system. This reality exacted great initial costs and higher maintenance costs for streets, utilities and buildings as a
result (Julv 1934 HousinlZ Reoort, pp. 28-29).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
8
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
When Was Dubuque Established?
The city celebrated its centennial in 1933, using the 1833 date which opened the area to white settlement. In
deference to tradition, that beginning date is used in this report as well. The Old Settlers Association, founded in 1865
used very stringent residency criteria for its membership. Initially one had to be both male and in the county prior to
1847. The actual city establishment came well after 1833, with successive incorporations taking place in 1837 and 1841.
Dubuquers relished their early birthright and pushed it as early as they could to make a distinction amongst other Iowa
communities.
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
9
Page
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Context #1, Frontier City on the Mississippi River, 1833-
1858:
There is a general historical consensus that Dubuque's first historical era drew to a close with the national
financial panic of 1857-58. That collapse brought dramatic closure to truly explosive city growth from 1852 through
1857 which increased city population from * to *. The same point in time marks the emergence of an urban se1f-
consciousness that replaced frontier make-do with architects, city ordinances and more concerted planning and
development. The Civil War years which followed produced more internal strife than major building but wartime
contracts served as the principal source of wealth for the next phase of city building, so that most difficult period is
coupled to a later time.
Historian Loren Horton studied Dubuque as a case study in city growth and planning in his 1972 work titled "The
Urbanization Process In Early Iowa: Town Planning And Growth In Dubuque, 1833-1861." His painstaking
investigation of these early years has done much to make some sense of what happened and most important for this
study, why the city took the physical form that it did.
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
10
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Lead Mining And Early Tales:
The Mississippi River was the super-highway equivalent in a time when extensive cross-country trekking and
shipping was difficult to impossible to accomplish. European penetration into and control of the Upper Mississippi
Valley necessarily was predicated on using the river as a transportation and communication corridor. The first regional
tourists, the Frenchmen Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, included the future site of Dubuque in their 1673
down river itinerary. Regional flags changed from France to Spain in 1763, and back to France in 1800. Cash on the
barrel head in the form of the Louisiana Purchase switched theoretical flags to the United States in 1803 although only
infrequent military parties could legally raise the colors there until 1833 (Sommer, pp. 4-5).
Beginning in 1783 Quebec-born Frenchman Julien Dubuque (1762-1810) negotiated with the Fox Indians to gain
access to the Catfish Creek area ("Mines of Spain") lead deposits. He died in 1810 and his Indian compatriots rubbed out
every physical trace of his mining and smelting operations, and took up the mining themselves. They made no land
transfer to Dubuque but in 1796 Spain granted him an impressive 164,000 acres ofland that roughly centered on the
Dubuque location. In 1804 Dubuque paid offhis St. Louis supplier, Auguste Chouteau with a land transfer of63,815
acres. Included in that deal was what became Dubuque. More about this later (Horton, pp. 4-6).
The Indian lead smelting operation was inefficient, with a high percentage of the ore being burned off in open
fire smelting. James L. Langworthy negotiated rights to survey the mining area and arranged to smelt the ore on the
Illinois side, with Indian miners supplying the raw ore. By June 1830 Langworthy and brother Lucius H., were squatting
on the Iowa side of the river. Federal soldiers entered the area in response to a Sioux-Fox tribal conflict and evicted the
miners. Future president Col. Zachary Taylor and future Confederate president Lt. Jefferson Davis, commanded this
force. Recent archeological testing in the Union Park area produced artifacts which were associated with this military
operation. On June 17, 1830 the miners at "Dubuque Mines" penned an extra-legal codicil that provided for allocating
mining rights to 200-yard square claims. The eviction postdated this document. The miners returned in mid-1832 and
were quickly evicted. The Black Hawk Treaty of September 21, 1832 terminated Indian land claims to the easternmost
50 miles ofIowa Territory and the miners, to the number of 200 men, again returned to the Iowa side. In January 1833
the military again evicted them. The new area was legally opened for resettlement on June 1, 1833 and the evictees and
others poured back across the river. The U.S. Congress even legitimized the 1830 miners articles and the mineral lots
served as the first land survey (Ibid., pp. 7-8).
Lead production peaked by 1840. Cupola and Scotch hearth furnaces allowed for an 80% recovery rate from the
ore and slag from previous mining efforts was eagerly reprocessed along with new diggings. The 1835 invention of a
hearth furnace process at Platteville, Wisconsin, directly facilitated lead production. Catfish Creek was the site of the
second such furnace. The Iowa mining was a part of a tri-state operation and many Iowa miners came from Wisconsin
and Illinois and were veteran lead miners. Total Iowa production figures are unavailable over the course of the industry's
development but by 1855, the other two states turned out 55,000,000 pounds oflead each year. Lead pigs were a major
component of river shipping downstream to St. Louis (Ibid., pp. 25-27).
Historian William Wilkie observed that North Dubuque, particularly along the Bee Branch (now 32nd Street and
south along Couler Avenue), was the post-1833 focus of lead mining activities. Shaft mining replaced surface digs and
the improved furnaces increased output efficiencies (Wilkie, pp. 143-144).
The lead industry was significant because it brought about Dubuque's site selection and establishment and it laid
the groundwork for the financial independence that Dubuque capitalists enjoyed in subsequent years. Funds from lead
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PS Form 1 0-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
11
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
mining built up the city and capitalized future industrial development. The industry determined that the initial local
population was almost exclusively male in its composition. The lead fixation diverted attention from other endeavors
such as town foundation. Wilkie suggests that the initial mining fervor resulted from a false assumption that agriculture
wasn't feasible in so northerly a location. Mining faded as farming succeeded and supplanted it (Ibid.)
More optimistic historical sources credit the lead industry with aiding Dubuque in weathering the Financial Panic
of 1837 and this point deserves further investigation. The following claim is offered by Dubuque Its Manufacturing And
Commercial Facilities (1886, p. 13):
The financial revulsion of 1837 did not materially affect Dubuque. Its main resources were lead,
produced steadily by the industry of hundreds of miners and the working of half a dozen smelting
furnaces. This product commanded a ready cash sale in the markets of St. Louis and New Orleans. In all
American mining districts paper money was received slowly and cautiously as a circulating medium, and
accordingly the depreciated bank note currency of the Eastern States was despised, and gold and silver
were the principal forms of money, and continued so for twenty years afterward. . .
Regional Dominance and Self Image:
Dubuque has always been the half-way point relative to the Mississippi River. It is midway between St.
Louis and the Twin Cities and it was the midpoint of the Black Hawk Purchase, a 350-mile long narrow sliver of
land that stretched from Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Keokuk. This north-south midway mark would late be
augmented by an east-west measure, relevant to the railroad era, that of being halfway between Chicago and
Sioux City. Dubuque expect~d selection as the Wisconsin territorial capital but lost out to little Belmont,
Wisconsin. When Iowa Territory was separated off in 1838, it included all land between the Mississippi and
Missouri rivers and between Canada and Missouri and Dubuque continued to aspire towards being the central
hub of a much larger (that is to say reaching northward) area than was finally assigned to the new territory and
state. Dubuque from its inception had regional aspirations and these to a great extent were focused to the
northwest and northeast, rather than to Iowa proper as we know it today.
Politically the city residents sought both direct representation and the status of being a center of
government as the various and fleeting territorial designations (Michigan, Wisconsin, and then Iowa territories
within a five-year period) came and went (Wilkie, p. 146).
Dubuque's role as a forwarding and commissioning base for the settlement of the Upper Mississippi
River valley is less well appreciated. This role was certainly shared with all of the other larger emerging
downstream river cities such as Quincy and Galena, Illinois, and St. Louis. Banking and transportation interests
made possible the delivery of heavy equipment for new flour mills, construction material for developing new
towns, and foodstuffs for the residents. The earliest steamboats conducted informal mail delivery systems which
persisted into the 1850s despite Postal Department efforts to suppress them. Dubuque was the northernmost
substantial river city for many years and its lead revenues capitalized various local and regional ventures, one of
which was the broad scale acquisition of upriver timberlands.
The natural market area for Dubuque lay across the Mississippi in northwestern Illinois and southwestern
Wisconsin. Market access would be long hampered by the lack of Mississippi river bridges but farm produce
and stock could better reach Dubuque from these adjoining areas than it could from closer in Iowa counties.
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
12
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Retail services, newspaper circulation, and political-cultural dominance similarly cross state lines. Dubuque's
principal rival in securing the trade area east of the river was Galena and the battle was an intense one, but one
that was won before the outbreak of the Civil War. Galena attempted to deprive Dubuque of railroad access,
seeking to serve as the Mississippi River's railroad hub in lieu of its competitor. Galena steamboat owners
similarly monopolized river traffic to the detriment of Dubuque. Dubuque's regional ascendancy was best
symbolized by its securing the federal land office in 1838, an early victory that went down hard in Galena. This
office functioned until 1857 when it was consolidated with the Des Moines land office (Wilkie, p, 157).
Dubuque was also regionally dominant as a spring point for religious-based settlement. The Catholic
Church played a critical role in the establishment of towns and parishes. The Dubuque diocese actively recruited
foreign-born immigrants and much of the settlement of Minnesota and northeast Iowa was the direct result of the
concerted effort by Dubuque priests and bishops to insure the provision of a protective church network for its
adherents on the frontier.
One substantial milestone in the city's development came in 1846 when area farming [mally developed
beyond a subsistence production level and products became available for external market (1880 History, p. 525).
The Battle With Galena. Illinois:
Galena transportation interests had a stranglehold on Dubuque exports until 1854. Up to that point all
passenger traffic down river had to Galena and Dubuque was relegated to the status of a local marketplace.
Dubuque interests began to invest heavily in steamboats during the late 1840s and early 1850s. Galena too
placed her hopes on river traffic and her dominance of it. When the railroad reached Galena and was then
extended westward to the shore opposite Dubuque, Galena was unable to react to the transformation which the
rails brought to the region and Dubuque quickly superceded Galena. Dubuque had embraced the railroad and its
potential from the beginning. Galena interests did attempt to control the railroad terminal point and sought to
make Galena the natural rail/river transshipment point. Dubuque Senator George W. Jones successfully
convinced Senator Stephen Douglas to amend the 1850 railroad land grant bill to extend the right-of-way 15
miles further west. Jones had much to gain from the extension personally given that he owned the terminal site
at what would become Dunleith and then East Dubuque. His inlaws also operated the ferry service at that point.
Iowa had failed up to that point to pass a similar land grant bill and it was therefore all the more critical that
Dubuque realized at least proximity to a railroad link. Victory over the Galena interests was proclaimed by
1853-54 and from that point on Dubuque enjoyed a diversified transportation network of river and rail (Johnson,
An Armv For Industrialization, pp. 58-65, cited hereinafter as Johnson).
River Traffic Dominates:
The river as noted was both a transportation artery and an obstacle to overland east/west traffic. Steamboating
actually developed first on the Upper Mississippi (above 8t. Louis) and a regional system developed and matured within
the river valley. The cities of Galena, Quincy, Dubuque, Davenport/Rock Island, and others prospered in banking and
financing, manufacturing and shipping. Regionally this network provided the jumping off point for the extension of
settlement, agriculture and finally city building into Minnesota.
Galena dominated Dubuque in its ownership of steamboat interests. Its packet company (the Minnesota Packet
Company, later the Galena, Dunleith, and Minnesota Packet Company, note the absence of Dubuque in that title) also
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PS Form 10-900.a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
13
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
controlled the Dubuque ferries and Dubuque shipping was greatly impeded even after the arrival of the railroad on the
Illinois shore. It wasn't until 1854 that the first Dubuque-owned and operated steamboat was in service. Dubuque's river
shipping was hampered by the lack of a good wharf /harbor . Steamboat landing counts at Dubuque for 1851 was an
impressive 351, a figure that rose to 1,000 landings by 1857 (Wilkie, p. 234).
This increasingly frenzied steamboat activity reflected city growth and federal river harbor improvements made
during this interim. The federal government appropriated $14,000 to dredge the Barney Cut, a steamboat channel to link
the inner and outer sloughs with the main river channel. The money was appropriated in 1843 and construction must
have immediately followed by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps also completed a harbor survey in 1853-56
which Horton says led to improved docking facilities. He adds that the work later facilitated construction of the first
railroad bridge (Horton, pp. 28-29).
The "contemplated canal" which appears on the city plat (see below) was being "contemplated" as early as 1836.
The required length was but a third of a mile. If the rive current could have been diverted into the inner slough the slack
water areas would have been drained and the health of the area much improved. By 1838, two canals were suggested to
move the river's channel. Nothing was done. The Dubuque Harbor Company and the Dubuque Harbor Improvement
Company incorporated in the middle 1850s with the purpose of filling in the wetlands eastward to extend the riverfront to
the river. Sixth and Third street were slowly extended eastward and by early April 1858 a bridge and levee system inter-
linked the several islands (Ibid., pp. 31-32).
There were two federal pre-Civil War river improvements made at Dubuque. In 1844 Joshua Barney did some
dredging to enable first class river steamers to serve the city and apparently built the first Mississippi dredge, titled the
Devasseur. The Mexican War halted any river work 1846-47 and dredging resumed only in 1853. The federal funding
included funds to improve the Illinois River given Illinois plans to build a canal between Chicago and that river at
LaSalle. Dubuqers would benefit by any navigable shortcut across Illinois, a reduction of a 607 -mile trip to just 188
miles. The 1853 dredging went beyond simply opening a cut to the main channel. In anticipation of a railroad-ferry link,
the cut linked Dubuque and Dunleith. The 1853 dredge boat was named in honor of Senator George W. Jones who was
instrumental in funding the work (Tweet, 1984, pp. 50-53, 149).
The advantage of river transportation brought with it the disadvantage of having to cross the river to access the
resources and markets on the east side of the Mississippi. Regular river ferry services dated from 1838 between Dubuque
proper and Dunleith, and between Eagle Point and Kimbel's Park, Wisconsin from 1851. Everything that crossed the
river effectively paid a transshipment toll or tax in the form of the ferry fee, save for the three months that the iced over
river could bear foot and wheeled traffic. Even after the arrival of the railroad in 1855 from Galena, ferries carried all
goods, imported and exported, for Dubuque's entrepreneurs. Road travel never effectively substituted for river shipment
and the city consequently continued to rely upon the river and its north/south trade orientation (Wilkie, p. 234).
The key development decision relative to improved river access was made by newly elected mayor Jessee Farley
in 1852. He decided to forsake efforts to bring the river to Dubuque but rather to take the city to the river. Efforts to
dredge and otherwise use the "old channel" presumably Lake Peosta, were dropped and a series of street extensions on
raised causeways began the long-term process of slough filling which produced the present day riverfront (Johnson, p.
65).
Railroad mania struck Dubuque as it did everywhere, beginning in the late 1830s. The Illinois Central reached
Dunleith (East Dubuque) in 1855 and that village was quickly platted as a result. There was no likelihood ofa Dubuque
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
14
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
bridge for the railroad but the Dubuque and Pacific Railroad, a Dubuque-owned railroad, was under construction by
1855, even before Iowa granted it land grant status in 1856. The first locomotive was delivered via river ferry to the new
line by September 1856 and regular operations began the following May. By April 1858 the city had seven incorporated
railroads on paper but just one with actual rails laid. By April 1861 100 miles of track reached a terminus at Cedar Falls.
This first inland railroad tapped into a just-developing interior market area for Dubuque but its true economic
significance would be realized after the war, by which time, railroad networks fmally challenged the transportation
supremacy of the river steamboat (Wilkie, pp. 235-26, Johnson, p. 72).
Municipal Growth, 1833-1858:
Initial Town Building:
Loren Horton concluded that there was no interest in town building apart from lead mining from 1833 through
1837. The settlement continued under its 1830 title "DuBuque Mines." The stuff of town building was available. The
first down river log raft arrived in November 1833 and the first steamboat docking took place that same fall. Galena
Engineer George W. Harrison prepared a town survey that same time at the instigation of private citizens but this was
simply proposing a reality on paper only. On July 24, 1836, the U.S. Congress authorized funds to survey six Iowa
communities including Dubuque. The federal act reserved public squares and recognized preemption rights by
landholders. The initial 1837 platting effort failed and new commissioners hired surveyor Garret Vliet to finally survey
the town. This period was marked with public unrest and confusion about property rights. Finally preemptions were
correlated with the survey lots, the plat was certified by the commissioners on November 1, 1838 and belatedly filed in
the Dubuque Land Office on February 4, 1840. Public land sales began November 5, 1838. Town incorporation was
accomplished in April 1837 by the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature but Horton suggests that the lengthy delay in
platting the land showed a lack of concern for formalizing a community (Ibid., pp. 8-15).
The downtown of 1840 stretched along Main Street between 1 sl and 3rd streets. There was just one brick building
(Jesse Farley's).
If the business houses, with their gable ends shadowing the pavement, were the reverse of ornamental
architecturally speaking, the private residences possessed little in that regard to add to the spice of
variety to the surroundings. They were confmed as a rule to the limits of Bluff, Iowa and cross streets, in
number scarcely exceeding three hundred, built of log or frame, and with a plentiful lack of the comforts
to be found in those which line these thoroughfares today.
Three brick houses were erected 1837-38 and were "finished in the most elaborate style of the times. Leroy
Jackson's residence (extant 1880) at Iowa and 17th streets, was said to be the first brick house in the county.
James Langworthy's house (Iowa and 12th streets, non extant 1880) and Edward Langworthy (White and 14th,
extant 1880) were the other two. Samuel D. Dixon's two story frame house, built in 1839 was "regarded as an
innovation upon the established custom (extant 1880) (1880 History, pp. 518-22).
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PS Form 10-9OO-a
(Rev. B-B61
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
15
,-
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
DUBUQUE
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Original Plat and Outlots, Dubuque (Horton)
(*will rescan)
PS Form 10-900-0
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
16
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
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Original Town Plat, 1838
(street names enhanced for better orientation, South is toward the top of the map) (Horton)
(*will rescan)
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PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
17
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
The plat was a curious one if only because of its avoidance of contact with the river. Its northwest comer was a
full half-mile distant. A narrow triangular parcel barely touched its eastern point on the riverbank. No railroad
reservation was provided nor was any bridge anticipated. The off-compass alignment appears to have been forced by the
Couler Valley streets. The entire streetscape nicely aligns with that valley. Unlike many plats the Dubuque streets did
not parallel the riverbank, likely because there simply wasn't a discernable bank! The plat breaks only once from its
overall pattern. South from First Street the streets do appear to have followed the river. Dodge Street angles northwest
prior to crossing Bluffbefore heading in a straight line southwest. Seven streets do the same, obediently climbing up the
western bluffs in a straight line. In fact, just three of these follow these courses today. Fourteenth (Loras Avenue) and
17th streets and Dodge Street ran as planned. The others were overly optimistic. Generally the platters ignored
topography and only Bluff Street made accommodations to its namesake. Just one public area, later termed Washington
Park, was provided for. No river frontage was reserved (Ibid., pp. 15-16).
Horton found that the spacing and dimensions for the standard block was actually based on a pre-existing pattern
of major buildings on Main Street between Second and Third streets. A row of buildings measured 64 feet in length and
buildings opposite them were 64 feet distant. The basic downtown lot was therefore set at this width and street were
made that wide. The resulting block, containing eight lots, four on each side, bisected by a southeast/northwest running
alley, measured 256 feet on their frontages. Alleys varied in widths and each block was slightly off square given this
slightly narrower width. Odd lots and parcels possibly dealt with pre-existing buildings. Surely many buildings were
moved to adjust to this new reality and many doubtless fronted on street lines or into the streets as well.
The finite amount of level land left its legacy in Dubuque. The standard parcel width is just 25 feet, a
development scale that failed in most other communities. Houses are set cheek to jowl and the city's architecture was
forced to adapt to this reality. This lack ofland forced a more intensive usage of the area that was available. Double
houses were numerous although admittedly apartment houses were not commonplace.
Ouietinl! The Land Ownershio Problem:
Recall that it was possible that every Dubuque titleholder was at risk of being dispossessed by the Chouteau
heirs. Those interests finally forced a legal test case with one Patrick Moloney, recipient of a federal patent in 1847. The
suit was filed in 1851. The Chouteau heirs lost in district court but appealed to the Supreme Court in early 1852. That
court finally ruled on February 25, 1854, that the Julien Dubuque claim had no legal basis. Some 11,000 Iowa residents
breathed a collective sigh of relief and went back to work building towns and farms (Ibid., pp. 18-19).
Serious Town Building:
Dubuque's initial growth outpaced that of any other Iowa city and Dubuque was the state's largest city until
1875. Between 1850 and 1860 the population of Julien Township (principally Dubuque) increased 460 percent (Wilkie,
p. 185).
Perhaps one motivation for formalizing a town was the competition offered by an array of nearby small
settlements. These were Eagle Point, Mount Pleasant, Couler Village, East Dubuque (not to be confused with present-
day East Dubuque, Illinois, the former Dunleith which pre-dated Dubuque's establishment), Prospect Park, South Park
Hill, Julien, Langworthy Hollow and Park Hill. At least some of these were actually incorporated, but most were simply
concerted subdivision developments which had been pushed by Dubuque's leading developers. Dubuque reincorporated
under the authority of the Iowa Territorial legislature on January 17, 1840. The act set initial city boundaries which
PS Form 1 0-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
18
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
absorbed all of the above named settlements. It also provided for a mayor and five ward~, each to be represented by its
own alderman (Ibid., pp. 20-21; Dubuque Manufacturine: and Commercial Facilities, p. 11).
Eagle Point was the location of a separate lead mining operation. Eagle Point was also a Mississippi River ferry
crossing to Sinsinawa, Wisconsin (Dunleith had the other ferry operation (The first city additions headed towards that
place, running to the northeast. The flat broad Coulee Valley to the northwest provided a second direction for city
extension. A third growth area was atop the bluffs between Fourteenth (Loras) and Dodge streets. Horton singles out a
small number of key developers; the four Langworthy brothers, Thomas McCraney, John King, Mathias Ham, Frederic
S. Jesup and Frederick E. Bissell, as providing the capital and leadership in these extensions (Horton, pp. 19-21,27).
The "town" population was about 1,000 persons as of 1836. This tripled to 3,108 persons by 1840 but growth
was static for the next 12 years. The 1850 population registered just 4,071 residents, and the 1852 estimate was actually
lower, with a count of 4,012 persons. No plats were filed until 1848. (Ibid., pp. 22-25).
Several city architectural "habits" had surprisingly early beginnings. Stately houses on the bluff first appeared in
1846-47 when bluff top lots "began to attract notice" and commanded "fancy prices as compared with the havens of
household comfort under the hill." General George Jones was apparently the first actual builder, starting "a princely
resident" in the spring of 1847 near Julien Avenue. The Langworthy brothers followed suit, building on the 3rd Street
extension "at the terminus of the highway." The 1880 county history noted "and from these beginnings the multitude of
private houses which crown the summits of the hills have since been gradually added" (1880 history, p. 525).
The northward march of the recognized business district began during the summer of 1846 when Lucius H. and
Edward Langworthy raised up a brick block on Main between 5th and 6th streets. "The location may have been regarded
as distant from the center of trade at the time, but their judgement has been approved for many years" (Ibid.).
The First and Only "Boom": 1
Growth during 1849 was described as "flat, stale and unprofitable." Gold fever drained some 500 men away
from the city and
"with them once more departed the prosperity which had for several years previous coquetted in
Dubuque. . . mining, while not entirely abandoned, was engaged in at intervals and but carelessly
prosecuted, and this interest did not revive to any appreciable extent until 1855. Emigration almost
entirely ceased. The area of cultivation was measurable reduced, some of the farmers abandoning their
fields, already in crops for the uncertain prospects held out in the gold diggings. Property in the city
became unsalable, and residents wore an aspect of gloom and dissappointment, for the times were hard
and money scarce and little remained to encourage the hope for which had theretofore been indulged,
that the probationary period of the city's existence had passed (1880 History, p. 527).
The boom began in 1852. Forty additions were platted in Dubuque between 1848 and 1857. Just three of these
pre-dated 1852. Thirty-seven plats were filed between 1852 and 1857. The city population increased by 50 percent
I No city worthy of the name wanted to have a "boom." After the Panic of 1857-58 a "boom" meant uncontrolled and fleeting
damaging over expansion. City builders instead boasted of sustained and solid growth and chided competitors who were booming.
Most Dubuque historians are willing to term the 1850's veritable boom years and the resulting deflation prior to the war underscores
the use of the term.
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
19
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
between 1852 and 1854 (6,634 residents) and it doubled between 1854 and 1856 (12,284 persons). The year 1857 pushed
the total to 15,957. The Panic of 1857-58 put an end to all this and the 1860 population total was down by 4,000 (13,000
total). The original city boundary of 1841 contained one square mile. The boundaries were extended in 1852 and again
in 1854 in apparent anticipation of what was to come (Horton, pp. 21-25; Dubuque Manufacturing and Commercial
Facilities..., p. 12).
During 1854 the city gained the Key City House and German Bank Building, other additions, and "residences,
too, began to appear at points which but a short time previous had been vacant spaces on the city map" (1880 History, p.
530).
The year 1855 was "a year of unprecedented prosperity." The city had a population of 13,000 and it was claimed
that that figure would have been 2,000 greater "if dwellings could have been obtained the past season. The city
brickyards, three in number, produced 8,000,000 brick that year. The large amount of building inflated lumber prices and
seasoned lumber was scarce. There were 12 hotels (six first class, six second class)and 48 boarding houses. The hotels
served an estimated annual patronage of 85,045 persons (Commercial Report---1854 & 1855, pp. 7, 9, 14).
By 1856 new construction forced the relocation of many older buildings and the streets were frequently blocked
by their movements. City growth was so rapid during the year that Dubuque was favorably compared with Chicago's
growth rate of 1854, a $2 million growth figure. Dubuque's growth outpaced Chicago when compared to population.
The first downtown paving project, Main Street, between 8th and 14th streets, using crushed blue limestone, was
completed in 1856. An 1853 fire prompted the authorization of fire fighting companies on July 17, 1854. Three
volunteer companies formed between 1854 and 1857. A disastrous fire in June 1859 destroyed a four-store block, a
theater, the Post Office and the Odd Fellows Hall (Horton, 35-36; Weekly Express and Herald, November 27, 1856).
Linwood Cemetery, consisting of ten blufftop acres located east of Couler Creek, was purchased by the city in
1851 and the first municipal cemetery, Jackson Park, was (poorly) cleared of its burials only in 1856 (Horton, pp. 37-38).
The year 1857 was an important one for public improvements. The city started work on the new City Hall, three
market houses, three schoolhouses and chartered a horse railroad. The first water company simply hauled river water to
private purchasers. The gas company, formed in 1853, was operating by 1856 (Ibid., p. 40).
Construction materials shortages delayed the completion of a number of large 1856 building projects, these being
the jail, Congregation and First Presbyterian churches and 16 warehouses. These rose to their foundation watertable lines
and stopped. Delay was also the result of a late starting date that year. Brick was the critical factor and most of two
months construction time (June and July) were lost. Several new brick yards were organized in response and existing
yards expanded their machinery (Weekly Express and Herald, March 8, 1857).
The city population remained dominated by unmarried males into the mid-1850s and males just barely
outnumbered females, a lingering reflection of its original settlement pattern. The city was compact and focused on the
original river terrace location and ninety percent of the city population lived south of 17th Street as of 1856 (Wilkie, p.
185).
The U.S. Congress made the city a Port-of-Entry in 1858 and this qualified Dubuque for its own customs house.
Marine hospitals also were established to meet the health needs of inland sailors and Dubuque appears to have gained one
of these as well (Horton, p. 40).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
20
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State------
The chart presented below summarizes annual construction activity in the years 1837-1858. Most annual
progress reports are neither statistically based or complete. The topographical setting of even a much-smaller city made
the task of enumerating building starts a daunting one and there was no municipal overseer. The Weekly Express and
Herald noted at the end of 1856 that it required "a labor of weeks" to amass the building list. It continued "We do not
pretend that we have obtained every building erected in the city.. . we think that considering the peculiar topographical
situation of our city, we have made a pretty clean sweep" (Weekly Express and Herald, November 27, 1856).
Year Total Construction New Residential Construction Notes:
Total Total Non- Number New Total Value New Multi-
Value Residential S/F Houses familv Houses
1837 55 dwellinlls as of 1836
1838
1839
1840 Several new buildings underway in May
1840, lumber abundant and cheap
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854 333 total new buildin2s
1855 201 471 total new buildings, a total of2,600
dwellinl!:s bv vear's end
1856 $1,167,145 502 new buildinl!:s
1857 $ 558,500 378 new buildinlls
1858
Banking and Capital In Dubuque:
The Great Financial Panic of 1857-58:
The best study of the impact and cause of the 1857-58 panic upon Dubuque is found in Russell Lee Johnson's
Civil War study of Dubuque (An Army For Industrialization: The Civil War and The Formation of Urban-Industrial
Society in A Northern City, 1996). The national financial collapse is attributed to over-speculation particularly in
railroad construction and real estate and the particular trigger was the failure of the Ohio Life Insurance Trust Company
in August 1857. Both held true in Dubuque but the city's real problem was that it was living beyond its means. Imports
exceeded exports by $7,000,000 by 1855 and the railroad's arrival only skewed those numbers higher. The city's overall
economy rested "on inflated real estate values, imbalanced trade, and a mountain of public and personal debt." The
damage was so extensive that the city's economy was only just beginning to recover at the beginning of the Civil War
(Johnson,pp.72-74)
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
21
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Eastern interests demanded payment and firms with trade extended on credit, failed. In Iowa crop failures in
1858 made things worse. Rural customers couldn't pay their bills to merchants. Four Dubuque retailers folded shop in
May 1857. That September local capital rushed to back up Mordecai Mobley's bank. Just a week later the Herron
brothers bank unaided, collapsed. That December Mobley's bank went under despite substantial loans and support. This
finally crimped local optimism. During 1857 the city suffered 37 business failures, 26 more in 1858,21 in 1859 and
seven in 1860. Johnson notes "For the years 1857-1859, Dubuque with less than one-tenth ofIowa's businesses and
about one-thirteenth of the state's population, accounted for anywhere from one-third to more than half ofIowa's
liabilities" (Ibid., pp. 79-84)
Land speculation2 and "the weakness of a pre-dominantly commercial economy" were the root causes of the
crash in Dubuque. It was suggested that capitalists had harmed city growth by sinking money into unproductive
property, thereby making it unavailable for productive investment, and at the same time forcing emigrants to go
elsewhere to settle due to the resulting inflated land values in and around the city. Johnson suggests that the city assessor
(Kniest) deliberately deflated assessments, to the delight of working class Germans and the exasperation of Republicans
who challenged him in the 1862 election charging that he was holding back city development (Ibid., pp. 85-6).
Last week business was lively in our city. Streets were filled with farmers and a great
quantity of produce was changed for wares. We Dubuquers cannot complain too much
at hard times when travelers who have seen the cities along the river assure us that in
comparison with Dubuque are dead. They say Davenport is especially hard hit and
business poor. If Dubuque did not walk with 7 league boots, it's good to know that it
went forward and not backward. Proof of it are the many impressive buildings erected in
al parts of the city, among which are several to note with pleasure, built by our German
fellow citizens-as of Messrs. Duttle and Shunk, and of Strobel and Rath, buildings
notable for size and solidity
Der National Democrat, July 26, 1858
On the commercial front, the city had put all of its eggs in its commercial basket, relying upon that sector alone
to carry the city forward. The panic experience taught all that manufacturing and not commerce, would generate true
wealth. Local newspapers however also stressed mining and agriculture as offering the roads to wealth. The city was
exporting its raw products, lead, timber and wheat without adding value to them, and in turn it imported finished
(expensive) goods. Imports included furniture, which was not produced locally in sufficient quantity to meet demand
(Ibid., pp. 88-89, 94-95).
The long-term legacy ofthe panic was the delay in the completion of a number of building projects, particularly
churches and the departure of at least one major architect, John Rague. The real estate pyramid collapsed and the city's
total valuation followed, declining from $13,100,000 to below $9,000,000 by 1859. A great deal of city and county
property was sold for taxes between 1858 and 1860. Immigration had ceased, one of the first signs of trouble, in 1857
and was only resuming by 1859. Even with the city "a shadow of its former self' foundations were being laid for the
new Custom House and the Dubuque and Cedar Rapids Railroad was formed (1880 History, p. 531; Oldt, p. 144).
2 Hill top lots which could be "reached after fatiguing marches" were going for $30 per frontage foot while bottom lots went for $250-
500. Property was being "held at rates that ordinarily would have defied the ambition of any but capitalists" (1880 History,p. 531).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
22
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Between 1850 and 1860 the city made little progress towards industrialization. The size of shops increased as
did the total number of workers (1850, 43 shops, 173 hands; 186050 shops, 328 hands3). During the ten-year period
capitalization increased, particularly in wood products and skinslleather (Ibid.,).
The confidence of Dubuquers was shaken by the sudden end to exponential growth, as was the social cohesion of
the city. Johnson concluded:
As Dubuquers struggled with the consequence of commercial capitalist development, rapid population
growth, and then economic depression, many felt that certain basic values, such as honesty, thrift, and
hard work, were being abandoned for corruption, luxury, and idleness. This led, in turn, to a broader
sense of social crisis.. . Dubuqers interpreted the Panic of 1857 both as a punishment for abandoning
republican values and as a catharsis which could lead people back to the right way. At the same time,
however, political disagreements over the road back to prosperity intensified and increasingly divided the
city along ethnic and class lines (Ibid., p. 96).
Ethnicity and Settlement:
Dubuque's foreign-born population, principally Irish and German, comprised 42 percent of the city's population
as of 1860. Statewide, 28.3 percent oflowans were foreign born as of that census year (Wilkie, p. 185).
The original mining population was predominantly male and appears to have been of Northern origin.
Agriculturists settled in the area beginning in 1838 when the separate Iowa Territory was established. Cholera epidemics
doubtless slowed settlement but sources are contradictory about the time sequence of these epidemics. Horton states that
1848-1857 witnessed incessant waves of the disease and specifies 1852 as the worst year. Another source says two
successive epidemics struck in 1839 and 1840. Both Germans and Irish immigrated to America in record numbers
beginning in the late 1840s and Dubuque's growth boom nicely coincided with these movements. The Catholic Church
is credited by some sources with actively recruiting German and Irish Catholics to the state to build up the church. This
important point deserves close consideration because the rapid population growth is likely attributable to this role of the
church (Horton, p. 38; Dubuaue ManufacturinlZ and Commercial Facilities.. .. p. 11).
The Irish-born comprised the city's largest ethnic group as early as 1835 and maintained that distinction until the
mid-1850s. They enjoyed fairly immediate political power and elected F. K. a-Ferrall mayor for successive three terms,
1844-46. Other prominent Irishmen were Patrick Quigley, who served in the Wisconsin territorial legislature, and Judge
Charles Corkery. From the beginning the Irish gravitated to the south end of the city (termed "Dublin") and the Germans
to the north end. Lyon locates Dublin as south of 3rd Street. It is probable that the Germans were dominant in terms of
their wealth, business acumen, and politics although it wasn't until1864 that a German resident was first elected mayor.
Housing for the two groups was as different as night and day if some sources can be believed. The Irish were content, it
was said, to reside in frame shacks in the former mining village areas, while German homes were of more substantial
brick construction. Separate Catholic churches and parishes were established early on. By 1856 there were three
German-language newspapers. Each group had its own shopping areas (Horton, pp. 41-42; Lyon, pp. 141,294).
3 Many small shops failed to qualify for inclusion in the census Johson notes. The population schedules list 1,173 skilled workers
while the industrial schedule accounts for just 328 of these.
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
23
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
The Irish struggled with Bishop Loras and their church over the issue of church support for the establishment of a
separate parish, rather than a mere mission church and a clamoring for Irish priests, rather than French or German ones.
They refused to pay their pew rents and twice caused the Bishop to flee the city to find tranquility elsewhere in the hopes
that the locals could sort things out. The battle was no minor one and Loras at one time threatened a severe interdiction
of St. Patricks parishoners. It was the Irish perception that Loras had used church resources to build new German parish
churches. Loras had no animosity for his Irish congregates as is evidenced by his efforts to recruit Irish Catholics to the
new diocese (Carey, pp. 32-33).
Irish ethnic organizations included the Shamrock Society (pre-1848), St. Raphael's Temperance Society (pre-
1848), and the Royal Order of Hiberians (peaked in popularity 1840s-50s). As was the case with most groups, the Irish
themselves distinguished sharply between "lace curtain" and "shanty" Irish (Wilkie, p. 285; Lyon, p. 141).
The Germans built three successive Germania Halls beginning in the 1850s, all of which were located in the
northern end of the downtown proper (between 2nd and 3rd streets on Main Street, the northeast comer of 12th and Clay
streets, and the southeast comer ofIowa and 9th streets) (Ibid).
Swiss and Luxembourger minorities tended to get lost in the larger "German" population. The Swiss Griietli-
Verein, with 51 charter members, was formed in 1886. There was also the Amerikanischer Schweizer Club, a pro-
assimilation group (Ibid., p. 300).
Scots were present early on in Dubuque and had their Bums Club in place by 1859. Their St. Andrew's Society
offered assistance to the poor. Like the Irish, temperance was a dividing issue within their ranks, and the St. Andrew's
group split over the matter in 1855 (Lyon, p. 36).
The largest population of African Americans in what was to become Iowa, 72 in number, lived in Dubuque as of
1840. Much is made of the legal tolerance of slavery in the city at this time and the exact breakdown of free and slave is
undetermined. Dubuque had 15 Jewish families in residence by this same time. Their numbers increased only during the
1880s and 1890s. A predominately Jewish neighborhood ("Jerusalem") developed on the flats along 14th and 17th streets
although it is unclear when this occurred (Lyon, p. 141).
The Role of the Catholic Church in Dubuque History:
The Catholic Church was present at Dubuque's inception, the first mass being said in the summer of 1833. The
first church, St. Raphael's was begun in the summer of 1835. The Diocese of Dubuque was established on July 28, 1837
with just three churches. It covered a huge territory that included the settled areas of Eastern Iowa and Minnesota. Rev.
Pierre Jean Mathias Loras (1791-1858), the first bishop, arrived in Dubuque on April 21, 1839. He found a town
population of 2,500 half of whom were of the Catholic faith. Loras and a small number of French priests would
transform the diocese within just a few years by means of their impressive efforts and commitments. They were off to a
rough start however because none of them spoke German (and they weren't German)! The situation was so bad that
some Catholics chose to attend Protestant services which were said in part German (mass was read in Latin and Latin is
Latin) (interview, Mike Gibson, Oldt, pp. 871-72).
A measure of Loras' accomplishment was the jump in diocesan population, said to be 54,000 as of 1858. Loras
oversaw 48 priests, 60 churches, 40 church stations. The new parishioners were German and Irish and both groups had
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
24
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
experienced mass emigration from their homelands during the late 1840s. The population had settled the county, the
city, and more broadly beyond those points. St. Paul Diocese was formed in 1850 (Oldt, p. 873).
Perhaps Loras and his minions redirected newly arrived immigrants to Dubuque but it is certain that he actively
recruited religious orders to Dubuque and Dubuque County and these made possible the remarkable and in some
instances nationally significant religious, educational and health institutions which would distinguish the Diocese. One
of the most notable, the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was transformed from a small insignificant group
of Irish nuns to the nation's largest order. They came to Dubuque in 1833. The Trappist Monks, Brothers of the
Christian Institute and the Sisters of Visitation were the earliest orders to respond to Bishop Loras' recruiting efforts.
The first parochial school was established in 1843 at St. Joseph's Prairie, a point ten miles southwest of the city. Loras
was apparently attempting to establish a separate rural Catholic community at that point. The New Melleray Abbey
(formed 1849) was just two miles away. It wasn't until 1858 that the school was moved to Dubuque. This is the present-
day St. Joseph's College (Ibid., pp. 873-74).
Ambitious planning sometimes outdistanced [mandaI realities. The new "uptown" cathedral languished for five
years (1847-52) and never rose above its foundations. The German Catholics started St. Mary's Church at 8th and White
streets in 1851 and built the present-day replacement in 1864-67. The Sacred Heart and Holy Ghost congregations were
formed from St. Mary's. A replacement cathedral was begun in 1857 and finished in 1863 (Ibid., p. 876, Wilkie, p. 178).
From the beginning, Dubuque's churches were substantially built and reflected high style (Greek Revival and
Gothic) influences in their designs. In contrast to residential and commercial construction, many of these buildings were
built in cut stone. Several of these smaller churches never finished planned steeples (Ibid.).
Emerging Industrial and Commercial Base:
Save for lead mining and processing, most early Dubuque industries served a predominantly local market. The
city developed a broad array of mostly smaller-scale industries and some of these were harbingers oflarger things to
come. Breweries, wagon and carriage manufacturing, saw and flour mills, and seasonal meat packing were examples
(Wilkie, p. 261).
The Railroad Arrives and Fosters Growth:
Railroad fever struck Dubuque as early as 1847 with the first organized railroad meeting which called for a state
charter for railroads. The survey for the Illinois Central was completed 1850-51, with grading done the next year.
Cholera impeded progress during 1854. Appropriately, Galena residents used a pile driver to block the track when the
first train traversed the finished line on February 6, 1855. Dubuque formally celebrated the ironhorse's arrival on July
17, 1855 (1880 county history, p. 626).
The arrival of the Illinois Central Railroad opposite Dubuque in 1855, elevated the city from a local marketplace
which it was through 1854, to secondary entreport status (skipping the intermediate category of central marketplace) after
1855, taking away that same role from Galena. It was clearly the railroad's arrival that made this possible and it was the
long-term Mississippi River terminus of the rails, 1855-68, that enabled the city to hold on to its newly-gained regional
market role. Historian Timothy Mahoney states "Davenport, Dubuque, and, to a lesser extent, Quincy thrived for a
somewhat longer period, encouraging local merchants, who interpreted their new found prosperity as an indicator of
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PS Form 10-900-a
IRev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
25
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
greater regional hegemony, to bypass Chicago and to establish direct contacts with New York, Philadelphia, and Boston."
Dubuque experienced greater stability in contrast to the other major river cities. Mahoney determined "Dubuque...
remained a local marketplace until the mid-1850s and then briefly performed a secondary entreport role between 1858
and 1860 in the development of the upper Mississippi River before settling into the role of a central marketplace."
Mahoney fails to explain the cause for his claim that the city lost trading status after 1860. He elsewhere dates the period
of serving as central marketplace to 1864-1868 (Mahoney, pp. 318-441).
The railroad challenged the river as the medium of transportation for immigrants and historian Helen Wulkow
determined that "with the coming of the railroad there was a great influx of immigration to settle the farms of the
Dubuque area." This hinterland development, particularly in agricultural products, would be most important to the city
(Wulkow, p. 21).
The 1880 county history echoed this claim, stating that even the mere approach of the the railroad westward from
Galena:
Gave a new impetus to business and stimulated enterprise. Real estate once more ascended the plane of
value. Lots in the suburbs were sold at so much per front foot, and property in the business portion of the
city could scarcely be obtained at any price. The Germans began to come in and take upland for farms,
gardens, etc.. Manufacturing interests were regarded as valuable. Couler avenue was built up by the
German element who toiled in the workshops and saved their profits to be invested and lost in the
financial crash impending. Farm products were in great demand, and, as one of their residents of
Dubuque said in a recent occasion to the writer, the country folks were intoxicated with joy when they
found the price of hog-meat had risen to $3.50 per hundred. These were the prosperous days of a golden
age for Dubuque. The best times of record, or within the memory of the proverbial oldest inhabitants,
occurred between 1853 and 1858 (1880 county history, p. 530).
The railroad's extension beyond Galena, masterminded by Senator George Washington Jones, was central to the
demise of competitor Galena. For a time the city was the northernmost river city with rail access, a double advantage
although river towns like LaCrosse also had Milwaukee rail links within a few years. The Illinois Central rail link was an
indirect one to Chicago, the line ran east and then south to middle Illinois before shipments reached the junction with the
company's Chicago line, and then ran the same distance back north to Lake Michigan.
The arrival of the Illinois Central sparked railroad fever on the Iowa side and Dubuquer's financed the Dubuque
and Sioux City Railroad, which would reach as far west as Cedar Rapids by the early years of the Civil War. That
company incorporated on May 19, 1853 and the line was complete to Dyersville by May 11, 1857. Jessup was reached in
1860 but financial woes plagued the company. It reorganized August 21, 1860. At the start ofthe Civil War the
company had 80 miles of track, four engines and 71 cars. Dubuque interests were greatly frustrated with the painfully
slow westward extension of the line (1880 county history, p. 632).
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
27
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-----
By 1874 the association employed 75 hands and 12 caners in cottage industry. Their annual products totaled $80,000 and
wages were $32,260. In late 1881 they erected a new factory at White and 10th (or 16th?) Street for $12,000 (Ibid., January 1, 1874,
December 4, 1881).
Annual company profits indicate a loss of$9,823.86 during 1871 and 1885 yielded a profit of just $46.04!
Association Profits'Losses 1868-91
2O,<XXl
en 10,<XXl
-
'5 0
~
D..
-10,<XXl
-20,<XXl
Yea'S
Company officers were D. L. Wullweber, Georg Schuler, Henrh. Wunderlich, John Stuber, Chas. W. Wullweber, H. Tischer,
Richard Herrmann and directors included Gottlieb Schneider, C. Jacobi,John Foerst, Bernard Baumhover, Richard Herrmann, and
John Jehring. Factory foremen were Joachim Kurz (1867-71), Georg SchUler (1871-1874), Christ Jacobi (1874-1891) and Gottlieb
Schneider (1871-86) (Uebersicht ueber die Gruendung und den Verlauf des Geschaftes der Dubuque Cabinetmakers' Association 25
Jahrestag, 15 Juni...1867=1892, pp. 6-7).
This cooperative association, given its long-term success and its German ethnic linkages, is certainly historically significant
and any surviving industrial or commercial properties should be investigated for their ability to interpret the history of this
organization.
Industry Drives Municipal Growth:
[Dubuque] was originally a mining town, built upon the mineral wealth taken from its
hills. Later it had the river traffic which made it a shipping and distributing center for all
sorts of products and commodities. The lumber business, brought by the river facilities,
for a long while waxed strong and made the Dubuque the leading city of Iowa. Still later
the brewing industry carried on, even after the earlier ones had begun to wane...
William Smith (Dubuque Business, February 1930, p. 4)
As late as 1873, the Daily Times could still enumerate the city's principal industrial employers in a fairly short
listing. Thirty-one named firms and unspecified cooperages accounted for 1,095 jobs. Just six firms employed over 50
men and just two exceeded 100 positions. Clearly the wagon makers (Cooper and Connelly) and the lumber yards (Iowa
Lumber, Dubuque Lumber) were poised to expand exponentially as rail connections delivered a regional-national market
to the city (Daily Times, January 1, 1874).
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
28
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-------
The city had 346 industrial establishments with a total capitalization of $3,446,866. Total employment was
3,00387 percent ofthese workers being males aged 16 or older. Total wages paid were $1,339,730. The industrial
clusters in order of size was as follows, in descending order:
Sector No. Firms Capitalization Hands Materials Product
Value Value
Other 45 $959,080 391 $ 535,565 $ 813,396
Carriages, wagons 9 $532,900 283 $ 324,250 $ 627,000
Sawed lumber 4 $295,000 160 $ 212,200 $ 345,000
Liquors, Malt 6 $265,000 63 $ 110,132 $ 211,125
Men's Clothing 18 $241,150 260 $ 254,875 $ 403,000
Slaughtering, Meats 5 $183,000 133 $1,237,400 $1,370,000
Foundries, Machine Shops 4 $157,500 109 $ 86,960 $ 181,320
Sash, doors, blinds 3 $114,000 86 $ 191,000 $ 284,000
Printing, Publishing 8 $111,800 91 $ 38,300 $ 137,475
The miscellaneous category, of undetermined composition claimed the most workers. It and men's clothing accounted
for 86 percent of the 292 female industrial jobs in the city. Product value didn't necessarily correlate with capitalization.
Slaughtered meats, with five firms, accounted for 22 percent of the total industrial value of product. It also had the
closest margin, with the cost of its materials equal to 90 percent of its product value (1880 Census. Report of Social
Statistics Of Cities, pp.732-33).
Total manufacturing output during 1881 was $9,071,000 and that of jobbing sales $13,385,900. Lead mine
production was a mere $36,000 with just three operating smelters. Dubuque was termed "the Banner City of the State in
Manufacturing, Jobbing and General Trade" by the Dubuque Trade Journal. The Journal compiled what it claimed was
a 90% accurate first time survey of the city's outputs. Total jobs in manufacturing were 3,729 hands and the total steam
horse power of the plants was 2,222. Jobbers and manufacturers had a total of 200 salesmen in the field (Dubuque Trade
Journal, February 20, 1882).
Value of Manufacturing Products, Six Largest Sectors
Sector 1881 Product Value
Pork Products $2,170,000
Machinery, boilers, etc. $1,472,000
Lumber, lath and shingles $ 550,000
Sundry Manufacturers (60 minor
Establishments) $ 457,000
Oat Meal, Flour, mill feet $ 390,000
Wagons $ 325,000
Value of Jobbing Products, Six Largest Sectors
Sector 1881 Product Value
Groceries $3,000,000
Hardware $2,000,000
Grain and commission produce $1,806,400
Dry Goods and notions $1,250,000
PS Form lo.900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
29
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Lumber, lath and shingles
Boots and Shoes
$1,062,000
$ 800,000
No city was industrially self-sufficient of course and every hopeful metropolis was constantly on the watch for
new industrial niches that could be locally filled. An 1882 listing included a woolen mill, cotton mill, malleable iron
works, brass works, glucose factory, syrup factory, match factory, paper mill, tannery, white lead factory, pottery, fruit
canning plant, nail factory, glass factory, locomotive works, distillery, agricultural implements maker, rolling mill, iron
pipe maker, hardwood stock works, rope and twine works, glue factory, stamped ware factory, and electric lights factory.
That same year there was local call for producing pressed brick. Indeed the same lack was true of the entire Northwest
and the "territories" as well. Consequently the more expensive pressed brick had to be imported at higher cost.
All that could be made in Dubuque would find a ready market in Iowa Minnesota, Nebraska, and Dakota.
The saving on freight alone from Philadelphia and St. Louis, the principal sources of the present supply,
would almost pay the first cost of manufacturing. As a shipping point there is no better place in the
northwest than Dubuque.
It was suggested that there were ample local clay supplies (Dubuque Trade Journal, February 20, August 21, 1882).
It was long claimed that "laborers can live more cheaply in Dubuque than elsewhere." The city was also
"situated so as to receive the overflow of products from the great Northwest" specifically timber. As of 1887 the largest
lumber product was wood shingle production. Three firms collectively turned out shingle products annually valued at
$745,000 Ondustries ofDubuaue, 1887, pp. 17-18).
Wholesaling and Commercial Development:
The year 1869 was rated one of "unusual dullness in trade and of general business apprehension. During the ten
years last past there has not been a season more unpromising to the merchant, mechanic and farmer. . ." (Herald,
December 16, 1869).
The1880 dry goods trade was double that of 1879. A regional wholesaling trade was fast developing. "Out
jobbing merchants are reaching out along the arteries of our commerce. . . [and] every facility can be offered to country
merchants desiring to purchase goods at wholesale, as every branch of business is here represented." (Herald, January 1,
1880).
Total retail sales during 1881 were $9,542,153, or 29 percent of the total industrial, jobbing, retailing and mining
output for that year. It is a later premise (c.1903) that the city's retail was principally a local market and one that failed
to expand and capture a broader regional market. The composition of the following list appears to describe a very local
market based retailing trade, although this was still quite early in the city's development (Dubuque Trade Journal,
February 20, 1882).
Value of Retail Trade, Largest Sectors
Sector 1881 Product Value
Groceries and provisions $1,381,123
Dry goods and notions $1,159,398
Miscellaneous $ 682,124
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PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
30
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Retail1iquors, beer, ale $ 449,761
Teamsters $ 449,125
Butchers meats $ 389,867
Clothing $ 378,975
Hotels, restaurants, bdg. Houses $ 372,432
Hucksters and marketeers $ 359,000
Wood and coal $ 348,720
By 1887 it was claimed that Dubuque's business comprised fully a twelfth of the state's total business. That
figure showed "the supremacy of Dubuque in commerce and manufacture, as far as Iowa is concerned, and her important
position in the northwest." The wholesale and jobbing business exceeded that of any other Iowa city. This feat was
attributed to the growth of two new railroads as well as to the completion of the first wagon b ridge across the river
(Herald, November 24, 1887; Times, February 27, 1887).
Dubuque claimed as of that same year to possess a wholesale and jobbing trade nearly twice that of any other
Iowa city. It was said:
In the Jobbing Trade Dubuque holds her own against all odds, and it is an acknowledged fact that even
the Chicago wholesale houses do not deign to send their representatives, except in few cases, to grounds
held by the jobbers of Dubuque, while she has always held the fields in contention with Chicago, St.
Louis and St. Paul houses.
This was due to the jobbers' ability to purchase in quantities equal to their big city competitors and because Dubuque was
closer to the consuming markets than was Chicago or the eastern cities. In dry goods alone the city had two wholesalers
and 20 retailers and "quite a number of our houses are direct importers." One unnamed dry goods wholesaler was said to
be "the most extensive in the whole Valley of the Mississippi" shipping its goods "all over the Northwest, besides
through the adjoining States east of the Mississippi." Total annual sales in dry goods alone were $3,000,000 (Industries
ofDubuaue, 1887, pp. 16-17).
River Traffic Declines in the face of Railroad Dominance and Growth:
Even today the ghosts of the great lumber rafts defme the broad sweeps of the curves in the 9-foot deep
Mississippi River navigation channel. Similarly they determined bridge placement and channel clearance between bridge
piers. The huge rafts would continue to dominate river traffic until 1916.
Dubuque required assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to solve a number of river transportation
problems. There was the problem of direct river access as well as the need for protection for vessels which over wintered
at Dubuque. There was also the problem of newly-forming bars which threatened to completely isolate the city from
river traffic. The New Barney Cut of 1858-59 had diverted water flow through Lake Peosta and had over time caused a
bar formation to block almost the entirety of the city's riverfront, forcing ferries and other craft to either back out or
make a difficult sharp turn to pass below the foot of the bar to reach the city. The Corps of Engineers sent C. W.
Dunham to study the situation in 1876 and $41,000 was appropriated between 1876 and 1881 to dredge out the bar and to
dam up the various previous cuts which had formed the bar. Most of the dredging work was completed in 1884 (Chief
Engineer, 1876, pp. 695-98, 1885, p. 262).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
31
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
'i--
3~k~ . .'
:fCE ~I..4RBOR.....TDUBUQUE.rowA.~l
.ho~'ng modifi'd p=j..t. ~
&""_~ ---..: ,./'..M.~'$~ .
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Ice Harbor Plan, 1884
Note that steamboat traffic is served not from harbor but from wharfboats.
The Diamond Jo Wharfboat is second from the left (Report of the Chief Engineer, 1886).
The other problems were solved by transforming the old Waples Cut into an "ice harbor." Originally planned in
1880, the harbor would measure 502,000 square feet with a low-water depth of six feet. A sluiceway through the Third
Street causeway would prevent the accumulation of stagnant water in the harbor. Congress appropriated $20,000 in
August 1882 to start the project and B. E. Linehan of Dubuque was awarded the dredging contract. The project turned
out to be more of a federal-local partnership when the City Council acted aggressively to buy up the land around the
harbor and to strictly control the use of the harbor. The dredging costs were lower than anticipated and with additional
funding the Corps produced a larger harbor with 164,000 additional square feet as well as a broad landing embanlanent
along the Third Street side of the harbor. The work was complete by 1886. During the first winter of 1883-84 the harbor
sheltered 10 steamboats, two wharf boats, two dredge boats, 33 barges and flats and 200,000 feet oflumber (Ibid., 1885,
p. 1572; 1886, pp. Ip91-93).
By 1880 the city was exporting the region's grain surplus. The Herald noted "Nearly all of the grain purchased
in Dubuque seeks a market on the lower Mississippi, and a large quantity is shipped directly to Liverpool. . .Dubuque is
one of the most extensive depots on the river between St. Louis and St. Paul, for river freight, its shipments and receipts
being greatly in excess of any other point on the river between the points just named." Each winter the railroads
increased their shipping rates in the absence of river competition. The Herald complained "much has been written upon
water commerce, displaying its advantages and disadvantages, and so long as an antagonism exists between rail and
water communication low prices will prevail on the river. All lines are well patronized by our businessmen" (Herald,
January 1, 1880).
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8.86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
32
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Dubuque as a Key Railroad Hub, Belated River Bridges:
The river at this point is bridged by Architect J. Frost, who fmished the job night before
last. McShaw of Anamosa was first to try the strength of the new bridge, yesterday, and
he was speedily followed by others.
Herald, December 19, 1860
River ice eliminated the obstacle normally presented by the river. The other eight months of the year only the
ferry service or the railroad transfer service were options for crossing man, beast or freight to or from Illinois. Rough ice
meant that even this natural bridge was not available.
Dubuquers called constantly for a railroad bridge, but serious demands and any real hopes came after 1865.
Some recognized that gaining the bridge would actually harm the city's regional trade position as through-trains
effectively bypassed the city. This was in accordance with Dubuque" historic penchant for slowing down the traveler,
even today traffic lights ornament the city's "interstate" approaches. It was suggested that major cities like Chicago,
Pittsburgh, and Baltimore all prevented trains from simply passing across the city. The bridge and tracks should be
designed to only indirectly connect to lines stretching west. Nothing was done and the completion of the railroad bridge
marked the downgrading of the city from "secondary entreport" to a "central marketplace" (Johnson, pp. 232-33,
Mahoney, p. 327).
The interests of Dubuque and Northern Iowa suffered for many years in consequence of
the lack of transportation facilities between Dunleith and Dubuque
1880 county history, p. 637
The Dubuaue-Dunleith Railroad Bride:e:
An independent bridge company was formed in 1867, headed by company president William B. Allison. The
local press advocated a combination rail/vehicular bridge but couldn't prevail. Stock was sold in Dubuque, Boston and
New York. The Keystone Bridge Company of Philadelphia was awarded the contract. The bridge was finished
December 15, 1868, two weeks ahead of schedule (1880 county history, pp 637-39).
Lavine: Rails Further West:
Midwestern trail terminal points were fixed throughout the war and immediate postwar years. The Dubuque &
Sioux City line actually contracted bridging and grading of 44 additional miles of track from Cedar Falls to Iowa Falls
although rails didn't reach the latter point until after the war. The Iowa Falls & Sioux City Railroad was organized in
1867 to further extend the line but it was soon after leased by the Illinois Central Railroad and the line was completed to
Sioux City on July 7, 1869 with 326 miles of trackage. It wasn't long before the unified ICRR was charged with rates
discrimination against the city (Ibid., p. 626).
The Chicago, Clinton, Dubuque & Minnesota, so constituted in 1873, replaced a number of north-south rail lines
which sought to link Minnesota and Clinton, to the south. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy with a more direct
east/west link to Chicago, approached Clinton from Prophetstown, Illinois. The CCD&M established its shops in north
Dubuque and provided 100 jobs (Ibid.).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
33
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Other lines sought to add other southerly routes. The Dubuque, Cedar Falls and Minnesota Railroad was a Cedar
Falls firm but was Dubuque-funded. It graded a line to Waverly in early 1858 but didn't resume construction until 1863-
64 when Waverly was fmally reached. It was subsequently leased to the Dubuque & Sioux City and then leased to the
ICRR. The Dubuque & Muscatine Railroad was a relative late comer, being incotporated in early 1880 in Clinton
(Ibid.).
Municipal Growth, 1859-1893:
Construction in Dubuque began to substantially recover by 1863-64. Building improvements still outpaced new
building starts. The Herald noted "People have not been so anxious to launch out into new entetprises of building"
despite the fact that "every available house in town is taken.. . and the demand exceeds the supply." The city was
benefiting from its wartime role, particularly in hotel accommodations with the rebuilding of the Peosta House heading
the city improvement list. Rail transportation improvements resulted in a new round house. A soap and candle factory
was also gained (Herald, January 1, 1864).
By the fall of 1867 new construction was underway throughout the city "and in every variety of style and
expense" and the newspaper writer found it "impossible to be systematic in our birds eye review of the matter." Most
notable were the new planing mills raised up by the Dubuque Lumber Company and by Carr and Austin. The Herald's
annual report was filled with humor noting that there were 60 families in the city with the names of Smith, Smyth or
Schmidt and 17 families bore the name Myers. Henry Kroll, town sexton "during the past healthy season, has rested
from his labors digging graves for others, and dug a fme cellar or basement for himself, just beyond the fair grounds,
where he has erected his own monument in the shape of a large brick dwelling." No area was improving faster than
Seminary Hill. There was some minimal growth in West Dubuque "with nothing being allowed to go to wreck." Older
buildings were giving away to new ones or to make-overs. The Surveyor General's office on Main went down and
another property "of some antiquity" was remodeled. Five substantial residences (J. A. Rhomberg, Jacob Christman,
Henry Louray, W. J. Knight and Sol Turck) were being built (Herald, September 5, 1867).
The city was booming by 1868 and the Herald's enumerators struggled to document the growth. Over 60 miles
of streets were canvassed and many ownerlbuilders could not be tracked down to secure building details. Frequently
only the lady of the house was on hand and "though she would very probably have been able to tell the number of cows,
chickens and children, was rarely able to tell the dimensions of the house she lived in or its cost." The same source
proudly observed
Progress has been the watchword of Dubuque during the past season. Unexampled activity is public
improvements has been manifested. From the mouth of Catfish to Eagle Point, and from the Levee to
West Dubuque, the sound of the saw, the hammer and the plane has resounded from every block.
Standing on the bluff and overlooking the city, the roofs of new dwellings dot the scene like islands in an
archipelago. No section of the city is going into dilapidation, or is even at a stand-still; everywhere are
indications of activity, thrift and entetprise.. . (Herald, December 13, 1868).4
The Daily Times was equally exuberant, estimating a population growth of more than two thousand residents within the
past year. The Illinois Central alone would bring 'some hundreds" of new jobs within a year. "More and better buildings
4 The writer had used exactly the same text a year earlier to describe city growth! (Herald, September 5, 1867)
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
34
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-------
have been erected than has ever been in anyone year previous-some of them of a character that would do credit to more
pretentious cities (Daily Times, January 1, 1869).
The year 1869 was a poor one financially ("one of unusual dullness in trade, and of general apprehension"
observed the Herald, the least promising in ten years) but despite this slowdown "there have been improvements
surpassing those of any single previous year in our history." Improvements that year included Ryan's new packing
house, the gas works, the Methodist and Second Presbyterian churches, the Oglesby Block and 30 buildings valued at
more than $5,000 each. During 1870 the "fire demon" ran riot but new construction replaced and exceeded the losses.
The construction of two new railroads boosted "an enterprising spirit among our citizens, not excelled, if equaled, at any
former period" (Herald, December 16, 1869; December 18, 1870; Oldt, p. 165).
Improvements in 1871 led the Herald to declare "not another city in the state can equal us" as construction values
exceeded $1.1 million. Improvements in 1872 fell just below those of the previous year, a hint of troubled times to
come. Many building plans were cancelled in the face of brick shortages despite increased production plans on the part
of the city's eight brick yards (a total of 6,100,000 bricks burned). The railroads had tied up much of the early supply
and consequently "Guttenberg was made to pay tribute of many brick" to fill Dubuque's building needs. The building
season was cut short by "the tightening up of the money market during the later summer and fall months." (Herald,
December 17, 1871; November 24, 1872; Times, November 23, 1872).
Laboring men and mechanics were building most of the city's new homes by 1873 and these were located in the
outskirts of Dubuque. The Herald offered its end-of-year tally under the heading "How Dubuque Stands on her Pins in
Hard Times." Reflective of those hard times or despite them, its progress report showed "a greater proportion of money
paid out by the poorer classes of the community to secure homes, and the number of dwelling houses erected is large than
in any previous year." Total construction value was down once again from the previous year and from 1871 (Times,
January 1, 1874; Herald, November 9, 1873).
While the city faired better with the economic downturn of 1873-74, new construction did diminish. The Herald
admitted that mechanics and builders had turned to "job and piece work, rather than the erection of new buildings." Still,
"a number of costly houses have been put up. That will compare favorably with those built in previous years." Growth
continued northward, the same source noting "As usual the greatest activity in building circles has been manifested in the
vicinity ofCouler avenue and Eagle point."
The majority of these are owned by laboring men and mechanics, a favorable symptom, for this class are
the real bone and sinue of the city, and when they build themselves houses it shows that they have faith
and intend to stay.. .
Beginning in 1873, filling operations in conjunction with the railroads began to make substantial progress. In 1874
200,000 yards offill were hauled from barrow sites six miles above the city (Herald, November 22, 1874).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
35
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024.0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
36
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
During 1875 it was the Fifth Ward where growth was particularly evident. "lbroughout the length and breadth
of our principal thoroughfares extensive improvements have been made.. . and indications now point to greater results for
1876 than have every been recorded in the annals of our city's history. The zenith of her glory has not yet been reached,
but she is steadily going forward to that high estate and will get there in the 'near-bye and bye' at the rate she is now
progressing" (Herald, October 31,1875).
Dubuque had rallied by 1876 in time to weather yet another national economic downturn. Record floods of that
year devastated many parts of the city. The Herald lauded "the Key City of the west" for its steady growth and the
efforts of its citizens to "adorn and improve" the city. Once again the paper challenged no "city in Iowa or the west, of
its population, can show a better record, during 'these times that try men's souls' and their pockets" (Herald, December
2, 1876).
The building season opened in mid-January. The National Democrat reported "New buildings are to be expected
in great numbers this spring. . . the architects Heer & Nascher have their hands full of plans and drawings. Building
designs for Blumenauer, Couley, Peaslee, Peabody and others we had occasion to see are real fine structures.. .do the
architects great honor." The year total of $500,000 was "a surprising and successful one considering the bad times." The
Building and Loan had $20,000 "out at work" (Der National Democrat, January 13,20, October 26, November 9,
December 7, 1876).
The new building count was down during 1877 but the Herald assured its readers that "the buildings erected this
season, although not as numerous as in former years, are of a costly and permanent class, and add greatly to the beautiful
architectural reputation Dubuque has at home and abroad." Total improvements exceeded a million dollars, proof that
the city remained "determined to keep her place as the metropolis ofIowa." The city gained a new opera house, two
churches, three hotels and three factories. There was also the palatial Main Street residence of Alex Young "intended to
eclipse, in point of magnificence, any dwelling heretofore erected in the city" (Herald, December 14, 1877).
The next year the Times suggested that "many will no doubt be agreeably surprised at the excellent showing"
made in 1878. A "stringent" money market was the cause. The year witnessed "not many business blocks" being built
"the most of the money being expended on dwelling houses and improvements on houses built in former years." The
Herald acknowledged "hard times" for the year but otherwise painted the year's growth in a more positive light with
"hundreds of new cozy homes erected all over the city... [ along with] new palatial dwellings and stores, factories and
warehouses." Business had been average and the bad times weathered because "in a word, Dubuque owns itself and it is
paid for too" (Times, December 11, 1878; Herald, January 3, 1879).
Growth continued through 1880 with notable improvements including St. Joseph's Academy on Seminary Hill,
the Sisters of St. Francis orphan's asylum on James Street, and the Home for the Friendless. Local money was now
being invested in local firms and their expansions and virtually every manufacturing firm in the city "has felt the need of
greater facilities for the work and more room." Despite high construction total valuations, the actual counts for new
buildings was low with "improvements" outweighing new building. Der National Democrat observed "Building goes on
here this fall so well that all the master carpenters have their hands full. There are no masons to be had at all and
carpenters are scarce. Pay then is up substantially which is a good sign" (Herald, January 1, 1881; Der National
Democrat, October 21, 1880).
PS Form 10-g00-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
37
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Compiling the annual improvements was by 1880 a tremendous challenge and the Herald 's editor wished for "an
ordinance compelling builders to apply for building permits" to save his efforts. The same source observed "The past
year has been one of extreme prosperity to Dubuque. But few failures have occurred, and those of so slight a character
that the commercial centers felt them as a flea bite." By this time it was claimed that the city "contains more beautiful
churches than any other city in the state." The record growth of 1880 continued into the next year and it was claimed that
the city's growth outpaced that of the entire state. Railroad division point consolidation to the city brought new workers
to Dubuque and "augmented our population considerably" with north end residential growth around the Chicago,
Milwaukee and St. Paul shops. During 1882 the unprecedented growth continued and Dubuque was "never in a more
prosperous condition" with the erection of a record number of new buildings. Even as the end-of-year report went to
press, the Herald noted "at least fifty residences are now in course of construction" which were not counted. The paper
copied the Dubuque Trade Journal 's boast that "this city is reported stronger in proportion to size than any other point in
the union." The 1883 progress report noted "an increase of population and the existence of general prosperity" (Herald,
January 1,1880; December 4, 1881; December 4, 1881; December 19,1883).
The year 1882 witnessed a record-breaking number of new buildings. At least 50 new residences, then still under
construction, were left out of the annual count. Fully 17 local manufacturing firms expanded their facilities. The city
population was said to have grown by 6,000 in just two years (Herald, December 31, 1882).
By 1886, Dubuque editors were first complaining that other Iowa cities were inflating their annual
construction figures. The Herald derided its two chief competitors noting that local counts avoided "the
exaggeration employed by many cities on their building statistics, particularly Des Moines and Sioux City"
which had become "proverbial." An honest summary of a "rather dull" year was "not cooked up for effect."
Again in 1889 that year's report closed with the boast that "Dubuque has no need to grumble and although she
does not toot her own horn as much as Sioux City and Des Moines she is getting to the front all the same"
(Herald, January 1, 1887; December 23, 1888; December 29, 1889).
This sustained growth during the early 1880s was in contrast to the known pattern in other cities. The 1884 new
construction levels continued the boom. Total improvements during 1885 (over $600,000) were "less than the previous
year, owing to the general business depression..." Construction costs in 1886 were one third cheaper and the result was
an explosion in cheaper middle class housing. The Herald interpreted the phenomenon as "a splendid indication of...a
steady increase of a permanent population, a thriftiness of the people who thus build homes for themselves." Architects
reported that it was a great year to build and they "never knew building to be so cheap." A three-story double-brick was
raised up for $3,000 when normally it would cost up to $5,000 {Dubuaue: Its Manufacturing: and Commercial Facilities,
1886; Herald, January 1, 1887.
By 1887 the city required the filing of building permits for new construction but the ordinance was so ignored
that the city engineer estimated 350 new buildings lacking the mandatory permits. The city was being "substantially
built up" but it wasn't a boom. "Dubuque has not claimed to itself one of the 'building booms' which is here to-day and
gone tomorrow. But it has ever claimed and maintained by indisputable proof that it has such a steady, prosperous growth
as places it in 'the front rank of substantial American cities" (Herald, November 24, 1887).
A real estate boom developed during the spring of 1887, said to have been the greatest since 1857. Speculative
downtown investing reflected the rapid growth of that area. The Herald observed "money has been ready and eyes have
been sharp in searching out bargains." The Commercial National Bank purchased the comer of Sixth and Main streets
and as a result "liberated considerable capital which was holding in the hands of other parties for the purpose of buying
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
38
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
it, and the holders have not been adverse to placing it elsewhere." Transactions were not being made with the usual one-
third payment but were sold for cash (Herald, March 13, 1887).
The non-boom was gone by 1888 which was described as "a rather dull one." This was interpreted as evidence
that the city "while not inflicted with an inflated boom fever, has progressed steadily and conservatively in the right
direction." The best thing that could be said about 1889's progress was that "Dubuque is not dead." The Herald added
$200,000 in new construction to the permit total filed with the city (Herald, December 23, 1888; December 29, 1889).
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The 1890 construction figures exceeded those of the previous year by 275%. This gain was unmatched by any
Iowa city and was proof that the city "has entered upon an era of material prosperity that means for her a step far in
advance of any other city in the Hawkeye State." Building permits accounted for just 20% of all new work and the 123
house starts fell far short of the estimated 600 house starts. The 1891 total was thought to be double that of 189 1 although
the year total was determined by multiplying the house count by the average house cost indicated by the actual permits.
At any rate the Herald predicted "The boom has just started and it is not a wild prediction to state that the future has in
store for Dubuque ten fold greater prosperity than the past has produced." Real estate prices were reported as being very
firm and experiencing a sharp increase during the spring of 1890 (Herald, March 27, April 13, 1890; January 18, 1891; ).
Record new construction continued through 1892, thought to be in excess ofthe $2,000,000 figure. The numbers
were bolstered by the new Irving School, county courthouse and the Odd Fellows Hall. Most remarkable was the sudden
predominance of frame residences with 88 percent of identified construction materials being of frame construction. This
shift might have been linked to "an unfortunate trouble between the boss carpenters and boss bricklayers" during the
summer. The "troubles" had force the abandonment of plans to erect "some buildings." The new Dubuque Pressed
Brick works "terminated the trouble." Another mark of progress was the laying of the first paving brick on Main Street
during the summer and fall of189l (Herald, December 25, 1892).
Year Total Construction New Residential Construction Notes:
Total Total Non- Number New Total Value New Multi-
Value Residential S/F Houses family Houses
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863 5 8 I double 2,719 total dwellings in the city, Incomplete,
new engine house, roundhouse, brewery,
factory, custom house stopped, sealed, more
repairs than new building
1864 4 9 2 Incomplete, Peosta House rebuilt, brewery,
Dub & SC RR roundhouse, one store
1865
1866
1867 54 8 Herald says about 100 new buildings worth
at least $800,10 valued over $10,000, Oldt
says 121 new buildings
1868 $647,300 19 81 5 Times tallies 208 new buildings, Not over
(Times, new 200 improvements, 100 over $1,000 in
buildings, value, Incomplete, business blocks on Main
$52,300 streets) and small houses on Southern Avenue, Oldt
says both 135 and 150 new buildiDlzs
1869 15 97 8 Methodist, 2ad Presbyterian churches, Oldt
says 176 new buildimzs
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
39
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
1870 11 66 2.5 A total 00,619 dwellings in city, Times
reports 161 new buildings, Augustus and
Farley mansions
1871 $969,362 24 95 2 Ryan mansion, National Demokrat building,
Levi Block, Times reports 159 buildings
new or remodeled, 15 new buildings on
Main Street alone, $16,184 streets, $535,000
by railroads
1872 $ 835,251 24 84 7 139 new buildings, 4 mansions, $13,200 for
sidewalks
1873 $ 721,906 21 95 17
1874 14 bldgs, lime 36 (15 brick) 6 60 total new buildings
kiln, saw mill,
2 schools,
church
1875 $672,055 63 (28 brick) 6 181 new dwellings and other buildings
28 new excluding the 28 new business blocks,
business blocks $13,000 for streets, $14,000 for schools
1876 $ 529,913 23 78 7
1877 $1,000,917 56 (24 brick) 6 21 other new buildings
total, oyer
$700,000 in
buildings,
reoairs
1878 125 $488,370
1879 $943,100 28 47 2 Democrat says $19,661 public
imoroyements. $500,000 total
1880 $803,374 38 6 77 new buildings worth $728,832, Democrat
says $624,000 priyateand $336,000 in
imorovements overall
1881 $1,065,295 39 71 2 Chic. Mil. & S1. Paul deoot/shops
1882 $1,268,950 155 8
1883 $ 304,900 24 155 6 Iowa Coffin Co. factory
1884 $ 903,600 25 110 18
1885 $ 600,000
1886 $955,000 18 103 3 Minn & NW RR roundhouse, freight house,
Academy of Visitation school, incomolete
1887 350 total new buildings, Cooper mansion,
German Congregational Church, Staples &
Vibber Diamond Block, Bishotl's Block
1888 $1,678,700 23 87 9 75 architect-designed buildings costing
$1,500-2,000, Wallis Block, ICRR Depot,
$60,000 street work, Sacred Heart Church,
11 tb Street Elevator
1889 $1,485,850 27 102 15 Summit Congo Church, Key City Elec.,
Julian House, Grand Opera, Murray,
Mangold, Salot and Powers blocks, U.S.
Electric, W. Locust and Cooper schools
1890 $4,076,700 123/600 $2,884,200 permits total, $1,192,500
estimated unreoorted new residences, other
1891
1892 $1,586,581 174 (at least 128 9 Total expenditures estimated in excess of
total private, frame) $2,000,000 due to an estimated $150,000
$298,618 not reported.
nublic
1893
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PS Form 1 0-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
40
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Fitful Streetcar Service:
Hill Street and West Dubuque Steam Railway-Photographer Samuel Root documented fIrst day of service north
from 8th and Main streets on July 12, 1877. The route ran along Hill and 3rd streets to Alpine and Julien (now University)
streets, via Broad (now Mt. Pleasant) Street. Two years later the route was extended to the Western Brewery at Julien
and Delhi streets. The company car barn was located at that same point. The company shut down in 1884 (Wilkie, p.
328).
The Key City Electric Street Railway Company had an even shorter existence, less than one year in 1889. It
competed with a duplicate north/south service (Ibid., p. 330).
Capital and Banking:
The Panic of 1873:
The panic of 1873, cannot, in the light of its effects, be properly so designated. It was
rather a change of time. The rapid rate in which the American people had lived and
transacted business, could not hold out. Black Friday came as a warning of the
punishment that followed quickly in its wake, and the tight times which came with the
close of 1873 were simply in the nature of an admonition that happier days were in store.
1880 county history, pp. 529-30
Merchant's National Bank closed its doors on September 26, 1873 in response to a run that was triggered by
reported bank runs in Chicago. Chicago banks had stopped currency transfers to outside banks. The First National Bank
immediately restricted the size of checks it would payout. Merchant's collapsed when it was discovered that bank
cashier Richard A. Babbage had embezzled up to $350,000. Babbage thereby became one of the city's more notable
scoundrels (Lyons, p. 23; 1880 county history, p. 622-24).
Despite these fInancial losses, the city emerged relatively unscathed from the national fmancial downturn. The
Herald observed:
Considering the general fInancial depression that has prevailed all through the northwest the greater
portion of the year, the only wonder is that Dubuque could enlarge so much, and her doing so, is proof
positive that she is in a measure independent of outside capital and relies upon her own resources
(Herald, November 22, 1874).
.. . we are moving on the goal of metropolitan greatness, i.e. pre-dominance in wealth,
enterprise and industry, in all the branches of trade and commerce, in all of the relations
of business, church and state, in short all that goes to makeup the greatness in its private
and public interests, and surely, in these particulars non can gainsay the fact that
Dubuque has fairly earned her reputation as the metropolitan city of Iowa.
Herald, October 31,1875
PS Form 1 0-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
41
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Similar claims were made again in 1878 when the Herald noted "owing to the general stagnation of business
throughout the country, the supposed scarcity of money and the consequent timidity of capitalists, the outlook at the
beginning of 1878 was anything but flattering for building or improvements during the year. .." The year's substantial
new buildings were "not built by fictitious or borrowed capital, but are all paid for, and that with the money of their own
owners" (Herald, January 3, 1879).
Increasingly, after 1880, it was charged that Dubuque's growth was being hindered by the reluctance oflocals to
invest locally. The Herald reported signs that
"the great bulk of money invested this season in this manner has been by men of who have no practical
knowledge of the business they take an interest in, but put their money in it with a very commendable
view to help their city while they do good for themselves. Many of them have heretofore placed their
money in other ways which may have been profitable to them, but helped Dubuque very little, if any at
all. A change has taken place in this regard, and its good effects will soon be shown in the advancement
of the general welfare of our city (Herald, January 1, 1881).
The Herald and Trade Journal chided local capitalists in 1882 for their failure to invest locally in other
Dubuque industries. "[Dubuque] as a financial center is reported stronger in proportion to size than any other point in the
union. It is an evidence of resources, and of the very profitable nature of the legitimate business which has been and is
falling to us as a heritage. While Dubuque capitalists are enterprising, wide awake, and working for the good of their
own city, they have not been liberal in investing elsewhere. Now that the opportunities for the use of the surplus capital
are becoming so numerous at home it is hoped that less will be sent abroad" (Herald, December 4, 1880).
Ethnicity and Dubuque:
The city's African American population, as of 1863, numbered 65, which contrasted with the total population of
12,626. The 1870 population of 18,432, included 6,361 foreign-born residents (34 percent) (Oldt, p. 148).
German-Irish ethnic friction continued unabated into the post-war years. German-born immigrants continued to
settle in great numbers and solidified their numerical dominance.
The Civil War Divides the City:
The best study of the impact of the Civil War on Dubuque is found in Russell Lee Johnson's two-volume study
of Dubuque (An Armv For Industrialization: The Civil War and The Formation of Urban-Industrial Society in A
Northern City, 1996). A broad array of other excellent studies have focused uniformly on the theme of domestic
opposition to the war effort and particularly upon the leading role played by Herald editor Dennis Mahoney.s Johnson's
study is the only comprehensive exploration of all of the wartime sub-themes and is therefore of great value and is highly
recommended. His study used Dubuque to support his basic thesis that the war transformed Dubuque (and other
industrial cities) and produced a society that fit more naturally with the postwar industrial society that followed.
S See for example Hubert H. Wubben, The Dubuque Herald In The Fight For The Northwest, M.A. Thesis, State University ofIowa,
Iowa City, 1958, Martin Edward McGrane, Dubuque, editorial battleground 1860-62, M.S. Thesis, Iowa State University, Ames,
1972, and Helen Wulkow, Dubuque In The Civil War Period, M.A. Thesis, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1941..
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
42
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
The Civil War years set the stage for Dubuque's eventual industrial dominance. As of 1870 it was the 93rd
largest industrial city in the country measured in gross product. Within 20 years it had advanced to 70th place. The war
years witnessed the replacement of a patrician class leadership with an entrepreneurial class. This process of
replacement was largely completed during the course of the war as patricians died or retired. The latter tended to be
Republican in its political leanings. A fundamental distinction between the two groups was the preference for real
property holdings on the part of patricians, and for personal property by the entrepreneurs. Curiously of 30 Dubuquers
possessing $100,000 in assets as of 1870, not one had seen military service during the war! (Johnson, pp. 166,234-39).
Dubuque was singled out by the national press for its perceived opposition to the war. It had good company
regionally, particularly in Milwaukee and Chicago, but Dubuque somehow emerged as the national example. Within
Iowa war opposition was strongest in Keokuk, Burlington and the southeastern counties but alleged opposition was said
to be throughout southern Iowa (Ibid., p. 168).
Choose Your Side:
. . . we seem to be between two fires as it is now getting dangerous to
belong to either party or even to remain neutral. . .
Farmer George Smith, Henderson, Kentucky, July 1862
Today is hard to appreciate the all or nothing mindset of the Civil War years. Increasingly there was no middle
ground where one could find sanctuary. Throughout the country, but particularly where regular or irregular military
operations were underway, everyone was forced to affiliate with one extreme camp or the other. As a result the more
complex spectrum of political and religious thinking was cruelly skewed into diametrically opposed opposition
coalitions. In the North one was either for the war or in league with traitors (Jacobsen, CaulZht In The Middle: The Civil
War Years on the Lower Ohio River" 1998).
Dubuque was dominated by a business elite as of 1860 and that class almost exclusively made up the ranks of the
two military companies. The working class was predominantly immigrant in composition. The Irish provided most of
the unskilled labor. The working class of Dubuque was also notable for its lack of accumulated property. The Irish
resided in the southernmost First Ward, the Germans in the northernmost Third and Fifth wards. Ethnic friction divided
the working class. Immigration was a fundamental issue to the new Republican party, given their Whig and Know-
Nothing anti-emigrant origins. The Democratic Party in contrast linked its interests with the immigrant masses (Johnson,
pp. 124-32).
Dubuque was Democratic from its earliest mining days and with few exceptions its mayors were members of that
party. Johnson credits the struggle with the federal government over mining rights, the presence of prominent Southern-
born leaders in the city, a general pro-slavery stance regardless of birthplace and the large immigrant population as
strengthening Iowa's "Gibraltar of Democracy." Even then Democrats squabbled internally, essentially between miners'
and immigrants' interests, and it took the loss of four successive mayor races through 1854 to bring them together under
the general leadership of Dennis Mahoney (Ibid., pp. 133-35).
Mahoney and compatriot Joseph Dorr, came out of the panic experience with a strong anti-banking, anti-monied
aristocracy and anti-eastern mindset. The latter in particular envisioned a Northeastern conspiracy to prevent the
inevitable ascendancy of the western states and the opposition in Dubuque naturally were collaborators in support of that
conspiracy. Railroad capitalization became the hot local issue, particularly when ownership of the Dubuque and Sioux
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
43
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
City line passed to mostly eastern hands in an 1860 reorganization. Echoing Jacksonian Democracy, Mahoney and Dorr
linked their interests with the working class and the people. This emphasis on what Johnson terms the "non-propertied"
effectively drove wealthier Democrats either into opposition to Mahoney or out of the party. The anti-immigration
"wedge" issue intensified with the brief presence of Observer in the city. The Irish and Catholic Church control were
repeatedly alleged (Ibid., pp. 136-143) .
Local Republicans elected their first candidate slate in 1857, then reappeared merged into a businessman-
dominated reform party after the fmancial deluge. The municipal bailout of the debt-ridden Central Island Improvement
Company set the stage for Democratic charges that if the people were to take the debt, why didn't they take the property
as well? As of 1860, Johnson determined that business class occupations accounted for 73 percent of the Republican
leadership and 57 of the Democrats. In terms of property ownership, the Republican leadership ranks were top-heavy
and bottom-light, with an average difference of $5,000 favoring the Republicans. Finally half of the Republican leaders
were eastern-born and just over a third were immigrants while half of Democratic leaders were Irish or German born and
just 38 percent were native-born. Southern-born leaders divided equally between the two parties in terms of percentage,
but favored the Democrats two to one (Ibid. pp. 144-58).
.. . Republicans can be thought to have rallied the successful, aspiring,
and hopeful entrepreneurs, as well as those old settlers who adapted
easily to the entrepreneurial view of economic competition.
Republicans also attracted the support of those people most inclined to
want to enforce some standard of behavior on the unruly mob of
immigrants and workers. Democrats, on the other hand, drew their
support from artisans and workers-whose ideology was rooted in the
republican concept of independence-immigrants, old settlers
uncomfortable with the entrepreneurial spirit, and men to whom the free
market had not been kind.
Russell Lee Johnson (p. 159)
Mahoney himself personified the Democratic ranks, his losses to the panic being self-reported at $40,000. In the
1859 election Mahoney's party successfully seized city government, only to see the Republican/Reformers return
victorious in both 1860 and 1861. The national Republican ticket was also bolstered, with 46 percent of the tally for
Lincoln, contrasting with a 38 percent turnout for John Fremont in 1856. Johnson observed that it took the Civil War
experience to return the city to its historic Democratic allegiance (Ibid., pp. 160-161).
The coming of the war shattered the Democratic party ranks and the more propertied (actually owning more
property than either Republicans or the residual Democrats) "War Democrats" aligned with the Republicans in a "Union
Party" coalition. Despite these defections, no Republican would be elected in the city between 1861 and 1867 and in the
1865 vote, taken even as the South was being eviscerated, Republicans prevailed in just five of 55 ward-level contests.
Ibid., pp. 178-191).
Republican pro-war thinking interpreted the issue as one the "restoration of the health of American society" in
Johnson's words. They saw the Southern struggle as one led by anti-democratic tyrants and autocrats. Indeed many War
Democrats early on favored the strongest possible war effort hoping to free the Southern people from their controlling
leadership and quickly ending the war with the least cost to life and property. Republican and War Democrat support for
emancipation, slowly and reluctantly developed over the course of the war, was explained as being beneficial to white
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
44
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
free labor (slavery put the two races on equal footing, a free labor situation would quickly make evident the superiority of
white labor), rather than an issue of fundamental human rights or racial equality. Many equated the Abolitionist with the
Democrat, both being ranked as tyrants and anti-Unionists (Ibid., pp. 195-200).
This discussion is intended to set the stage for Dennis Manoney's much discussed opposition to the war.
Johnson notes that Mahoney was hardly the best person to take up the editorial pen against the war. While somewhat
careful with his statements through 1862, he became increasingly strident and careless and he was less constructive and
self-absorbed after his release from federal prison. Mahoney's long term legacy was his public support which was
represented by his 1867 election as county sheriff (Ibid., pp. 163, 190).
Initially Mahoney opposed secession as well as the Republican management of the war effort. He early
supported a military draft thinking that it would either equalize the burden ofthe war (i. e., a rich man's war, poor man's
fight) or it would expose the reluctance of the elite to perform military duty for all to see. His war opposition was largely
rooted in his strict construction of the constitution and he saw the Republicans as using the war to federalize the country
at the expense of the states with a resulting military despotism (such a conspiracy theory was nicely anti-Western from
his perspective, Mahoney feared that the West would have to pay more than their share of the war's resulting debt and
that postwar tariffs would remain high to pay for the war). His opposition to the war was founded on a belief that the
South could not be militarily subdued in a short war, nor could they quickly prevail over the North. Still he offered his
services the state to raise and lead an all-Irish regiment, an offer that was not accepted. Mahoney's war opposition
resulted in his arrest by U.S. Marshall Herbert Hoxie the morning of August 14, 1862. He was imprisoned in Old Capital
Prison in Washington for nine weeks. Released without trial on November 11, he returned home to Dubuque but lost his
paper to War Democrat Patrick Robb. Mahoney was one of a number of citizens who suffered detainment by the
government during the war. This number included several Congressmen (Ibid., pp. 189,202; 1880 county history, p.
533).
The War and Dubuque's Economv:
Many in Dubuque were convinced that the allegations of disloyalty deprived the city of "favors" from either the
state or federal government. The most potentially substantial charge was that the transcontinental railroad was routed
southward where it bypassed Dubuque. Other charges centered on the withdrawal of capital or the Eastern refusal to
credit orders from Dubuque merchants (Ibid., p. 201).
Telegraphic linkage arrived c.1848 well before the railroad did and accessed the city at 7th Street. The city
gained a new submarine telegraphic cable from Dunlieth in early September 1861. In November 1863 poles were being
erected to extend the wires to Cedar Falls. By this time Dubuque boasted that they were receiving telegraphic news
several hours ahead of Chicago. Cairo, Illinois was the telegraphic starting point of war news and war correspondents'
reports followed the Illinois Central northward across Illinois (1880 county history, p. 527; Oldt, pp. 140, 150).
Real loss came with the closure of the lower Mississippi market and shipping route. Railroads now had no
competition and struggled to pick up the traffic once divided between rail and river and freight rates went up. Frequently
during the war a shortage of cars caused exports to pile up. The worst of these lasted three months during late 1863 and
five to eight tons of freight accumulated. Another such car shortage occurred in January-February 1865 and it was
estimated that a million bushels of grain were stalled on the Dubuque and Sioux City line. Dubuque merchants traveled
to Chicago in 1864 to protest the shipping situation. The military monopoly on shipping also relegated non-essential
loads to the siding. The shipping backup shut down operations on the Dubuque and Sioux City but even then revenue
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
45
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State------
jumped $136,000 between 1863 and 1864. The legacy of the loss of the river was the replacement of north/south grain
shipping by east/west shipping, a "habit" that would not be changed until after World War II with the maturation of trade
on the nine-foot Mississippi River channel (Anfinson, Chapter 2, p. 6; Wulkow, pp. 12-14).
Dubuque paid a massive financial penalty for its lack of a Mississippi River railroad bridge. Everything bound
east on the rails had to be ferried over the river with the attending unloading, barge loading, and unloading/reloading on
the Illinois shore. This and the train delays was termed the "Great Freight Blockade." The Illinois Central displaced
those who made a living of delivering and crossing the goods by forming its own transfer company. Oldt noted "the city
had paid large sums as unjust freight and transfer charges" throughout the war and this recognition of injury prompted
postwar demands for a railroad bridge (Johnson, pp. 206-07; Oldt, p. 158).
Wartime construction in the North during the Civil War resumed at any scale only by 1863. Dubuque reports
record levee work in August 1862, the construction of a floating planing mill, the Dubuque and Sioux City Railroad
passenger depot, and a railroad round house built in 1863. Hotels were busy and expanded and remodeled. By 1863
there were no vacant houses in the city. One loss, purportedly a punishment to a disloyal city, was the removal of the
mail distribution center in 1863 (Oldt, pp. 144-147).
Inflation arrived with the war, particularly by 1862, driven by printing press currency issuances and private
competition with military expenditures for the same goods and labor. Banks stored the greenbacks and issued their own
script, further feeding the inflation frenzy during 18623-64. As a result the 1860 dollar was equal to the 1864 value of
$1.89. Wages actually lost value in response to inflation. Food prices in Dubuque were slow to escalate but did so by
early 1863 and peaked in January 1865. Any energy or interest in relief for the poor during the war was exhausted by
efforts to provide relief to soldiers and their families. Inflation was a boon to local stock companies, adding capital value
to their operations. Specie (coin money) had nearly disappeared from circulation by early 1862, hoarded away due to its
greater value over greenbacks. Packages of postal stamps largely substituted for coin, along with merchant's tokens and
script (Johnson, pp. 208-214; Oldt, pp. 143-46).
Striking workers during the war were publicly supported and ice cutters and carpenters were successful in their
1863 strike actions. Other successful strikers were tailors, shoemakers, cabinetmakers and wagon makers. The
newspapers supported these successes but denied their support, and victory, to others including typesetters. Successful
strike actions benefited from the labor shortage that came with the war (Ibid., pp. 215-17).
Several business sectors directly or indirectly benefited from the war. The Dubuque & Sioux City was
overwhelmed by shipping demands. In general wartime railroads expended little in infrastructure or rolling stock and the
massive resulting profits made possible the resumption of westward construction. The grain trade emerged from the war
as a key sector in the city's economy and Dubuque was said to be only secondary to Milwaukee and Chicago as a grain
shipping point (Ibid., pp. 218-19).
Pork packing was one industry, later of major importance to the city, that had its real start with the war.
Previously the industry was strictly seasonal and largely local but some proportion of scale and permanent operations
were in place by 1861-62. By the winter of 1862-63 there were 11 local packing firms in business. This number was cut
by more than half to six by the next winter but the total slaughter actually increased. The number estimated to have been
shipped live from the city was double the number killed, some 25,800 head. Still the city's packing industry lagged
behind the other state packing centers, located in southeastern Iowa. ***Ryan, a friend of Ulysses Grant, relocated from
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
46
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Galena to Dubuque in the early war years and is said to have received large government packing contracts as a result of
his high connections (Oldt, pp. 147, 151).
War contracts promoted the development of the city's industrial base. Julius Graves produced lead shot briefly
(June 1862) in the shot tower and then in a lead mine shaft although he had no direct army contracts. He also sold war
bonds through his bank and supplied the recruits at Camp Franklin. Tailor Mark W. Smith produced army uniforms and
one of his contracts called for 660 employees. In 1864 George Beaubine had a contract for harness and Thomas
Connolly had one to make wagons. New lead lode discoveries and soaring prices produced a veritable boom in lead
mining during the war. Buying and selling horses was another profitable venture. All three of these businesses enjoyed
postwar growth. Other firms located to the city during the war and added to the developing industrial base. One
example, a tobacco factory relocated to the city from Ohio but stayed just two years before removing to Chicago for
better market and shipping advantages (Ibid., pp. 222-229,237; Wulkow, pp. 19-20).
Johnson determined that between 1860 and 1870 Dubuque tripled its number of industrial workers, tripled the
amount of its industrial capitalization, increased its payroll wages five times, and the result was a fourfold increase in
gross product. Larger mechanized factories now accounted for 45 percent of the workforce. Non-mechanized artisans
shops grew in number but employed fewer workers than they had in 1860. Engineers increased from 30 in 1860 to 81 in
1870 (Johnson, pp. 165,229-30).
Johnson notes that crime increased in the city through and after the war and that this was one of its direct
legacies. Of595 volunteers found in the 1860 census, Johnson determined that 65 received medical discharges for
sickness or injury, 41 were wounded and left the service early, 62 died in service and in sum one of five soldiers came
home with a disability or had died. Working class soldiers were more likely to die in service. Comparing the 1860 and
1870 occupations in Dubuque, Johnson found that the shift from commercial to industrial activity was reflected in the
downward mobility of "high non-manual" to "low non-manual" roles, while the working class experienced an upward
mobility, from low-manual to artisan level occupations. Johnson uses Steven Ross's more descriptive term
"particularists" meaning that these men were performing and repeating a single production process in 1870, while in
1860 the true artisan would have completely produced and had control over the production of an item such as a wagon.
Between 1860 and 1870 nearly every industry added more labor to its production process. Johnson also found that while
all workers in 1870 tended to own more property than did their 1860 counterparts (more likely personal than real
property) veterans were better able to accumulate such property than were non-veterans. One theory was that enlistment
bounties and substitute fees provided a savings nest egg that workers could never have accumulated. At the same time he
found no upward movement on the part of veterans and their occupations. The veterans were more likely to stay in
Dubuque. Johnson concluded that the veteran was "better able to cope with life and work in [an] increasingly urban-
industrial Dubuque" (Ibid., pp. 700-01, 717, 723-26, 733-35, 774).
Pre-war and Wartime Elections:
The 1860 election in Dubuque reflected the divisive nature of the national ticket. The Democratic Party split
with a northern candidate, Stephen Douglas ("the Giant Killer") and southern candidate John C. Breckinridge.
Constitutional Unionist party candidate John Bell further split the traditional Democratic vote. Abraham Lincoln headed
the Republican slate. Evening torch light processions were the favored political expression of the time and Dubuque was
replete with the shows of strength for each candidate. Douglas visited Dubuque on October 17, 1860, drawing an
estimated 15-20,000 listeners in the public square. His procession avoided passing beneath a Lincoln banner suspended
over Main Street. Five hundred torches promoted his coming visit, the vanguard being the "Young Giants" boys club.
PS Form 10-900.a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
47
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Termed "the Secessionists in Dubuque" by the Herald, supporters ofBreckinridge, led by the city's postmaster, ftred off
ftve cannon for their man at a June 7, 1860 gathering. A post-election Lincoln Ball at Turner's Hall indicated, according
to the Herald, that "the late antagonism of political parties has become merged with a pleasanter feeling, the idea of
Union seemed to be a prominent one-we'll bet on the Union, its all safe here in Dubuque" (Herald, June 7, 11, October
2, 3, 17, November 21, 1860).
Douglas had carried the city (49 percent in the city, 58 percent on the full county vote) over Lincoln (46 percent
city, 39 percent county) with Bell and Breckinridge both relegated to 119 votes (two percent). Four years later, Lincoln
was rebuffed (42 percent city, 34 percent county) and peace candidate George McClellan won by a landslide (57 percent
city, 65 percent in the county) (Wilke, p. 231).
To Arms!:
Dubuque provided a proportionate number of volunteers including **numbers of military companies. Sufftcient
recruits prevented the military draft from operating in the city throughout the war. Heeding Russell Johnson's ftndings,
it is probable that the pre-war rosters of the two prewar infantry companies suffered a certain winnowing be the time they
went off to the front. Other militia companies, in existence as of 1860, the "City Guards" and "Washington Guards,"
were not reorganized for war service. The last-named was reputed to be both the best disciplined and equipped of all of
the city companies. Dubuque was early designated a rendezvous point for new Iowa infantry regiments and a military
camp was established along the riverbank south of Eagle Point. Ten (60x20) frame barracks were divided along a 40-
foot wide street. Offtcers quarters were nearby along a timberline near Lake Peosta. Most of the barracks were ready by
late August 1861. The camp was enlarged in September 1862 by the construction of additional barracks. By the time the
camp was dismantled in late 1863, and in January 1864, it contained 50-60 shanties, a hospital, commissary building, and
stables in addition to the original buildings (McFarlane, Forbish, Herald, January 4, February 22, November 14, 1860).
The camp was used as a rendezvous point for the assembling regiments. Individual completed companies
reported and the larger unit was formed. Some training was carried on and sham battles were fought on the heights of
Eagle Point. The following units were organized at Camp UnionlFranklin during the war:
3rd Independent Battery Light Artillery-September 24, 1861-Capt. Hayden (Dubuque's ftfth company)
9th Regiment Infantry-September 24, 1861
12th Regiment Infantry-November 25, 1861, completely ftlled in just six days by October 26, depart by rail due to
iced-in steamers, November 28, 1861 (last use as Camp Union)
2151 Regiment Infantry-932 men by August 26, 1862,3,600 men in camp as of September 9, regiment departed
September 15, 1862
27th Regiment Infantry-October 3, 1862, formed from excess men from 2pldeparts mid-October 1862
32Dd Regiment Infantry-October 6, 1862, formed from excess men from 2151 departs November 16, 1862
38th Regiment Infantry-December 4, 1862, departs same month by rail for Cairo, Illinois.
42Dd Regiment Infantry-departed after Christmas, failed to ftll its ranks and men were transferred to 43rd
Regiment Infantry (also never organized) and the 7th Iowa Cavalry.
Governor Kirkwood removed the rendezvous point designation and the buildings were auctioned off as noted above
(Baule, pp. 1-17)
Two 90-day service companies from Dubuque comprised part of the 151 Infantry Regiment and were badly
bloodied at the battle of Wilson's Creek in August 1861. Company A, 3rd Iowa Infantry was the ftrst three-years unit
from the city. Hayden's battery, noted above, was partially raised in the city. Two companies of the 12th Infantry
Regiment and one of the 16th Infantry Regiment were wholly credited to Dubuque. Dubuquers comprised most of four
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PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
48
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
companies of the 21s1 Infantry Regiment, Company F of the 37th (Greybeards) Infantry Regiment, two companies of the
44th Infantry Regiment, and Company A of the 46th Infantry Regiment (100 day service). A total of 2,600 men saw
service from the city and county (1880 County History, pp. 414-15).
Despite its reputation for hostility to the war effort, there is every indication that the camp was a popular point of
visitation. Special regional trains and omnibus lines accessed it regularly. On October 20, 1862, Governor Kirkwood
visited the city and reviewed the 12th Regiment. The public responded with calls for blankets during the fall of 1862.
The city hosted the state fair in September 1862 and the soldiers provided a full dress parade as part of that event. There
was mortality at the camp with at least eight deaths, several to typhoid fever, and measles was the base cause. One death
resulted from a soldier's melee on October 14, 1862. Two companies ofthe 27th Regiment, from Waukon and
Guttenburg, rioted and one death and two others injured. Liquor was finally banned in the camp and residents
complained of thievery around the camp. Dubuque was also deemed a haven for military recruiters, as is reflected in the
oversupply of recruits which flooded the nearby camp in the fall of 1862. At its height 15 recruiters had their offices in
operation as of August (Baule, p. 15).
The Home Front. Soldiers Relief:
The extent of divisiveness in Dubuque is measured by the fact that in 1863, the two contending camps held their
own Fourth of July celebrations.
Poverty as already noted was worsened by inflation during the war. Relief of the poor prior to the Civil War was
limited at best to "the worthy poor" those who were on hard times through no fault of their own. Public relief was
generally limited to the physically and mentally handicapped. Denial, particularly in Dubuque, worked as well. There
simply weren't and couldn't be any poor in the city given its opportunities. Seasonal poverty, particularly during the
winter, afflicted day laborers. Female heads of households were prone to hard times given limited employment
opportunities. The Panic of 1857-58 worsened the situation particularly for working class families. Private relief during
these years came predominantly from the business class. Public assistance was offered through the County Poor House
and "House of Refuge" (a reform school for juvenile delinquents). Assistance vanished entirely in 1859-60 (Johnson, pp.
619-33).6
With the departure of so many men to military service the situation worsened. A local businessmen's relief
organization ("Volunteer Fund Board") was formed as early as late April 1861 to support the families of the city's two
90-day companies. The group pledged its support for the first three-year unit (Company A, 3rd Regiment Infantry) but it
folded in January 1862 after running out of funds and expending just one third of its $6,000 in pledges. The war had
outlasted the short-term enthusiasm of the members (Ibid., pp. 634-39).
Patriotic women of the city first formed the Ladies Volunteer Labor Society and uniformed and completely
outfitted the first two companies. Like their male counterparts, membership came largely from business class ladies. In
late 1861 the group became the Dubuque Ladies Aid Society, committed to providing the needs of men in the service.
This group took on the role of the defunct men's group when it folded. Some women entered the workforce as retail
clerks and the like in response to the labor shortage. The county Board of Supervisors on several occasions took no
action on providing relief apart from qualifying soldiers' families to be considered by the Superintendent of the Poor
(243 families were aided in 1863, 116 of which were soldiers' families). The county's provision of$50 enlistment
6 See also Russell Johnson's "A Debt Justly Due": The Relief of Civil War Soldiers and Their Families in Dubuque," Annals ofIowa,
Vol 55, No.3 (Summer 1996) pp. 207-38.
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
49
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
bounties were also seen as sources for family support. Their reluctance to help was fuel to Republican charges of
Democratic disloyalty. Other Iowa urban centers had done considerably more it was pointed out. The board also turned
down a funding request for a Soldiers Home in the city in late 1863. The home would have been the equivalent of a
"USa" oflater times. The proposal was deemed to be a private charity and could not be publicly funded. It was fmally
established with the unanimous support of a politically divided City Council. In January 1864 the Board acted to limit
assistance to the families of those soldiers who were actually credited against Dubuque County's enlistment quota (Ibid.,
pp. 640-56, 664).
Completely lost in all of this was any consideration of other families in poverty. By 1864 a new approach to
soldier's relief was being adopted, championed by the United States Sanitary Commission, a pseudo-early version of the
Red Cross. This approach stressed directly aiding soldiers and not their families. Soldiers were thereby returned to their
familial role of bread-winners and families would indirectly be assisted through them. Johnson notes that while the
earliest volunteers were primarily younger, unattached males, volunteers by early 1864 were older and more commonly
with familial responsibilities. In March 1864 a state law levied a county tax for the relief of soldiers families. This
represented the first state attention to families rather than their soldiers. The Ladies Aid Society turned its attention to
soldiers' relief, affiliating with the national USSC. The hallmark event of this effort took the form of the "Northern Iowa
Sanitary Fair" which was held in the City Hall, Turner's Hall and the surrounding area in late June 1864. All the
counties of northeast Iowa participated and a very impressive $84,000 was raised. The Ladies Aid Society did continue
some minimal family relief efforts throughout the war. A Christian Commission Auxiliary, dedicated to direct soldiers
assistance, formed in November 1864 (Ibid., pp. 665-77).
Regional and State Dominance:
The Catholic Church In Dubuque:
Bishop Loras died February 19, 1858 after 20 years of relentless work in Dubuque and he was succeeded by Rev.
Clement Smyth (1810-1865), of Irish birth. The 1860 Dubuque religious headcount was reported as 1,400 Protestants
and 6,200 Catholics, figures apparently based upon actual church attendance. Smyth's diocese contained 50 churches, 53
priests, and 50,000 parishioners. The diocese still contained Davenport, Iowa and some points west, and Smyth was able
to produce considerable church growth in the face of both the post-1857-58 financial setback and the Civil War. By 1863
he oversaw over 80 churches, 85 priests and nearly 100,000 parishioners. Smyth served as bishop for just seven years
and was replaced in 1866 by Rev. John Hennessey, another Irish-born priest (Ibid., 880-88, Herald, February 7, 1860).
The late 1870s witnessed a period of institutional growth. A boy's training school had been opened in 1865 at
Bluff and 3rd streets. St.Raphael's Cathedral had gained at tower and spire in 1876 and a new St. Patrick's Church was
started in 1877 and finished the next year. St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital opened in 1879 as did St. Mary's Orphans Home
and St. Francis Convent (Oldt, pp. 890-91).
Another surge of institutional growth occurred in the l880s. The Cathedral was remodeled and dedicated in
1886. The city boasted a dozen Catholic educational institutions. Each parish and the Cathedral had their own schools.
The list included St. Joseph's College, Mount St. Joseph's Academy (for lady boarders), Academy of the Visitation (for
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
51
-
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Context #3, Dubuque's Golden Age, 1893-1910:
Industrial Dubuque, (Dubuque. Iowa, Dubuque Commercial Club, 1911)
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
52
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
That Dubuque has maintained the proud position she has held for the last half century as the Key
City, is due in the greatest measure to the progressive spirit and energy of those who are in the
management of her successful business institutions. While some of the names are almost
household words in Iowa, as for instance Tredway, Mehlhop, Hancock, McDonald, Piekenbrock,
Peaslee, Rhomberg, and others, and have been identified with different lines of trade for years,
those that founded the business have passed away or retired and the management of their
enterprises is in the hands of younger men. How well those pioneers in the trade builded is shown
in the substantial foundation they laid for their successors and it is on this foundation that the great
enterprises of the present are being reared. In many instances those in charge of the business were
reared in it and how well they profited by the tuetlage they had, and their practical experience is
well shown in the prosperity of the city.
Dubuque Enterprise, January 24, 1903
Unfaltering Financial Institutions; Weathering the Panic of 1893-94,
We glance over the storm-swept country about us, where for nearly two years the terrific fmancial tempest has
raged, and everywhere are visible wrecked business institutions of all kinds, and we point to our banks that have
weathered the gale and under a steady helm are scudding before the wind, and our business institutions, against
whose record not one failure is recorded, as evidences of the financial stability of Dubuque and the resources of our
citizens. But the greatest evidence that the Key City is so firmly founded, that ill winds may blow from what
direction they will and she will prosper, are our building and public improvements. These evidence the confidence
of Dubuque's capitalists and business men in their city and their belief, which is paramount, in her natural resources
and her stability. These have kept the masses in continuous employment, not only keeping down the cry here for
employment which has rung out in almost every city in the country, but many from other cities have come here
seeking employment and have found it. The laboring classes have been furnished with means whereby the
merchants have not only weathered the storm but have had a prosperous year, and in this alone we fmd the
explanation of the singular escape of our banks and business houses from the fmancial storm.
Herald, January 1, 1895
As Galena had been eclipsed fifty years before, the Panic of 1893 promptly eliminated one of Dubuque's two
major urban rivals, Sioux City. The 1890 census had dropped Dubuque one more peg to third place statewide, with
Sioux City assuming the number two spot. Like Dubuque, Sioux City was boastfully on its way to becoming the
"Chicago of the West" with massive construction projects underway which were funded by Eastern, primarily Boston
capital. The Panic crippled that city's hopes and by 1900 it had fallen away to fourth place in population. Sioux City
would rebound during the pre-World War I years and in 1920 once again claimed the silver medal for urban population
(Wilkie, p. 333).
Local Financial Self Sufficiency:
In other cities the gas, electric, water plants and similar concerns are owned, almost without
exception in this state, and it is the rule in other states by outside capital. In the same way in many
of the cities that make pretensions of commercial and manufacturing consequence, the institutions
that give them title to the claim are fmanced by outside capital. In the fact that Dubuque
institutions are owned exclusively by home capital, that everything there is of manufacturing and
commercial importance here is home enterprise and capital, this city is a notable exception, and in
a position in which few others of the country rival it.
Dubuque Enterprise, June 11, 1904
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PS Form 10-90o-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
53
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
The year 1902 was rated "without question the most prosperous in the history of the city" and "every institution
has prospered... [with] a great increase in every line." The seven city banks were collectively capitalized in the amount
of $1,025,000 with deposits of $6,000,000. Municipal ownership of the waterworks, secured in 1901, was due to local
investors who purchased $545,000 in municipal mortgage bonds when bond brokers questioned the legality of the sale.
The street railway and electric utilities systems similarly represented a local investment of $1,000,000. The opening of
the second Mississippi River vehicular bridge in 1903 was celebrated as yet another example of the financial self.
sufficiency of Dubuque. The new Julien Hotel and the modem downtown office buildings were similarly the products of
local capital. The Dubuque Enterprise boasted is is a "fact that there is not a dollar of outside capital invested in any of
these institutions, and none in the city, except in those interests controlled by large corporations and of which the local
institutions are branches or agencies. .." (Dubuque Enterprise, January 24, 1903).
The Financial Panic of 1905-06:
Dubuque came through 1904 in good shape. The Dubuque Enterprise celebrated the "Auspicious Outlook of the
New Year with reports from merchants and manufacturers:
Never in their experience in Dubuque have they seen a year begin with the prospects as auspicious as
they are now.. .one exceptionally gratifying feature of the year just closed is that it is not marked with the
gravestone of a single Dubuque [business] institution.
Indeed the city had gained several new firms. Area crops to the northwest, particularly close in, had been exceptionally
good in 1904. Five firms were expanding their facilities and M.M. W alker- Toussaint-Trexler, burned out just a few
weeks previous, was resuming operations at a new site (Dubuque Enterprise, January 7, 1905).
The city survived the initial national economic downturn. The Dubuque Enterprise noted "the oppression of
hard times is not felt here as elsewhere because the business industries of Dubuque are uniformly conducted along
conservative lines" (Dubuque Enterprise, February 18, 1905).
Fighting For Second Place in State Population:
The population chart shown below traces the gradual, then abrupt erosion of Dubuque's former first in the state
population status. Its second place rank was successfully challenged by Sioux City but the financial downturn of 1893-
94 eliminated that western rival for some 15 years. Back in her silver medal slot, Dubuque watched with anticipation as
the state did its 1905 census enumeration. When the 1895 state census was taken, Dubuque saw to it "that the census was
worked as hard [as] it was possible to do it. While the lists were not actually padded, it has been stated that that the
names of transients were taken, and others were counted who were not real bona fide residents of Dubuque." The
inflated 1895 count gave Dubuque a few more residents than 40,000. As a result of the more accurate 1900 count
Dubuque "paid the penalty in the reflection [ot] the seeming decrease in population." Des Moines similarly "caught the
fever" and produced an 1895 headcount of 75,000. The 1900 federal count cut that figure to just over 61,000! The
collapse of Sioux City's "boom" "there wasn't so much interest in the subsequent census" although "now the rivalry, or
rather apprehension, is with Davenport, which is making claims to being the second city in the state..." Dubuquer's were
disappointed by the 1900 figures, anticipated gains were not evident. The count was accepted as accurate but the low
numbers were due to the fact that 1900 "was exceptionally dull in the building trade lines, and that industries were
generally rather quiet. .." Ever ready to be disappointed once again, Major Berg informed his Sioux City counterpart that
his city had reached 45,000 residents. The Enterprise prayed for at least 40,000 and a more honest effort on the part of
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
54
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
all contenders to produce a more accurate state headcount. Once the counts were made available, it was relieved that
Sioux City was "several thousand behind this city." Sioux City and Davenport had the advantage because their city
limits extended "several miles beyond the actual residence district." Ever optimistic, a population of 50,000 in Dubuque
was now seen as just ten years away (Dubuque Enterprise, December 13, 1904; July 15, 1905).
.. Loss of Primacy in Iowa
The Five Most Populous Cities, 1860-1920
1810 1880 1890 1900 19]0 1920
Dav~nport D"Moines DesMoines
20,033 22,408 50,093
I DUBUQUE II DUBUQUE I Sioux City
, 18,434 22,254 37,806
Burlington Davenport DUBUQUE
14,930 21,831 30,311
K~kuk Burlington Davenport
12,766 19,450 26,872
DesMoines C.Bluffs Burlington
5,324 12,035 18,063 22,565 25,656 32,811 39,141
III 1880 the three most poplllol<$ coullties in IWJIl14~e: Dubuque 42,996; Polk (DesMoines) 42,3!l5; Scott (Davenport) 41,266.
111 1980 the first six cities in lOUlll were: DesMoines 191,003; Ced4r &:pids 110,243; Dawnporf 10J,264; Sioux City 82,OOJ;
Waterloo 75.985; DUBUQUE 62.J21.
(Reproduced from Wilkie, p. 333)
Industrial Might And'Labor Strife:
'''Sf::.
<~i~~...':::~'
;;:;'~" - '::;':, -
A.A. Cooper Wagon Works, 1910, note Shot Tower in distance
(Our Spirited Years, Telegraph-Herald, p. 39)
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PS Form 10.900-a
(Rev. 8.86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMB Approval No. 1024-oo1B
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
55
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
The Dubuque Enterprise declared in early 1901 that "the tide of prosperity has turned again for Dubuque."
Citing "a renewed confidence in business circles and the universal awakening on every hand" the same source claimed
"there is not left a single desirable building for the location of a factory project of any considerable proportions." The
recovery was measurable. The Dubuque Iron Works and the Smedley Works had revived. The George Richardson
Company, burned out in 1903, had rebuilt with greater capacity. Carr, Ryder & Adams was installing a new mill outfit.
The Chicago, Great Western Railroad division had returned to Dubuque with 325 resident employees. A new bag factory
occupied the former Dee factory and Harvey Chalmers & Son were setting up a shell button factory that promised 150
new jobs (Dubuque Enterprise, April 2, 1901).
The filling massive wetland areas behind the riverfront was the lasting legacy of the factories and the railroads.
The Dubuque Enterprise observed in early 1902 that the Adams Company (not to be confused with Carr, Ryder &
Adams) had established itself in 1892 at the foot of Third Street amidst a slough with water depths of up to 15 feet. The
plant then had a 30-man payroll and part of the plant was extended over the water. Over the next ten years the firm
raised up a three-acre plant site as it increased its payroll to 150 workers. As a result it possessed "one of the most
desirable manufacturing locations in the city." Excavation barrow from the Office and Security and St. Luke's building
projects provided much of the fill material. The adjacent railroads, impressed by the Adams Company efforts dumped
over 1,000 carloads offill material to bury a sideline trestle that adjoined the company. In this manner, incrementally the
city was advancing toward the Mississippi River (Dubuque Enterprise, March 9, 1902).
The Dubuqe Enterprise cautioned against taking for granted the regular and large scale business expansions
made by the larger manufacturing firms, noting:
Some cities with but half the opportunity would make a big splurge about them, but we, because they
come voluntarily and cost the community nothing, take them for granted and while the more progressive
appreciate their significance, there are still some who can neither see that Dubuque is going
ahead.. . (Dubuqe Enterprise, November 18, 1903, p. 9)
A number of industrial sectors were by this time assuming a substantial scale in Dubuque. The overall and
clothing factories as of 1903 provided jobs for 1,200 young women had its origin in small plants in the 1860s. "Today,
half a dozen of the most substantial plants in the city are devoted to it, and all are daily enlarging the scope of their
operations." The cigar and tobacco sector now claimed three major producers and six jobbing plants. The iron and steel
business had trebled its business in the previous ten years. In the "wagon industry, brewing and liquor business, the
grocery and supply concerns. . . there has been the same development, in some of them greater." The Dubuque Travelling
and Business Men's Association represented a critical marketing and promotional arm of the city's industries. A
majority of its positions had been created only within the previous 25 years "and many of them [were] the result of the
last decade of business energy..." (Dubuque Enterprise, January 24, 1903).
Even the long-established firms were adapting to the changing times. The Dubuque Enterprise noted "practically
every business concern, even the older ones, have been reorganized within the last twenty years, and many of them
within the last ten." The same source then went on to tally up new industrial firms. Twenty-two firms "have been
established and developed within the last twenty years." Nine named firms and "others" had done so in the last 10 years
and twelve (and others) in the five years just past. Since 1902 one major firm had reorganized, four new firms had been
established included a bag factory and the pearl button works (Dubuque Enterprise, January 31, 1903).
PS Form 1 0-900-8
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
56
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State------
The factories operated full time through 1904 "and nearly every plant has been increased, and its corps of
employees augmented during the last five years." There was "a number" of new firms and "we haven't lost any
institutions to speak of' (Dubuque Enterprise, December 4, 1904).
Labor versus Manae:ement:
Union strife reached its high-water mark during 1903. The third party political candidates had always generated
a three or four percentage point voters turnout in the elections but Socialist Eugene Debs polled a record seven percent in
the 1904 presidential election. Twenty years later Progressive Robert Lafollette bested even the Democratic party
candidate as well as the Republican winner, Cal Coolidge, taking 43 percent of the vote. As the Civil War years had
shown, Dubuque's political makeup was complex and combative.
The winter of 1901-02 was termed a "great winter for labor" as factories "almost without exception have been
running full time all winter and that the open winter has been very propitious for building operations." A new bag
factory was employing women and "everywhere is heard complaint about the scarcity oflabor." Spring promised 100
new jobs at the Iowa Iron Works and architects promised "a building boom" (Dubuque Enterprise, February 16, 1902).
The winter of 1901-02 witnessed a flurry of union organizational activity. The teamsters successfully put
together a local of 150 members as did employees at the Dubuque Brewing & Malting Company, the George Richardson
Company, the Union Electric Company, and the Iroquois Pearl Button Works. Carpenters too were rumored to be
organizing and plasterers, bricklayers, stonemasons and other trades were newly organizing in anticipation of the coming
building season. Efforts were underway by mid-March to organize the wood workers at Carr, Ryder & Adams, Farley &
Loetscher, A. A. Cooper and the Alter companies. All of the locals would demand wage increases as the opportunity
allowed. As a result,
. . . there is much apprehension, particularly in building circles, and it is almost impossible to obtain a
contract for anything in which labor is a material factor. Even the ice dealers are declining to make
contracts for the season. This line of business is likely to be materially effected by the unions.
The Enterprise noted that fair wages protected the laboring class just as high protective tariffs protected industry and
capital. Anti-tariff democrats had claimed the tariff was a tax on the working class. The Enterprise offered that while the
working class paid the tariff "tax" and received no benefit, they would also pay the higher wage "tax" but they would get
a benefit. At any rate the larger issue would be settled quickly, predicted the same source:
Persons who are in a position where they should know say that one season will settle the matter in
Dubuque. They claim that the wave for organization has been slow in reaching Dubuque and that cities
like Davenport, Rock Island, Des Moines, Joliet, Quincy and others went through the mill two years ago.
They maintain that prices will adjust themselves to changed conditions and that after the fIrst few months there
will be no trouble. They claim that with the trusts hoisting prices on all commodities they control that labor most
protect itself and that the increased cost of living makes necessary the demand that is becoming general for
increased wages (Dubuque Enterprise, March 14, 1903).
The first strike of 1903 took place at the Iroquois Button Works. Locals had invested in the plant to bring it to
Dubuque but from the start the owners complained of an inability to secure enough workers. Untrained workers started
at low wages with a promise that with dexterity, they would outpace a laborer's wage within a few weeks. The plant
doubled its capacity during the summer of 1902 and consequently needed twice the workers. The Retailer's Association
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Conti nuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
57
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
looked at the company books and determined that the average weekly pay was just $7.00. In addition workers were
being shorted by the disallowance of thin button slugs and they were being charged for saws and other penalties. The
Dubuque Enterprise expressed initial support for the strikers, while still hoping that a valuable company could be
retained. At any rate the strikers lost, apparently due to bad management on the part of the union (Dubuque Enterprise,
March 14, June 13, 1903).
The factory owner was absent in California when the strike began and his local operatives simply shut down the
plant in the face of the strike. The Enterprise reported a week into the strike action that it
has not created the apprehension in business circles that some of the more timorous were apprehensive it
would... .Now however, that the button workers have set the ball rolling, the more attention is attracted to
them [the other unions] for the reason that it will give the trades and labor organizations opportunity to
demonstrate their strength and also the measure of support for those who walk out can expect from other
unIOns.
At any rate all union eyes were on the strikers. Their success would encourage further labor tests and their failure would
"have a detracting effect on the faint hearted" (Dubuque Enterprise, March 21, 1903).
The strike that did cripple the city came from an unexpected quarter. Seventy street car operators had unionized
in February 1903 part ofa total of 4,000 union members, a number second only to that of Des Moines. The Union
Electric Company had replaced three car fIrms in 1900 and now controlled public transportation and electrical service.
The company secured a 25-year city franchise in March 1902. One of the features of the franchise was a half fare charge
for commuting laborers. The company started to upgrade its lines in the spring of 1901 and raised both wages and the
public appreciation for its service and efforts. A 1902 point system that rated employee performance and docked
workers for delays and other errors. The union (Local 329 Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway
Employees of America) struck on May 7 when three of its members were fIred for presenting demands to the company.
The company fIremen joined their striking brothers two days later (Scharnow, pp. 60-70).
Historian Ralph Scharnow has documented the failure of what otherwise should have been a major union victory.
There was strong community support for the strikers and strike had shut down a critical transportation system. Initially
supportive crowds stopped the cars from running and they were silent during a visit by President Theodore Roosevelt on
June 2. The company hired Chicago strike breakers and resumed service on June 11. Mayor Berg dithered, on one hand
he deputized F. L. Dane, the company manager as a deputy sheriff, but he also refused to use the fIre companies to
control the crowds. The climax occurred on June 16 when a crowd of 1-2,000 shut down the service at its main hub. The
state militia was called in to quell the strife. They were replaced by National Guard troops and Governor Cummins
unsuccessfully attempted to mediate a solution. Public support disappeared with the riot and local clergy and the press
supported a "Law and Order Alliance" which oversaw car operations with militia guards. The Dubuque Club fmally
secured an agreement but the Union lost on all of their main requests. The union itself survived as a paper organization.
The mayor, popular C. H. Bern (a seven-term mayor), and the sheriff, initially pilloried by the public for supporting the
transit company, survived politically (Ibid., pp. 71-75).
The Dubuque Enterprise had lavished praise on the good works of the new transit company in January 1903 and
it was hard pressed to offer the strikers even the minimal support it had voiced for the button cutters. It criticized the
three fIred union leaders for failing to step aside from the negotiations, it blasted faint-hearted businessmen for failing to
support the use of the cars during the boycott and it lambasted the secondary boycotts against the fInanciers of the transit
PS Form 1 O-900-a
(Rev. B-B6l
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
58
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-------
company. "Mr. Stout, with Messrs, Shields, Burch, Cooper and others of the men who have made Dubuque and given it
the factories that employ the labor of the city" were to be honored and not vilified. When the strike was fmally settled
the paper regretted six weeks of wasted time with no substantial resolution of the basic issues "and the ignominy that is
heaped on Dubuque's name. Were it not for the labor troubles, 1903 "would have been a record breaker" (Dubuque
Enterprise, June 13,27, August 29, 1903).
Retail Trade, the Achilles Heel?
Under the caption "Dubuque's Future The Stake" the Dubuque Enterprise presented a remarkably candid
assessment of the city's retail strength. It offered ''the great draw back to the city has been its lack of retail trade." While
that trade was comparable to cities in the other states, "the opportunities are at hand for its being the best and greatest.
The main dependence of the retail dealers has been on the home trade and it is due to the large laboring
community and the fact that the jobbers and manufacturers have been buying almost exclusively at
home, that the retail interests can make the showing they do. Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City and
others in the state that take rank with Dubuque far outstrip this city in the volume of trade from out of the
city. . .If Dubuque, with her great volume of home trade, can add a proportionate amount of rural trade,
this city will be the best for retail trade in the state. Business men realize this and the complaint has been
bitter over the lack of facilities and inducements to bring this trade here.
Dubuque from its inception possessed a tri-state market focus but the river to the east and the highlands to the west had
hindered its ability to capture a broader market in the hinterlands. The complaint voiced above indicates that delays in
building bridges and in making Iowa's interior more accessible, had allowed regional markets and products to be
siphoned away by other regional cities. The completion of the Eagle Point vehicular bridge, delayed until 1903, was
lauded for its potential to "open a vast territory to the retail interests of the city." The city wasn't receiving its due share
of area stock and produce shipments. The same source noted "there is not half enough grain hauled in here for the local
feed supply, and shipments of stock from this point have become rare occurrences. The farmers have facilities closer
home and they will not come here unless there are convenient facilities to doing so or other inducements." Hopes for a
packing plant had been delayed to the lack of area stock supplies. Creameries and produce stations in the city were
valued more for the "rural trade they attract" than for their present financial contributions (Dubuque Enterprise, January
24,31, 1903).
The city was delinquent in its development of interurban traffic, a ten-year old phenomenon by 1903 and one that
was now more mechanically feasible due to technological development. Apparently Mr. Flynn and others had, with three
years effort, fmalized a "project to build from Dubuque into Wisconsin" and route surveys had been completed to the
west and southwest. Curiously the city strongly valued creating interurban links to the Chicago Northwestern, which ran
west of the county. This "has long been the dream of the business men [and] it will be practical to make at least three
connections with that road." What was the point of making these linkages? Usually interurban lines served as feeders to
a city's existing railroads. The Wisconsin interburban never materialized, primarily because it required the use of the
new highway bridge at Eagle Point (Dubuque Enterprise, July 4, 1903).
Retail failures of at least ten major firms during the summer and fall of 1903 underscored the weakness of the
retail sector despite the relatively good overall economy. The Dubuque Enterprise observed that the closings were "in
marked contrast to the falling off of the retail trade and the poor showing made by it, is the prosperity and development
of the jobbings and manufacturing interests." The same source dared to credit the success of the latter sectors to their
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PS Form 1 Q.9OQ-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
59
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQue Countv. Iowa
County and State-------
excellent organization. The 300 city retailers were not organized and they had allowed their retailer's group, formed in
1900, to wither away after just one year's operation (Ibid., November 14, 1903, pp. 8-9).
The Dubuque Enterprise led the local fight against catalog and out-of-city shopping trips. It urged readers to
shop for Christmas in Dubuque even as "the mail men are loaded down with pamphlets and booklets from mail order
houses in Chicago, St. Louis, St. Paul and other cities...the city is being flooded.. .by these mail order houses." While
acknowledging "there isn't the buying outside ofthe city there used to be, but there should be none." The Telegraph-
Herald was lambasted to running a half page advertisement for mail order buggies in early 1905 (Dubuque Enterprise,
December 3, 1904, February 18, 1905).
Political Strangers In A Strange Land:
It was the ironic fate of Dubuque that its national political representatives (read Republican) endured in the face
of endless pro-Democratic election majorities. Iowa Senator William Loyd Allison (1829-1908) represented the Third
Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 through 1871, and then served six Senatorial
terms up to his death. His senority and dominance on fiscal matters made him nationally significant when appropriations
were involved and he played a critical role in national party matters. Allison even received opposition from local
Republicans (*residence at Locust and 11th streets, extant?). Scottish-born David B. Henderson (1840-1906) was a
disabled Civil War veteran who had the distinction of being the first Speaker of the House to be elected from a district
located west of the Mississippi River. He served nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1883-
1903). He was first elected Speaker in 1899, and again in 1901 (*Henderson's house, get address). Allison-Henderson
Park was established to honor both men in 1940 (Wilkie, p. 221, Lyon, p. 11, 197-98).
Symbolic of Dubuque's sense that it was being ignored by Des Moines and state interests was completion of the
Soldiers and Sailors monument on the statehouse grounds in 1894. There was room allocated for just four ofIowa's five
Civil War major generals and it was Dubuque's man, Francis Jay Herron, the state's youngest major general. Dubuque
was outraged by the omission and blamed it on a lingering prejudice that the city had not sufficiently supported the
northern war effort.
Reflective of the city's sense of powerlessness was the passage ofa state laws which required fire escapes and
sprinkler systems in the downtown buildings. The two demonstrated "the advisability of the business men of
communities like Dubuque paying more attention in politics and pending measures, not locally but in the state." The
Dubuque Enterprise called for a committee "to guard against legislation of this kind...and to save expenses by exercising
a scrutiny over the acts of the city council." The issue also illustrated the conservative nature of the downtown interests.
The fire escape law covered buildings of three stories or more. A range of arguments were offered beyond the sheer cost.
Beautiful facades would be compromised and newer fire proof buildings didn't need them. Already, there were
"buildings the upper stories of which are not used at all, and others in which the upper stories are used only for storage
purposes" (Dubuque Enterprise, August 29, 1903).
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
60
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Fourth Street "Gateway" to Dubuque (Dubuque Enterprise, June 20, 1903)
A large key was hung above Fourth Street to symbolize entrance into the "Key City."
Note the lumberyard drying piles at the left rear.
Municipal Growth, 1893-1910:
Between 1890 and 1895 the city's population increased an impressive 14 percent to 40,574 residents. New construction
during 1894 exceeded $2,000,000, exceeding "any recent year" in the city and a feat "unequalled by any city in the
state." This impressive building record was accomplished "in the face of the general depression and fInancial disaster
that has swept over the country." As a result "Dubuque [had] a position unequalled, yes even unapproached by any city
in the state or perhaps any city of its size in the United States." The total valuation was driven upwards by an array of
truly remarkable large-scale public, institutional and private projects. These included Central High School, the brewery
at 2'J'h and Jackson streets, the Mt. Carmel Motherhouse, the Stout Auditorium and the Bank and Insurance Building
(Herald, January 1, 1895).
The construction of the Security and Bank and Insurance buildings during the l890s represented the growing
need for professional offIces to be located in modern offIce buildings rather than above storefronts in buildings scattered
throughout the downtown (Dubuque Enterprise, June 11, 1904).
The year 1897 witnessed record levels of home construction while business expenditures were largely restricted
to remodelings.
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
61
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
The present season in Dubuque has witnessed no particular building boom thus far, although ever since
winter all our local carpenters have been busy constructing residences in every portion of the city. It has
been years, if ever, since so many houses were built in Dubuque during a single season as have already
been constructed this year. This era of building shows no sign of abatement and will continue until snow
flies.
Rumors circulated that eastern capitalists sought investments in the city. Several small business blocks were underway
as was a new Ryan packing house. The earliest indications of an emerging zinc ore mining industry were present and "a
late building boom of gigantic proportions" was predicted (Herald, June 27, 1897).
Real estate business prospered as building proceeded at record levels. The largest demand in the city's history
was reported in the spring of 1891. One measure of retrenchment in the mid-1890s was the large-scale failure of the fIrm
ofRhomberg and Walker in the fall of 1896. Transfers during 1900 ($1,626,795) outpaced those of 1899 ($1,476,180)
which in turn exceeded those of 1898 ($1,255,091). An unprecedented real estate boom in early 1901 was reflected in 76
land transfers in just three days (Daily Ledger, Apri125, 1891; Daily Globe Journal, September 2, 1896; January 1, 1901;
Herald, December 31,1899; March 6, 1901).
One hope for new jobs was the planned shops and yard expansion of the Illinois Central Railroad. Dubuque
hopes were dashed at the end of 1899 when Waterloo was awarded the division point designation. The Telegraph-Herald
bemoaned "Tis Tough on Dubuque (Telegraph-Herald, January 4, 1900).
Census year 1900 and presumably the years preceding it "was not one of particular prosperity for the city. . . it was
exceptionally dull in the building trade lines.. .many mechanics who belong in Dubuque were out in other cities working"
( , December 3, 1904).
The Dubuque Enterprise reported building material costs in 1902 and 50 percent higher than a year before but
noted
"and yet the building goes on in Dubuque at a rate that is most encouraging. A drive about town, along
Grandview Avenue, Hill Street and Alpine will convince the dullest observer that Dubuque is in a most
flourishing and prosperous condition. Residences are springing up like toadstools, and they are not the
small square boxes of former years, but handsome and artistic homes. Even the smallest have
architectural merit. Each year we are making our city more attractive to the home-seeker. Each year we
are gathering within our borders a class of people who are a credit and honor to the town. People come
to Dubuque for many reasons. Our schools are of the best, business locations may be found here, and the
industrial and social life are prominent features of the town. Dubuque is too conservative to boom, but
its growth is steady. And no better indication of our prosperity could be given, than the fact that in spite
of the high price of building materials, our carpenters have never been busier (Dubuque Enterprise, July
20, 1902).
Grandview Avenue with its boulevard had the potential of becoming a city's latest "nob hill" but a major
impediment was its lack of city water services. One land owner proposed that the city would give an 18- foot wide strip
frontage to each landowner. The owner would then plant four rows of trees spaced every 50 feet and keep the land
properly sodded. The idea was short lived if only because many hoped that the streetcar would require some of this
right-of-way. The Enterprise commented
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
62
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State------
"Dubuque is in need of. ..a 'beauty drive.' Aside from our picturesque country roads our driveways are
sadly lacking in interesting and beautiful features. They are narrow and noisy and dirty, and are not laid
through the [mer residence parts of the town. Grandview Avenue is destined to become the drive of the
city, and as soon as the property owners on that street are able to bring city water to their homes its
improvement is secured. . . Grandview Avenue occupies a unique place in the city. It is urban as to its
character, but it is the pathway that leads from the city to the country, and as such we cannot afford to
lose it (Dubuque Enterprise, September 7, 1902).
The year 1902 witnessed the building of 75 houses in the Fifth Ward, and from 25-50 in each of the other wards.
During 1903,
"the report for this year will make a showing that will be a surprise. In spite of strikes, and the unsettled
conditions, which caused the abandonment or postponement of a number of building projects, there
wasn't a time during the season when mechanics were out of work. On the contrary, contractors were
short of men, and it was one of the most prosperous in these lines the city has had. If ocular evidence is
wanted, one has only to take a trip over the city. Take, for instance, in the vicinity of the Malting
company's brewery, where there were solid blocks of open lots six years ago there are today rows of
residences and within the last five years hundreds of residences have gone up on the hills" (Dubuque
Enterprise, November 21, 1903).
A 1904 building boom was predicted by the Enterprise with the announcement of plans for five major building
projects (Farley & Loetscher, Metz Manufacturing, Mercy Hospital, St. Franciscan Sisters Home for the Aged-, Union
Electric Company power house), representing an aggregate value of half a million dollars. Foundations for the first three
were already in place by the end of 1903. Many smaller buildings were planned and builders were so busy that repair
work and smaller jobs had difficulty getting done. There were over 150 new houses built and half of these were in the
"upper part" of the city (Dubuque Enterprise, November 18, 1903; December 3, 1904).
Those hopes were confirmed. 1904 "was one of the most prosperous years in the recent history of the city. Not
only has trade been good in all lines, but it has been a record breaking year in building. In addition tot he big industrial
plants, there has been a building boom in residences and store buildings, and mechanics have been in demand. At times
during the summer work was delayed because of the inability of contractors to secure men, and many mechanics were
brought in here from the outside." The number of new houses exceeded that of 1903
Districts where ten years ago there were only a few scattered residences, have been built up, and now
some of the most thickly populated sections are where they weren't even streets laid out fifteen year ago"
(Dubuque Enterprise, December 4, 1904).
"Immense Sums" in excess of$I,500,000 were expended in the city during 1905. Record 1904 expenditures
were bolstered by utilities expenditures but the 1905 improvements actually exceeded those of the previous year.
Dubuque was "forging-ahead" in all areas, "the corporation has not only expanded but the workingman has built himself
a home." Flats were being built in larger numbers as were three-unit houses. Brick continued to fade as a preferred
material for houses with just 17 percent of new houses being brick. This could reflect the rising costs of structural brick
construction. Brick would reappear in a veneer application following the First World War. Counting new houses was
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
63
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State------
made difficult because the city had ceased to do the tracking ("it must be remembered that no official records of building
permits or the like are kept in Dubuque") (Telegraph-Herald, December 31, 1905).
"The hill" north of Dodge Street, was the scene of residential construction beginning in 1905. The Dubuque
Enterprise reported the start of construction of houses on Winona Avenue and Alpine Street. It predicted
"more fine houses [will be] built on the hill than in any previous year. The rate at which the hill is
building up is surprising. A few years ago there was not a house on such streets as South Alpine,
Winona, Third street extension and others on which there is now hardly a vacant lot. All the way out to
West Dubuque the hill is being built up, and it wont be long until the tide of home seekers sets in on
Grandview avenue. It is understood that this property is to be put on the market this spring and when it
does begin to build up, there is the certainty the Union Electric company will put in a belt line from
Delhi to South Dodge street terminal (Dubuque Enterprise, April 15, 1905).
Record building was anticipated during 1906. Planned projects included a new brewery, German Theological
Seminary expansion, three new public schools, a new Masonic Temple and $26,000 in new residences already announced
(Telegraph-Herald, December 31, 1905).
The knockers of 1906 warned that Dubuque was "in a state of innocuous desuetude and is not forging to the front
at a modem city.,,7 Defenders noted that "new houses have sprung up in all parts of the city like pansies in a garden and
stand today a credit to the builders, and a proof of the rapid growth of the city." The city was "well fixed with overtaxed
factories" and these had expended over $300,000 in improvements. Dubuque's "fame as a home of institutions" was
maintained by over $400,000 in expenditures. Many of the new homes were being purchased by retired farmers and the
city was fast becoming a "mecca" for these. Mechanics were coming to Dubuque to insure that their children received a
good education. "Dubuque is everywhere known as as a city of cheap living, low rents, good schools and plenty of
decent amusements" (Telegraph-Herald, December 30, 1906).
At the end of 1907 the Telegraph-Herald credited the city's long-term development as "Conservative
Development; "
The history of Dubuque is a repetition of remarkable achievements secured through conservatism. Year
after year new industries are added, old establishments broaden out; vacant tracts of land become dotted
with attractive and costly residences and dwellings; competition appears only to stimulate the Dubuque
business men to acquit themselves of greater deeds and victories. Conservatism marks every step. No
radical, fool-hardy step has been taken since the days of the 'boom' period. Dubuque has progressed and
advanced to a point where the future appears like gold on the horizon. "Of all that is good, Iowa affords
the best," and Dubuque is the Key City.
Major new improvements included the Roshek Bros. Store, Security Building, railroad improvements ($105,000),
German Theological Seminary, and public school improvements ($150,000). Nearly every factory in the city expanded
and improved. "Scores of residences were erected during the year and time would not permit of personal inquiry into
each one." Apparently building permit records remained insufficient. The impressive achievements of the year were
7 Desuetude, a condition of disuse.
PS Form 1 0-900-8
IRev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
64
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
lessened by the "counteraction of certain conditions which tied up building and expansion nearly the whole summer"
(Telegraph-Herald, December 29, 1907).
Continued "conservative growth" was lauded at the end of 1908 but the numbers were down and a few larger
projects accounted for a quarter of the total. Factory improvements lagged below those of recent years. Residential
construction "during the year closing [was] one of the largest in recent years." Thoughout the city "house after house
has gone up. On the hills and the north end of the city this is particularly true. Strong, substantial residences have been
erected" with an average cost of about $3,500 (Telegraph-Herald, December 27, 1908).
A record number of houses were built during 1909. For the first time the Telegraph-Herald claimed that
"Dubuque contains a larger number of home owners in proportion to population than any other city in the country." The
city owned itself as well. "Dubuque is built up on her own capital. Here people in larger degree than in any other city,
own what is here. She is stable and has within herself enormous resources." A study of Main Street properties indicated
that they were mortgaged at just six percent of their total value. The record growth of the city this year could not be
attributed to any larger building projects, that largest being valued at $150,000 (Telegraph-Herald, January 2, 1910).
The house-building boom continued into 1910. At the end of 1909 contractors and real estate men were
anticipating a "veritable boom" in house building with a doubling of value over 1909. One contractor had three jobs
committed and all had work enough to start as soon as the weather permitted. The actual numbers fell well short of the
1909 record count. By year's end a local realtor reported "there is still a dearth of homes, moderate in price and
substantial in quality." Most of the houses were for "the prosperous wage-earner" and were valued from $2-4,000. ~e
annual numbers reflected the return oflarge-scale building by religious institutions ($243,000) with six major projects.
Private construction accounted for 63 percent of all improvements (Telegraph-Herald, January 2, October 2, 1910;
January 1, 1911).
McFadden's factory on Iowa Street was likely one of the first concrete skeleton industrial plants to be built in
Dubuque. The Times-Journal warned "to overlook McFadden's big concrete structure on Iowa Street would miss a
handsome five-story building of latest construction with the facilities to handle a business that is growing enormously"
(Times-Journal, February 6, 1910).
A 1914 growth retrospective by the Telegraph-Herald credited the Bank and Insurance Building and Dubuque
Brewing and Malting Company (1894) with being the first modern commercial buildings in the city.
"From 1894 until 1909 progress was slow. In 1909 more residences were erected and also a few
business houses were built. Each year as business got bigger and more facilities were demanded larger
and more substantial buildings were erected (Telegraph-Herald, December 27, 1914)
I
PS Form 1o..900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
I
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
I
Section number E
Page
65
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The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
I
Year Total Construction New Residential Construction Notes:
Total Total Non- Number New Total Value New Multi-
Value Residential S/F Houses family Houses
1894 $1,791,000 32 35 3 Estimate $150,000 unreported, Central High
School, new brewery, Bell Bros. Factory,
Sisters ofSt. Marv Orohanae:e, YMCA Gvm
1895
1896 $416,800 17 36 3 Figures through May, $3,000,000 total
including last year's completions, Security
Bldg., Saengerbund Hall, German Pres.
Church, Holy Ghost Church, St. Luke's
Church, Stone Hill School
1897 End of May only, $3million counting
finishinll '95 nroiects
1898 Partia11ist, 18 houses, four others incl.
Fin1ev Hosnita1
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903 150 new buildinlls
1904 Larger than 1903
1905 $1,327,210 105 $443,210 24
(''residences, etc.")
1906 $1,054,850 68 (nartian $128,150
1907 $1,912,900 "scores", no fewer $162500 Voelker built 22 houses averaging $2,500 in
than 31 starts cost, and all other new houses were valued
at $109,000, newspaper listed six major
houses finished, three underway.
1908 $1,134,438 13 (partia11ist), 88 $310,000 Estimate based on average cost division of
estimate total.
1909 $1,240,750 145 Average value $2- 200 total new buildings, 25 of which had
4,000, estimated values greater than $10,000
total val ue
$430,000
1910 $1,173,165 $1,841,747 88 $286,000
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
66
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
The Maturation of Streetcar Service:
L.B
LINWOOD
CEMETEllY
DUBUQUE
1 928
o
1/4
III
SCALE IN MILES
STllEETCAR. LINES
I I I
llAILElOADS
STllEETS or R.OADS
~
Dubuque's Streetcar System, 1928
(map drawn by Donald R. Schultz for Iowa Trolleys Bulletin #114, 1975, Wilkie, p. 331)
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No_ 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
67
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
To be developed.
1 890-extension to Herron's Point, near Grandview Ave. and S. Dodge, no date for completion ofW. Dubuque Asbury-8th
St. loop, bus replacementlsupplementallines starts 1928, last car run July 24, 1932 (Wilkie, 331)
Mississippi River Traffic Ebbs:
It wasn't until 1907 that federal attention was paid to regularizing even a minimal navigable channel in the river
above the Missouri River. Congress mandated a six-foot channel that year for the river between St. Paul and the mouth
of the Missouri River. No comprehensive action would be taken for some 30 years however. A long-anticipated event
the next year, 1908, was the belated opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (also called the Hennepin Canal). The
canal was too small to handle then-current vessels and the river trade had been diverted by the railroads anyway (Tweet,
1984, p. 256).
The last lumber raft, comprised of sawn plank passed Dubuque in 1915. Innovative Dubuque lumbermen had
already switched their wood source to the West Coast and sawn lumber reached the city by rail.
The City Beautiful Movement In Dubuque:
Dubuque was so well provided with natural beauty and picturesque bluffs that little organized attention was
given to the creation of parks, boulevards, or the improvement of the city's industrial riverfront. The Dubuque Enterprise
judged that Dubuque had "not only refused to aid Nature, but we have worked against her to some extent." The same
source tallied "ragged river banks, the filth and squalor along the 'flats,' the fact that our forests are being robbed to fill
our wood box, the hideous advertisements that deface many of our magnificent bluffs, and our general unkempt, untidy
appearance." It recalled the words of the Walrus and the Carpenter in early 1902 in describing the riverfront:
The Walrus and the Carpenter were walking hand in hand.
They wept like anything to see such quantities of sand.
"If this were only swept away," said they, "It would be grand."
"But sand was not the worst thing to be seen. Muddy, swampy banks, covered
with weeds, piles of lumber and evil-smelling masses of clam shells line the
shores of Dubuque. Ashes are dumped here, and debris and rubbish of all kinds
pollute the air and foster disease germs."
Clinton's riverfront improvements were contrasted with Dubuque's lack of them. That city to the south, with just 23,000
population had secured a government-built seawall and was laying out a two-mile long riverfront park. "There is no
reason why the people of Dubuque should not follow Clinton's example. We have her same possibilities, even greater
natural advantages, and a large amount of influence with Uncle Sam" (Dubuque Enterprise, February 23, 1902).
Two years later, Edith Lane writing in the Dubuque Enterprise, echoed some of these same concerns, lamenting
the lack of trees along Dubuque's streets and the continual loss of the few that did exist. She lamented "for thirtyyears
our method of tree-trimming and care has been a byword and laughingstock through the country; east and west we hear
PS Form 1 0-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
68
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State------
it,--'Do they still cut off the tops of the trees in Dubuque?'''. Lane deplored "our deplorable lack of park and play-
ground...[and] the vandalism that robs our window-boxes and injures and destroys public and private property." Lane's
lens was a high-end perspective. While she admired the Central High School and "perhaps half a dozen houses in the
city-no more" the city had a long way to go before its residents could "truthfully tell about the beauty of Dubuque"
(Dubuque Enterprise, November 26, 1904).
All came to a head with City Planner Charles Mulford Robinson's study of Dubuque and his subsequent "Report
On The Improvement Of The City of Dubuque,Iowa" which he presented in late 1907. First the good news. Robinson
found Dubuque to be a city of homes with well distributed wealth, occupying "a wondrously beautiful location, nature
not only pressing it around with varied and picturesque scenery, but thrusting beauty of bluff or river or view into its very
street system, so that throughout the whole city one can hardly ever be forgetful of the natural beauty of the site." Now
the bad news. The city lacked a park commission and its parks consisted of "a couple of little triangles at street
intersections, and two little city [nondescript] squares..." (Robinson, pp. 3-5).
.. .no beauty of bluff or river has been set aside for the people, and view points have been
parted with for what they would bring. The citizen who would enjoy the beauty that
should be the right of those who live in Dubuque is compelled to trespass on private
property .
Charles M. Robinson, 1907
Robinson found three main components which comprised the city's natural beauty; the river, the adjacent
bluffs,and the western highlands with their inland perspective. He laid out recommendations for ornamental spaces,
neighborhood parks, recreational playgrounds and large country parks, and a series of connecting boulevards. These
small parks were particularly appropriate because the city's irregular street pattern. He favored enhancing the engine
house corner at 18th Street and Central Avenue, the terminus of the 8th Street carline and Grandview Avenue at Dodge,
South Dodge and Delhi streets. Truly "spectacular" results would be achieved at little cost if the city purchased the bluff
fronts at a number of locations. These were partially hidden with billboards. Rock-hewn public steps could replace
rickety wooden stairways and a safe trail could follow the bluffline. Neighborhood parks would occupy the best vantage
points along the trail. The playgrounds were intended for placement near the Great Western Shops for use by laborers.
Present day Comiskey Park was recommended by Robinson as an excellent location for such a park (Ibid., pp. 4-14).
Locals encouraged Ham's Island as a location for a larger park but Robinson saw no potential, citing its
inaccessibility, regular flooding, and the compelling alternative of Eagle Point, with its vistas and wild beauty. Kelly's
Bluff, on the south end of the city was the second recommended park site. Robinson judged "there is in Dubuque no
other unoccupied height of such area so accessible and with so splendid a view." The two parks would improve local
property values and would largely pay for themselves in that manner (Ibid. pp. 15-18).
When Robinson presented his riverfront parks recommendations he compared Dubuque's relinquishing of its
riverfront to factories and railroads to the Chicago riverfront. The city fathers were not well pleased with this finding.
Never mind that it was the railroads and industries which had filled in the riverfront to make it usable in any form.
Robinson recommended riverfront parks along the south side of Ice Harbor (owned by the city) and Rafferty's Slough, a
spring-fed wetland that ran in front of Mount Carmel Road. The latter was to be a water park, with summer swimming
and boating, and winter skating. Finally a larger rural park reserve was best located on the lower Catfish Creek, site of
Dubuque's grave. A connecting boulevard could then link the Ice Harbor, Mount Carmel, the Kelly's Bluffpark,
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
69
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Grandview Avenue (with a standard 100-foot width), Seminary Street, Madison Street hill, Garfield and Rhomberg
avenues, and Eagle Point (Ibid., pp. 18-25).
Robinson closed with some other recommendations. He favored widening of Main Street or at least removing
"unnecessary sidewalk obstructions." Major east-west streets (14th and 8th streets) which connected to uphill arterials
were too narrow while other east/west roads which led nowhere, ending at the bluftbase, were too wide. Second Street in
front of the Cathedral in particular was 100 feet wide and could be parked west from Main Street. The Rhomberg
Avenue elms he cited as a model for other key streets, but recommended a thinning of the maturing trees. He chided the
flimsy electric lights which hung from wires in the downtown and pleaded for street name signes "very much needed
throughout Dubuque." Waste cans would look better without advertising. Dubuque's alleys were "so broad and so
conspicuous that they may properly be considered under the head of streets. Their dirtiness is appalling." Robinson was
impressed by the size of the school playgrounds. He urged that all at-grade railroad crossings be raised and he favored
the building of a union railroad station ("instead ofthe four village-like stations"). Robinson challenged the city, citing
"the present keen rivalry of cities" that only a broad comprehensive implementation of his park recommendations would
transform Dubuque into a truly modern city (Ibid., pp. 25-31).
Dubuque smarted under the criticism and most of Robinson's recommendations remained dreams. Between
1908-10 Eagle Point Park was made a reality with 133 acres. Streetcar access followed the extension of Ravine Road in
1912 and the park formally opened September 28, 1912. Riverfront steps later further enhanced visitor access (Lyon, pp.
133-34).
A 1911 Chamber of Commerce promotional book cited "the layout of a 'City Beautiful." The city "cannot be
said to have been planned but grew without a plan." Terming the city "The Heidelberg of America," nature and not man
was credited with beautifying the city. A curious self-criticism admitted that "almost all of the public buildings are
poorly located, though fine structures in themselves." Neighborhood was not sufficiently considered when they were
built. In truth all of those buildings had their origins in pre-Civil War Dubuque. All of these buildings and most of the
city's churches were on the lower level part of the original city.
"Far better, however, the managers of the large educational institutions, the colleges, seminaries,
hospitals, homes of aged. . .have chosen sites and thus you find them occupying beautiful view points,
with abundance of pure air and sunshine and away from the city's smoke, magnificent [and]
buildings.. . (Dubuque, Iowa, p. 13).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
70
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Context #4, An Era of Stability, 1911-1955:
Dubuque Forward! (Dubuque Business, May 1930, p. 6)
The State of Dubuque:
Dubuque and Dubuque County were defiantly and increasingly pro-Democratic even as Iowa as a whole had
grown more and more staunchly Republican. This local transformation reached its highpoint in the 1928 presidential
election when the last marginal Republican townships were swept away by a growing Democratic majority. Throughout
its history, city and county produced lopsided Democratic victories in the usually in the 60 to 40 percentage range.
County party support exceeded that of the city. There were notable exceptions in elections after 1910 however and these
are worthy of historical investigation. In 1912 Woodrow Wilson prevailed in the face of a divided opposition. Theodore
Roosevelt's Progressive Party garnered 27 percent of the vote. Possibly setting a pattern of anti-incumbency, Wilson
barely prevailed in 1916, eking out a bare two percent majority over Hughes. More surprising, Republican Warren
Harding was awarded a 59 to 36 percent majority over Cox in 1920. Progressive third party candidates, usually
Socialists, usually polled three percent of the electorate, although Eugene Debs attained 7 percent of the 1904 county
vote (and 11 percent in the city). Robert Lafollette smashed that record in 1924, winning the county with 43 percent of
the vote. His Republican opponent Calvin Coolidge beat out Democrat Davis by ten percentage points. The traditional
Democratic plurality returned in 1928 and Roosevelt's first term victory set an all-time record with a 71 percent
Democratic turnout. Remarkably Roosevelt slipped in popularity in each of this successive three elections, and he
actually lost to Wendell Wilkie 51 to 48 percent in 1940. The voters clearly disfavored Roosevelt or the hilltop precincts
did so to such an extent that they prevailed over the flat-landers. Every other Democratic nominee was elected. Dwight
Eisenhower carried the county in two elections but Truman, Kennedy and Johnson all received landslide-level victories.
Lesser Democratic victories followed from 1968 through 1984 (Wilkie, pp. 221, 231).
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PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
71
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
With the passing of these political giants, Democratic Dubuque candidates had at least a chance to occupy the
vacant seats. Dubuque Congressman Maurice Connolly (1877-1921) was elected in 1912 and four years later sought a
Senate seat in the first popularly elected race for that national chamber. He lost to Republican and former Iowa governor
Alfred Baird Cummins (1850-1926). Former Telegraph-Herald editor Richard Louis Murphy achieved a Senate seat
with Roosevelt's first victory, but he died in an automobile accident in 1936 before his first term was completed.
Murphy Park honors him (Ibid., p. 409, 419, 427; Lyons, p. 323 ).
Wartime Mobilizations and Efforts to Restore the Eroded Municipal Industrial Base:
The average Dubuquer is taking new pride in his city, once the biggest manufacturing center of the
state, as he sees it regaining some of its former distinction.
Recalling the huge soap plant and lumberyards that once flourished here, the plow factory which Mark
Twain was told was the biggest in the world, John Q. Dubuque was a bit ashamed of his town in the
30's....
Some citizens will recall that Dubuque in 1880, with 23,384 population, held the top place in Iowa.
And they will further recall, abashedly, that the population in 1930, when Dubuque sank to seventh
place (behind even Council Bluffs), was smaller than in 1905-the figures were 41,679 and 41,941
respectively. . . Yet, despite a few blemishes in the general picture, the average Dubuquer has reborn
confidence in his city as a new year "takes off." His hopes are in the altitudes again, like the planes that
will be zooming out of the new airport.
Telegraph-Herald, January 5, 1947
World War I And Industrial Erosion:
This transitional period has been addressed by Sylvester McCauley, who, writing in 1922, studied the operations
of the massive Brunswick-Balke Collender Company, producer of phonograph players. In the prewar years wages were
high and labor was somewhat scarce as the firm operated at normal capacity. With the coming of the war wages
continued to rise in the face of a growing labor shortage. City industrial firms were producing such items as the lumber
components of cartridge boxes. Women and girls temporarily entered the workforce to fill the void. At Brunswick they
accounted for one half of the workforce at one point. Following the war normal production continued through April
1920. The only change was in the supply of male laborers, now sufficient. Wages and prices remained high. By this
time the company was working overtime according to McCauley. After April 1920 there was a gradual decline in
business trade, the female workforce was dismissed through the summer and fall. The "industrial crash" in McCauley's
words, came that fall.
The Brunswick was one of the last firms in Dubuque to close down. While some of its employees were
laid off in early October, the factory kept going until the first of December, when the plant's doors were
closed, throwing a thousand men out of work.
For the next few months, business in the city was at its lowest ebb. Then the factories began taking on
more men and things brightened a bit. The high wages of the war, however, were gone. Men at the
Brunswick, working by the piece, who had previously made as much as fourteen and fifteen dollars a
day, found their scale of piece wages sadly reduced when they returned to work and had to be satisfied,
PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
72
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
in many cases with little more than half what they had earned before. Employees from other factories
were far worse off than this.
McCauley determined that "Dubuque was not hit nearly so hard as other cities in this post-war slump." It was the wood-
working component of the city's industrial mix which sheltered the city. A house-building boom in New Jersey and New
York for returning soldiers provided a massive market for sash and doors from Farley & Loetscher Manufacturing
Company. McCauley offered a contrasting (unnamed) example ofa company that failed to respond to changing times:
We have in Dubuque a plant which, during the war, reaped enormous profits manufacturing war
materials. The management of this company did not have the foresight to realize what was coming after
the war; consequently, all the profits of the company were sunk back into extensive, likewise, expensive,
improvements, for the purpose of turning out still more war materials. When the depression set in this
particular company practically went on "the rocks," and has been so since. A large building, began
during those times of inflated prosperity, had to be abandoned and still stands there, a mute testimony to
the folly of poor management under abnormal conditions.
Market conditions improved and normalcy was finally achieved by the summer of 1921. Wages were "only fair" given a
plentiful labor supply. Business during 1922 was normal for seven months in the summer and fall when the national
railroad strike caused some job loss and production cutbacks. At the time of his writing, in 1923, McCauley observed
full-time plant operations and full employment and predicted "Dubuque has nothing to fear concerning unemployment at
present" (McCauley, pp. 215-16).
In sheer numbers of plants the industrial attrition in Dubuque by 1942 was fairly astounding. The 200 factories
present as of 1900 were by this time reduced to 90. Dubuque had long been the state leader in manufacturing and this
last claim to fame was forfeited. Certainly, the old line major industries, providing the lion's share of jobs remained in
place. A major loss was the departure of the Milwaukee Shops, the city's largest employer for years. As late as 1918 it
provided 2,000 jobs but was completely closed soon after that (WP A, pp. 66-67).
The post-World War rebound of the 1920's convinced Dubuque leaders that fortune had once again come their
way. At the end of 1927 it was promised that Dubuque was on the "Eve of a new era" and the Chamber of Commerce
called upon all citizens for broad based support. There was, in the words of Chamber president Dove, an "urgent need
for development in nearly every direction." A lack of financial support had left a number of new industrial developments
in abeyance and there were innumerable civic improvements required commitment and resources (Telegraph-Herald,
January 7, 1928).
The Second World War both stimulated and exhausted Dubuque's industrial base. Wartime conversion to
produce military goods was limited and it appears that few existing plants enjoyed retooling, new construction or other
forms of reinvestment. At the same time Dubuque was the place of choice for numerous firms which relocated there in
during the war. The J. P. Smith Shoe factory was the first to come in 1941, followed by the Arkell Safety Bag Company
in 1943, as well as the Electronics Inc. Company, Dubuque Screw Machine Company, Thermo Electric Manufacturing
Company, and the Dubuque Garment Company. Late-war recruits included the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company
(which took up quarters alongside the Shot Tower), Baxter Manufacturing Company (another soap company), General
Timber Services (a Weyerhauser Lumber Company subsidiary), and L. and N. Specialties (glove factory). These along
with the John Deere plant which was secured in 1945, provided the "backbone" of a new industrial base that was only
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
73
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
fmalized in recent years. Established local firms, including A. Y. McDonald and Dubuque Packing Company both
undertook expansions (Telegraph-Herald, January 5, 1947).
The year 1946 was the "banner year" for city industrial development. Chamber secretary John Kerper credited
1945 and 1946 with being Dubuque's two greatest years of industrial progress in a generation." City population
surpassed the 50,000mark and the city annexed 59.6 acres in the Asbury area for the Deere worker's housing, the first
such annexation in almost a century. Kerper claimed that in the past three months 20 new firms had given up plans to
move to the city because of the lack of large open areas in proximity to railroad sidings. Predicting a successful near
future but long-term industrial park initiative, Kerper reported that the Chamber was studying using City Island for that
purpose. It was predicted that the city would surge on to the 60,000 population mark. Darkly, the newspaper worried
"Will this expansion pick up even more steam or gradually slow to a stop?" (Ibid.).
The lack of elbow room had always hindered Dubuque's growth and development and by this time Dubuque's
municipal boundary, encompassing 12.1 square miles was barely exceeded by down-river cities (Clinton had even less,
Burlington just a tad more) except Davenport (17.75 square miles). Mason City wasn't much larger (12.4 square miles)
but Cedar Rapids (28.36 square miles) and Des Moines (55.91 square miles) left Dubuque in their dust (Ibid.).
Taming the Mississippi River:
The moribund river trade was revitalized by two federal initiatives. The First World War was the forcing issue.
Pre-war industrial mobilization for Europe's war and wartime efforts drained railroad cars from the Mississippi River
Valley and local industries were hampered. The 1917 Railroad Control Act provided substantial funds for the
construction of barges and boats to supplement rail service. The federal organized and run barge fleet was begun in July
1918. Private barge traffic was in place below St. Louis by the mid-1920s. In 1926 the Inland Waterways Corporation
organized the Upper Mississippi Barge Line Company and Dubuque had its own barge terminal in place by 1928. The
Dubuque Boat and Boiler Works built the towboats which were used by the new firm. By 1926 the Federal Barge Lines
offered two weekly departures each way between St. Louis and St. Paul. It was this barge-shipping initiative which put
in place the supportive constituency that secured a federal9-foot channel commitment from Washington in 1930 (Tweet,
1984, pp. 256-57).
Another key factor that pushed for improved Upper Mississippi River navigation was the opening in 1914 of the
Panama Canal. The canal reordered the balance between expensive rail shipping costs and cheaper water shipping costs.
The 9-foot channel concept was first advocated as a means by which shipping costs inequities could be addressed and the
farm crisis of the mid-1920s could be tempered. The overriding goal was that of simply increasing river traffic. By the
mid-1930s the justification was based on public employment and responding to the Great Depression. The 9-foot
channel was strongly opposed from the start by conservationists, railroads and some engineers. The first serious study,
conducted by Corps Major Charles Hall in 1927-28 recommended against both a simple channel (which wouldn't work)
and a lock and dam system, which would have transformed the river into a string of stagnant lakes. Hall feared
broadscale damage to the public health and to wildlife. The belated inclusion of the 9-foot channel in the 1930 Rivers
and Harbors Act was accomplished in the form of a last-minute 1935 Senate amendment to the original act. With this
accomplishment what has been termed the "Golden Age" of the Corps of Engineers (O'Brien, p. 14).
The original 26 sets of locks and dams were built in order of their importance in alleviating age-old navigational
obstacles. The Zebulon Pike Lock and Dam No. 11, a Class "c" project, was built between 1934 and 1937, situated just
upstream from the Eagle Point toll bridge. The complex was relocated to Dubuque in a 1933 planning revision and its
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
74
The Architectural and Historical Resources of DubuQue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-------
construction was hastened to alleviate chronic unemployment in Dubuque. Dams Nos. 11 and 18 were the first district
dams to utilize submersible elliptical Tainter gates and submersible roller gates. The lock and dam cost $6,655,000 and
employed 901 workers at the height of its construction effort (O'Brien, pp. 14,27,30, 136-37, 166-67; The Middle and
Uuuer Mississiuui River, pp. 5-7).
The new navigation system was completed just in time to aid the national mobilization effort prior to and during
the Second World War. Dubuque's role in ship fabrication was made possible by the river improvements.
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1948 Mississippi River Map, River Miles 268-83 (The Middle and Uuuer Mississiuui River, p. 136)
Note the wing dam system that maintains the main channel. The channel hugs the Iowa shore at the lock/dam
and at the Julien Dubuque Bridge, yet is adjacent to Illinois beneath the railroad bridge.
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PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
75
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-------
Municipal Growth, 1910-1955:
Dubuquer's doubted that any other city in Iowa or the west "could make an equal showing under similar adverse
circumstances" as their city did during 1911. Ten months of struggle between labor and contractors greatly impeded
building. Building continued to be predominately small-scale and just a dozen projects exceeded $10,000 in value. One
of these, the new Brunswick-Balke-Collender factory ($500,000) accounted for one third of the city building total
however and the five largest private projects ($945,000 total) accounted for 62 percent of the total. Adding municipal
improvements ($200,000) just 25 percent ofthe total was attributable to small-scale private building. The Telegraph-
Herald concluded:
The meaning of this can be but one thing. Dubuque is building residences for its working classes and is
building them because they are needed. This must mean Dubuque is increasing in population, and
without a doubt, the next census will show Dubuque has the healthiest advance in population of any city
in the state.
The 1911 improvements included two bungalows. The majority of the new houses cost $3-3,500 (Telegraph-Herald,
December 31, 1911).
The Telegraph-Herald downplayed the 1912 improvements under a small caption "Much Building Done Past
Year." Residences dominated local construction and "but few large buildings have been erected." No counts or list were
offered. "Many new residences erected" proclaimed the newspaper and it was reported that "architects and contractors
are unanimous in declaring that the year has been a prosperous one in their respective lines of work." New homes were
"especially noticeable in the 4ill districts and in the north end of the city." Five larger projects were valued at $430,000
(Mercy Hospital Home for the Aged, A. Y. McDonald warehouse, Severance Hall at the University of Dubuque, heating
plant at the German College, and a gym at St. Joseph College) (Telegraph-Herald, December 29, 1912).
The Telegraph-Herald warned "More Homes Are Needed In City" in mid-1912, and lauded the developers who
had built Coventry Court Flats and the Austin Apartments in the face of local criticism. Both buildings were "filled or
almost filled with the most desirable of tenants." A "glaring shortage of suitable cottages or modern flats" should
encourage other similar projects. "It will appear laborers, carpenters and others will have their hands full at all times." A
promotional "Home Builders Directory" printed in early May featured a concrete bungalow plan designed by regional
architect Charles Sedgwick, valued at $2,800 (Telegraph-Herald, May 5, June 23, 1912).
Between 1912 and 1914 the Telegraph-Herald estimated that a million dollars had been spent building new
homes in the city, mostly in response to the arrival of the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company with several hundred
new jobs. A major inducement to residential growth in West Dubuque was the extension of the West Locust Street
carline to Asbury and Delhi streets. For a nickel a commuter could traverse a four-mile route west from the Great
Western Depot. The newspaper noted "It has opened up a new section of the city which promises to become a most
desirable residential section."
A trip over the city must convince one of the building activity. Various sections which were nothing
but prairie, some of them covered with water and overgrown with weeds, are now among the most
beautiful and sanitary residential districts in the city.
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
76
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
One of the marked changes in this respect is represented by the new Municipal Athletic park. For years
the site was a dumping ground. It now is one of the best improved pieces of property in the city and one
that will grow in value and usefulness.
Home builder Chris Voelker was credited with building a bungalow development around the former athletic park and
with building up the South Alta Vista Street district. "This neighborhood development idea is taking a hold in Dubuque
in a remarkable manner. . ." The 1914 construction numbers were impressive, in excess of $4 million. "It can be said
without exaggeration that Dubuque has taken a longer progressive step in 1914 than any other city in Iowa." Wartburg
Seminary, new to the city, was being constructed at a cost of $200,000. Four religious institution building projects
totaled $823,000. The railroads expended $233,000 and public services $493,000. The new Julien Hotel and the Elks
Home cost $670,000 (Telegraph-Herald, December 27, 1914).
A record number of residences were built in 1915 and the list included 15 bungalows. The three principal house
builders were Bradley & McClay, Kubnals & Son, and Chris Voelker. It was noted "during 1915 there have been more
residences built than in any other year in the history of Dubuque:"
With the rapid growth in population, due to the increase of business, suitable houses are in great
demand. There was a constant cry for houses this year and many contractors were forced to double up on
the shift in order to get the homes ready. Real estate men and those who make a business of handling
and building residences claim that there was never such a demand for residences as this year.
Total private construction accounted for just 44 percent of the year's growth. Religious institution improvements
(principally Wartburg Seminary and Sacred Heart School, totaling $625,000) made up 31 percent. The new building was
"evidence of stability had in style of architecture and serviceability of structures" boasted the newspaper (Telegraph-
Herald, December 26, 1915).
A small 1916progress report recorded a 50 percent decrease in total construction compared to 1914, below
$2,000,000. The collapse was due to the lack oflarge private projects. Just one such project that year was valued at
$75,000. Private investments accounted for 39 percent of the year's total (compared to 56 percent in 1914). Public
improvements were stressed as were the building efforts of religious institutions and public utilities. The Telegraph-
Herald admitted "for the past number of years [Dubuque's] growth has been varied but gradual." Prospects for 1917
were brighter and readers were assured "Dubuque's population is still on the increase." The city's gateway, "the leading
channel into Illinois and Wisconsin," 4th Street, was paved. Windsor Avenue was "made over" and the West Locust
Street paving was extended. Clay Street, between 2nd and 24th streets, was also paved (Telegraph-Herald, December 31,
1916).
The year 1917 was "another banner year" in the estimation of the Times-Journal but the total valuation of new
construction, barely above that of 1916, was the lowest since 1913. Strikes had impeded growth during 1915 and 1916.
One growth area was in street and alley improvements. The Farley and Loetscher Warehouse, an addition to the First
National Bank and the new Holy Ghost Church represented $360,000 in value. Two filling stations were included in the
list of new buildings (Times-Journal, January 1, 1918).
World War I brought with it sharp wage and building materials price hikes and during 1918, restrictions on non-
priority construction. Inflation was increasingly present in the pre-war years and particularly during the war when war
needs and military priorities competed for both labor and materials. Construction during the final seven months of 1917
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
77
The Architectural and Historical Resources of DubuQue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQue County. Iowa
County and State-------
was $603,170, and this figure plummeted to $300,000 during that same period in 1918. Under-reporting of additions and
remodeling was blamed as part of the cause for the drop but government restrictions were the main cause. Dubuque's
construction rebounded immediately when the government ended its prohibition on non-priority building and 1919
building figures doubled those of 1918. The numbers were bolstered by a number of very large projects, notably the
Tuberculosis Hospital ($150,000) and the Brunswick plant. A small number of builders dominated, Anton Zwack on the
larger projects, Voelker Realty and James Gregory led in the house-building trade. Contractors counted on filing their
building permits after-the-fact and the city engineer threatened fines for the delinquents when they filed for $45,000 in
permits the first Saturday of the new year 1920. Contractors were enjoined by the Times-Journal to save the city
receiving "a black eye" when undervalued figures were printed each year by "one national engineer's magazine" (Daily
News, December 31, 1919 Times-Journal;, January 5,1919).
The city experienced a severe housing shortage after the war and just two houses were available to be rented at
year's end (Times-Journal, November 23, 1919).
By 1922 local construction had largely rebounded, and doubling the 1921 totals. Public and institutional building
projects drove up the numbers. Downtown the Federal Bank Building and Union Trust and Savings totaled $600,000.
Three religious institution expansions and two new junior high schools were also underway (Telegraph-Herald,
December 31, 1922).
The boom continued through 1924 when $3,000,000 was expended although the local newspaper fudged the
figures by including county road paving expenses in the total. Streets and sewer projects accounted for over $2,600,000
of the total. Church institutional building and Finley Hospital expansions were also underway. A statewide comparison
of building permits issued through November 1 placed Dubuque behind (actually well behind) Des Moines and Sioux
Falls [sic, Sioux City] but the comparative city listing in The Dubuquer was still headed by Dubuque. Cedar Rapids was
close behind but Davenport, Council Bluffs and Waterloo all languished (Ibid., December 28, 1924; The Dubuquer,
December 1924, p. 3).
By 1925 the big projects were finished. The Canfield Hotel expanded and the University of Dubuque built Van
Vliet Hall. Public expenditures comprised just 14 percent of the total while new house starts accounted for 53 percent
(Ibid., December 27, 1925).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. S-S61
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
78
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
N UME>I;Q AND CO./T a: WOUfl;f 1;(2I;CTI;.D IN OUeUQUI;
r.,
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cc
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Ul
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&a 0- ?>OOO DOLLAR./' pe.r~ ~OVfli WOO-IO,COO _
~ 3000-4000 DOLLAR./" P&R >-lOUfl: IO,oOO-l5POO IIllIDDDJ
~ 4000-0000 OOLl...ARf PE.R \.lOUfE. OVE.r< IqOCO I!i'Ii'ii1
New Dubuque House Starts, 1924-33 (1935 Housine: Report)
The house construction chart presented above visually traces the changing mix of housing cost categories over a
ten-year period 1924-33. Houses priced $4,000-$10,000 dominate through 1929 while the most expensive houses
increase in number between 1925 and 1926, and then decline to a handful. Lower cost housing (less than $4,000)
increases sharply by 1931, but fades after 1932. By 1920 the average new house cost was $6,000 (Dubuque Business,
January 1930, p. 4).
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PS Form 1 Q-9()().a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
79
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
IOWA STATE PLANNINO BOAR.D
DUBUQUE. IOWA
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By 1926 the city boasted 125 miles of paved roads. The year was termed a "Banner Year for the Better Highway
System" given the county's approval of a paving bond issue. It was also "probably the first time in the history of the city
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
80
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
the municipal government lived within its incomes." The city had 96 miles of water mains and during the year added
347 new water meters for a total of 8,005 units. These were not all new buildings but reflected progress in modernizing
older properties. The police handled 150 auto theft complaints and returned all but eight vehicles. A total of 644 deaths
occurred during the year but it was stressed that 150 of these were strangers and shouldn't be counted in calculating the
city's mortality rate! Ibid., January 2, 1926; January 2, 1927; Times-Journal, January 2, 1927).
The 1929 building program included six major projects. These were an addition to the Mary of the Angels Horne
(6th and Bluff streets), Clarke College gym and auditorium, Holy Trinity School, the first (north) half of Roshek's
Department Store (8th and Locust streets), Bums Realty Company garage, and the), the new Telegraph-Herald and
Times-Journal building ($500,000) (Dubuque Business, January 1930, pp. 4, 7).
The strangulating impact of the Great Depression wasn't strongly felt until the latter part of 1931 in the Midwest
and Dubuque, like all cities on the go, was busily engaged in erecting major new buildings. Over $3,000,000 was
expended in the city during 1929 and a host of major 1930 projects were announced by January 1930. These included
the new Masonic Temple ($250,000, the south half of the huge Roshek's Department Store and four lesser industrial and
commercial projects (Dubuque Business, January 1930, pp. 4, 6; Telegraph-Herald, January 2, 1931).
A local campaign was initiated to employ 1,000 unemployed in the construction industries during 1931 and some
success was achieved with nearly $1,000,00 being spent in new building and remodeling. There were 17 new business
buildings and five new filling stations. The construction season ran later than usual and permits for 23 of 54 new houses
were taken out in the fmal90 days of the year. Garage construction continued to play catch-up with increasing auto
ownership. Of 107 new garages, 81 were of frame construction. Six elevators were added to existing buildings and 39
electrical advertising signs were added. Four houses were moved and six demolished (Telegraph-Herald, January 2,
1932).
The 1934 housing survey offers a comprehensive picture of the state of the city's housing as of that year. New
house construction was taking place on the fringes of the city (see chart above) despite the presence of 4,000 inner city
building lots. Many of the new houses lay outside of the corporate city limits beyond the reach of the tax collector or
land use controls. High property taxes drove up rents, principally in the flats located in and around the downtown. Many
commercial and office buildings had been converted for residential use, apparently in the 1920' s, with inadequate
provisions for sanitation and modem conveniences. The city was physically divided by class with poorer housing being
on the lowlands, and better houses on the bluffs. The greatest population density was at the point and in Kauffman
Valley, and between 9th and Dodge streets west of the downtown. The downtown precincts were smaller in size than the
bluff top precincts due to this higher density (1934 Housine Reoort, pp. 77, 98).
Dubuque was described as a city of single family dwellings and these were nearly completely dominant outside
of the downtown. Multi-family housing, comprised mostly of converted single family houses, was intermixed in the
downtown with flats set above storefronts, apartments and rooming houses. Two-family units were of two types, with
side by side and up and down divisions. The housing study found the city notably lacking in multi-unit housing. Low
cost housing was not being built and new construction failed to meet the need. Even with its low level of growth,
Dubuque was gaining 60 new families annually but new construction would have housed just a third of these. Add in an
estimated 150 housing units (this 1.5 percent of the total housing stock was a theoretical obsolescence rate but these units
didn't necessarily disappear from the housing market) which became obsolete annually, and the housing shortage
increased. Twenty percent of city housing was over 50 years old (1935 Housine Report, pp. 13-14,20-21,26,31).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
81
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
The first comprehensive plan (1936) lauded "the notable progress made in the architectural merit of recent
private business structures" (1936 Plan, p. 11).
The 1937 building program as of early May exceeded those of the previous "number of years." The ten new
houses then underway included a Cape Cod cottage (2285 Bennett) and a bungalow (263 Valley Street). Seven
businesses were making improvements and Molo Oil Company was building a service station (14th and Central). House
building was clearly leading the way in reviving the local construction industry (Telegraph-Herald, May 9, 1937).
It wasn't until early 1940 that the first real residential construction boom unfolded in the city, the first time that
over a hundred houses went up since 1925. Half as many houses were built in the suburbs beyond the city boundaries.
New house starts continued at the same pace through mid-May ofthe next year (Telegraph-Herald, May 18, 1941).
A statewide canvas of November 1945 new house starts awarded Dubuque the leading role with 40 new houses
started for a value of $179,900. One of three new houses underway in 16 first class Iowa cities was located in Dubuque.
These were of course the houses meant to house the new Deere plant workers and Dubuque Homes Inc. was responsible
for all but two of the house starts. By year's end half were already under roof and the first would be ready for occupancy
within four to five weeks. The city also led in remodeling permits that month (Telegraph-Herald, January 6, 1946).
The year 1945 was termed a "banner year" for city house building with more new house permits being issued
that year than in the ten previous ones save for 1940-41. The Herald explained that "this city's rapid population growth
has made the demand for housing especially intense here." The new houses were accompanied by 43 house conversions
which produced at least that many new housing units (Ibid.)
1946 construction figures set a record in every respect. Mercy and Finley hospitals expanded as did the Virginia-
Carolina Chemical Company, and Loras College built a chapel (Ibid., January 5, 1947).
Pre-fabricated houses played a minor role in new house starts the next year, 1949, with 21 of269 units being a
prefabricated model. The boom in new housing was underway. Just two years, 1938-39 had been comparable. Three
major business expansions drove up the numbers. Farley & Loetscher added a power plant, Dubuque Packing Company
expanded its stockyards and the Northwestern Telephone Company started the basement and first floor phase of a new
office building (Ibid., January 4, 1947).
Year Total Construction New Residential Construction Notes:
Total Total Non- Number New Total Value New Multi-
Value Residential S/F Houses family Houses
1911 $1,515,645 69 4 86 new buildine:s
1912 $1,500,000
1913 Nearly
$3,000,000
1914 $4,041,745 78 $316,800
1915 $2,978,571 96 $342,940
1916 $1,914,300 ? Nearlv $500,000
1917 $1,956,445 58 $256,455
1918
1919 $2,000,000+ Est. 149 Leads state, 107 times increase, 200% over
1918,267 total nermits
1920 $551,990 90 8,173 total dwlZs. 1920 census
1921 $1,889,320 68
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
82
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
1922 $2,564,477 125 New houses average $5,000,484 total
oermits, several hundred gara2es
1923 $1,818,000 177
1924 Over $1,632,000 163 8,790 total dwgs., 594 total permits,
$3,000,000 streets,
$1,616,158 $100,000+
private sewers
1925 $1,140,000 $980,261 143 $600,000 $.75 million public improvements, Eagle Pt.
Pump Station, 7 miles sewer, 8.5 miles
paving, average house cost $4,000,1551
total nermits
1926 $677,876 93 $343,818 1,282 total oermits, 176 ll:arall:es
1927 66 Estimate based on 1935 housin2 chart
1928 55 Estimate based on 1935 housin2 chart
1929 $3,000,000 60-75 Average cost Est. by C. F. Bartels, Bldg. Commissioner
$6,000
1930 $1,548,154 48 four 1929 nToiects finished
1931 54 $213,477
1932 29 Estimate based on 1935 housinl! chart
1933 22 118 total 1930-33
1934 10,435 total families
1935
1936
1937 $ 225,000 (as 10 (as of May 9) As of early May, Molo Service Station 14111
ofMav 9) and Central, one bungalow, one Cane Cod
1938 $1,000,000+
1939 $1,124,893+ 38
1940 $728,817 107 $ 500,000 "a few duplexes" Fil!ure excludes est. 50 houses in suburbs
1941 $815,377 22 as ofMav 18 $ 316,725 (2 duplexes)
1942 $341,137
1943 $142,171
1944 $288,960
1945 $620,970 47 (50) $199,250 $4,240 averal!e house cost, 580 total oermits
1946 $2,703,239 158 $785,000 $4,970 averal!e house cost, 689 total oermits
1947 $2,500,000 269 110 Deere Houses underway, 12 done by
mid-Sent., 744 total oermits
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
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PS Form 1 Q-9O().a
{Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
83
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
The Emergence of Municipal Planning and Land Use Controls:
More of a city's prosperity depends on its beauty than is commonly accepted. A city's guests, by
their number and by their appreciation, come very near to being the yard- stick by which to
measure its success or failure. A municipality which is not inviting to the visitor, and which sends
him away cold soon becomes a community of citizens trying fruitlessly to get rich taking in each
other's, washing. Beauty spots that linger in the memory are more the result of wise planning
than of extravagant expenditure. That city will fare ill which leaves in the mind of the visitor
within its gates nothing but an impression of factory chimneys, crowded tenements and blighted
residential districts. It is equally true that a city whose guests are eager to come again and who
leave with regret will not only be rewarded by their repeated patronage, but will be equally
attractive to those who make their homes within its pleasing environs. It, therefore, behooves all
cities to spend some time in efforts other than the addition of more factories, more railroads and
switching yards. Our commercial clubs and booster organizations have concentrated on the latter
for so long that they have too often forgotten entirely the necessity for the former.
Ding Darling, 1935 Housing Report Preface
A city manager form of government was adopted in the city on April 1, 1920 under the leadership of Mayor
James Alderson, the last person to serve five consecutive terms as mayor until Jim Brady did so during the early 1980s.
Alderson issued a progress report on the new government. As was the case with any change or major decision, the
adoption resulted from "a rocky road" but it was sold on the promise of efficiency and economy in local government. A
substantial minority strongly opposed the change. A Police Court Judge replaced a system of justices of the peace.
Court fines averaged $1,370 between 1915 and 1920 but in 1923 totaled $18,209. The city adopted a modern accounting
system, eliminated non-essential positions, replaced horse teams with trucks, disposed of an extra firehouse, constructed
a new municipal garage and a new water pumping station, created the city's first health department and built a new
7,500,000 gallon concrete water reservoir. The old city hall replaced 15 old stoves with furnace heat. An important
change came in 1921 substantially changed the city map by renaming or consolidating many of the principal streets and
renumbering street addresses. East-west numbers were now based on Central Avenue and not Bluff Street. The
north/south numbering remained based on Dodge/Lombard streets. Other ordinances put in place the first municipal
building code (April 1, 1924), mandated building permits (April 6, 1923), and authorized the issuance of extensive sewer
and waterworks bonds (1922-23). The new athletic field was established and developed and a tourist camp was
established at Eagle Point Park (Report, City of Dubuque, 1924).
The city housing conditions were exhaustively surveyed in 1934 by the Iowa State Planning Board. The fmdings
of that study and its three separate report versions are treated under the industrial and Great Depression sections of this
context.
The first city plan took the form of a zoning ordinance and was prepared by City Planner John Nolen. It was
enacted January 29, 1934. Like most contemporary plans, this ordinance assumed that the city would naturally rebuild
itself from the inside out, the downtown would replace aging housing around its perimeter and each residents would
inherit slightly newer and better housing as each class built, occupied and relinquished a generation of housing. The
1934 State study found that the zoning plan was overly ambitious in its hopes for securing new light and heavy industry.
A vast riverfront area, including all of Ham's Island, was reserved for this land use yet only 20 percent of the area was
then actually used for heavy industry. The planners urged the city to buy all of the island, in addition to that being
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-8S1
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approvel No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
84
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State------
bought for a new airport, to make the area available for recreation until the time that industrial needs required it. The
zoning allocation had historical roots. The 1934 report observed that "Dubuque has been fortunate in the past by reason
of the concentration of land use." Geography had limited its four railroads to the use of a single focused corridor while
other cities had been cut up by railroads which carne from every direction. The report continued:
This concentration of railroads has influenced business and industryrn, and has resulted in a concentrated
industrial section and business section which are well connected by paved streets with the rest of the city
Growth to the north had stopped by 1924 despite the provision of city services and the developed nature of the area. The
plan predicted westward residential growth with "subsistence homesteads" favoring establishment to the northwest (Julv
1934 Housinl! Reoort, pp. 38-39; 1935 Housinl! Reoort, pp. 9,57-59).
The first Dubuque comprehensive plan dates to 1936 and was developed by City Planners John Nolen and Justin
Hartzog (John Nolen and Associates) of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The plan's development followed the establishment
ofa planning and zoning commission on March 29, 1929 (a new zoning ordinance was enacted January 29, 1934.
Perhaps most notably this plan favored the establishment of an administrative governmental center which was to include
a new city hall, new courthouse and a new federal/post office building. A "Thoroughfare System" of arterials was also
favored as was a union railroad and bus station, an airport on Ham's Island (or Peru flats) riverfront recreational
facilities, regional highway construction, and the implementation of zoning and land use controls. Curiously absent was
any recommendation relative to Mississippi River shipping or support for a nine-foot navigational channel (1936 Plan,
pp. 1-8; 1934 Housing study, p. 9).
The plan enumerated a number of "outstanding and praiseworthy features" in the city. The list included Eagle
Point and Grandview Park, Grandview Avenue ("a striking residential boulevard"), the Dubuque Cascade Road, the
reclamation of riverfront sloughs, the city's promotion of river development and the provision of docking facilities, the
concentration of most railroads to a single corridor in the older part of the city (now considered an asset?), as well as
excellent public water supply, a new high school, a generally clean city, and "unusual facilities in colleges, academies
and schools" (Ibid., pp. 10-11).
The city lacked an adequate arterial road system. The haphazard process of land subdivision had produced many
streets with overly steep grades and poor alignments. Main thoroughfares remained obstructed by at-grade railroad
crossings. East and west city gateways required improvement. There was a need for a municipal golf course. Generally
the park system needed improvement and natural resources required protection and development (Ibid., p. 11).
On the primary downtown streets walls "of brick and stone and steel at the property lines" exceeded the carrying
capacity of very narrow streets. The plan favored enlarging the downtown business district, and decentralizing
specialized retail land uses into neighborhood centers. Road improvements were recommended at the western downtown
links to the outlying residential areas. A traffic bottleneck was cited at the junction of Hill Street and Julien Avenue.
Fourteenth Street and Central Avenue (above 22nd Street) were to be widened and Garfield Avenue improved to provide
access to northeastern Dubuque. An informal pattern of locating neighborhood stores had by this time transformed into a
pattern of favoring comer locations on principal thoroughfares. Neighborood retail centers with off-street parking were
now favored. The city lacked large acreages for new industries and 750-acre Ham's Island was favored for a heavy
industrial area with barge access (Ibid., pp. 11-33).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
85
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
The planners were pleased with the condition and appearance of city streets but favored the elimination of
"unsightly poles and direction signs, and heterogeneous advertising" and billboards in residential areas. Overhanging
signs in the downtown were discouraged. The famous Rhomberg Avenue Elms were again cited as worthy of emulation.
The "great handicap" for city public buildings was the "lack of setting" resulting from the standardized block size. Any
new structures should locate outside of the downtown and the new high school was offered as a successful example. The
planners praised "the improvement in the appearance of the business district during the past years.. .both in the character
of new structures and in the reconstruction of some of the older buildings." Apparently some late-Depression
improvements had been made. Many "shabby structures" needed to be replaced with "up-to-date buildings of good
architecture" (Ibid., pp. 34-41).
The proposed regional plan extended its land use controls a mile beyond city limits, primarily to control fringe
development along Asbury, Middle and Delhi roads were an estimated 2,000 residents now lived. This control effort
anticipated "potential additions to the city in the next ten to twenty years." In anticipation of regional highway
construction a l1O-foot standard right-of-way was urged for the key routes leading inland; Sageville, Asbury, Middle,
Dehli, North Cascade and Cascade roads. Circumferential highways were recommended to follow the one mile, two mile
and five mile zones out from the city center (Ibid., pp. 41-43).
The Catholic Church in Dubuque:
The continuing strong spiritual and community role played by the church manifested itself in several ways. First
and foremost was the emergence of a broader community wide parochial school system that replaced the earlier church
parish based schools. Second, community betterment and relief efforts were increasingly addressed by a range of
church-based fraternal and community betterment organizations. Third, the existing impressive array of Catholic
educational institutions were further improved and developed. Finally, archdiocese bishops continued to dominate the
faithful, most notably in their efforts to suppress the German culture, and during the late 1930s by supporting the
American First movement which favored retaining military resources at home to first arm national forces (Wilke, p. 419).
The formal establishment of the modern parochial school system dated to 1922. A diocesan superintendent was
appointed and by 1942 there were ten elementary schools in operation (WPA, pp. 73-74).
By 1934 Dubuque was mown as the "Rome of the West" and its Catholic population comprised 55.5 percent of
the city's population (the church and institutional count is given below in the Depression discussion). Three of 12
churches were located in the suburbs (1934 Housimz Reoort, p. 90).
Commerce and Banking:
By 1929 it was announced that the city was attractive investment capital from the outside. The Dubuque
Business proclaimed "Dubuque business and Dubuque institutions are evidencing their confidence in Dubuque's future
by investing their money in Dubuque. Outside capital has also selected Dubuque as a city promising great future
growth." The same source noted that Dubuque led the state in disposable personal income in 1928. The Dubuque
average was $990. The city population was an estimated 58,262 with a total income of$57,631,000. Some 5,670
residents earned more than $1,000 annually (Dubuque Business, January 1930, pp. 4, 6).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
86
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State------
Dubuque's Reliance on Industry Is Shaken:
The 1924 report on the state of the city warned that "development of the city has been held back on account of
the scarcity of industrial property or property which could be served by the railroads." The city accordingly had
purchased a large 25-acre slough which it filled at a cost of $140,000. The plan was successful at least in part because
the report added "a part of this ground has already been sold and a desirable industry employing a considerable number
of men is occupying it (1924 City ofDubuaue Reoort, p. 11).
Industrial recruitment was the principal focus of the Chamber of Commerce as of 1929. Outgoing Chamber
president William Avery Smith challenged the organization to tackle its outstanding objective. This was
. . . the stimulation of our community industrial growth. We want new industries. We want those already
here to grow larger and more prosperous. Most of our so-called objectives relate themselves directly to
this major problem and take on added importance because of the relationship. Probably all will agree
that the industrial development of our city is of paramount importance.
Smith reminded his colleagues that "there are [no] concerns clamoring for an opportunity to locate in Dubuque." He
noted that "the past few years have been marked by an unusual migration of industries." These relocated principally due
to market labor conditions or transportation needs, not in solely response to financial inducements. Echoing a future
truism of urban growth, Smith noted that locally developed firms created the most jobs and were most loyal to their home
communities. He urged the Chamber to focus on assisting those local firms which targeting branch factory recruitment.
Dubuque was, admitted Smith, "outside the magic circle" vis a vis the major urban areas. Smith closed with the
recommendation that the Chamber should
strive for favorable living conditions attractive to a self-respecting laboring class; facilities whereby a
worthy but struggling industry may be aided by wise fmancing; factory sites, available at reasonable
prices and suitable to a variety of needs; transportation rates and facilities, enabling a local industry to
compete with those of the same kind elsewhere (Dubuque Business, February 1930, pp. 3-4).
In early 1930 Dubuque Business credited the city's five companies which collectively made Dubuque "the
world's greatest millwork center." The firms (Farley & Loetscher Manufacturing Company, Carr, Ryder & Adams
Company, Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, Metz Manufacturing Company and Hurd-Most Sash and Door
Company) employed 2,500 persons and enjoyed a national market for their products, with exports to Canada, South
America, Mexico and Cuba. The southern export market was a relatively recent development. Dubuque's advantage was
its central location relative to market as well as its central proximity to scattered and distant lumber sources.
Surprisingly, wood supplies were coming from Wisconsin, Michigan and the southern Mississippi valley. Products were
principally sashes, doors, blinds, moulding, frames and cabinet work. Carr, Ryder & Adams had eight branch factories
all established between 1892 and 1916. All of the branches were in larger midwestem cities than Dubuque but the local
plant was the largest. Former Dubuquers managed all but one of the branches. Farley & Loetscher had three branch
factories with four distribution points scattered across the country (Dubuque Business, January 1930, p. 5).
Dubuque Packing Company (16th and Sycamore streets) suspended its operations in April 1931. Good news for
the city came in July when a new corporation of the same name purchased the plant and pledged to spend $2,000,000
annually in stock purchases and to employ50-60 persons. Harry W. Wahlert headed the new firm. Wahlert and director
Fred Krey, had previously been associated with the Krey Packing Company of St. Louis. The new firm immediately
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
87
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
expended $75,000 in improvements and broadened the company's product line. Wahlert favored the Dubuque location
because of its proximity of a "great stock raising country." Dubuque Business predicted that the new plant would be "of
untold benefit to the farmers in this vicinity who raise livestock for market." The Wahlert purchase saved the city's meat
packing industry (Dubuque Business, Ju1 1931, .3-4.
Dubuque Packing Company, 1931 (Dubuque Business, July 1931, p. 4)
The Iowa State Planning Board studied housing conditions in the city as of 1934 at the request of the city
government. The study naturally investigated the city's employment profile and particularly the industrial employment
base, the most measurable victim of the Great Depression's impact. The study determined that the new 1934 city zoning
ordinance had allocated too great an area to heavy industry, reflecting lingering hopes that industry would once again
bring growth to the city. Industry had always carried the city's economy in the past (Ju1v 1934 Report on Housine:).
Dubuque had a 16,000 (presumably male) workforce aged 18 years or more and fully one-fourth of these had no
employment. This massive job loss was the result of the "loss of some industries and the slowing down of others" and
the result was the "economic crippling of the city." Many of the lost jobs were long gone before the famous Depression
descended on the country however, and evidenced an industrial decline that had its roots in the post World War One
economic transition. The Brunswick-B1ake-Collender Company plant, producer of phonographs, employed 1,500-1,600
persons as ofthe early 1920's, was reduced to just 700 jobs by 1927 and was completely silent by the end of 1929,
accounting for a tenth of the total jobs in Dubuque. Its demise preceded the actual market collapse and was due to
competition from the radio industry. Consolidation with the Warner Radio Company resulted in a fma1 plant shutdown.
The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad relocated its shops in the late 1920s taking with it 600 jobs. The major
woodworking mills with 950 and 700 jobs respectively as of the mid-l 920s now totaled cut to a little over 200 jobs.
Their competition was increasingly with iron and steel substitutes in building as well as a sluggish building industry in
the postwar years. Many smaller manufacturing firms simply disappeared. This shaking out was caused by an inability
to compete with firms which were either better located near their markets or their raw materials sources. In firms where
jobs didn't evaporate, good wages did and this earnings loss was said by the report to have had a greater impact on
families than did actual job loss (1934 Housine: Reoort, p. 18).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
88
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Many of the industries, which once made Dubuque one of the most prosperous cities of the west, did not
adjust themselves to the modern demands for new processes and new products, and are now partially or
entirely shut down. Many new ventures also proved failures.
July 1934 Housing Report, p. 75
As of 1934 14 manufacturing firms employed 1,145 persons and total employment was tallied at 2,181 jobs.
Two railroad shops provided 775 jobs. Four banks employed 62 workers. The federal revenue office provided 70 jobs.
The sole surviving consolidated newspaper (Telegraph-Herald) had a payroll of 44 (the other major employers were a
mining company, 20 jobs, the power and light company, 25 jobs, an engineering firm, 20 jobs, and the oil company, 20
jobs) (1935 Housinl! Reoort, p. 4).
Dubuque's next industrial boom started during World War II and continued through the postwar years. The city
had not expanded its boundaries for almost a century when, in 1946, it added 59.6 acres in the Asbury area for housing
for the newly arrived John Deere plant. The years 1946-47 were termed the cities "two greatest years of industrial
progress in a generation" in the words of Chamber of Commerce secretary John A. Kerper. As noted the roots of this
industrial rebound traced back to 1941 when the J. P. Smith Shoe Factory came to the city. It was followed in 1943 by
the Arkel Safety Bag Company, Electronics, Inc., Dubuque Screw Machine Company, Thermo Electric Manufacturing
Company, and the Dubuque Garment Company. Ground was broken in the Peru bottoms for the Deere plant in July 1945
and the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company was also building a new plant near the Shot Tower as oflate 1946. L&N
Specialties Company, a glove-making firm, started operations in August 1945. The Baxter Manufacturing Company, a
soap making firm moved to Dubuque in October 1946, and General Timber Service (a Weyerhaeuser Lumber Company
subsidiary) started producing prefabricated houses that same month. Three local firms, A. Y. McDonald, Dubuque
Packing Company and other local firms announced additions. Kerper claimed that 20 other manufacturing firms had
dropped plans to relocate to the city during the fmal quarter of 1946, citing the lack of sufficiently large industrial sites
and direct railroad access (Telegraph-Herald, January 5, 1947).
These fairly successful redevelopment efforts faded from later memories (at least from Des Moines memories)
and by the late 1960s it was recalled that "Dubuque for almost 50 years coasted on the achievements of its first 50 or 60
years. Then for 50 years, nothing much happened until Deeres arrived." In fact the majority of city industries were
established or recruited after 1900. An industrial headcount taken in 1964 found that of 105 manufacturing firms, just 19
predated 1900 and 27 postdated 1945. This left the difference, 59 firms (56 percent) having arrived on the local scene
between 1900 and 1945 (Des Moines Register, October 25, 1964; Des Moines Sunday Register, October 27, 1968).
Des Moines newspaper reporter George Mills penned an excellent profile of Dubuque in 1952 as part of his "The
Romance of Iowa Industry Series" for the Des Moines Sunday Register. The city had 4,000 more industrial jobs then
than it had in 1942 at the height of wartime mobilization. The Deere plant employed 2,000 and had expanded 50 percent
since its founding. Dubuque Packing Company employed just 500 at the end of the war but now had 2,300-2,400
employees. The firm commanded a specialty East coast market due to its Kosher Kill. Two chemical/fertilizer firms,
recruited postwar, Virginia-Carolina and Algonquin were thriving. The city had excellent river barge service and access
to four railroad networks. Reflective of this growth, during a six-year period, from 1950-1956, Dubuque experienced a
26 percent population increase, to a total of 62,853. Mills attributed this success to the fact that Dubuque was close to
the center of national markets and enjoyed advantageous freight rates, an efficient workforce, proximity to raw materials
and the (always controversial) benefits oflowa's Right to Work law. The principal downside was worsened flooding.
The city was attempting to elevate the 830-acre City Island and the river wasn't cooperating. Another initial problem
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
89
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
was a lack of skilled workmen. At one point one-third of the Deere workforce commuted from outside the city (Des
Moines Sunday Register, August 17, 1952).
The giant woodworking ftrms still played a key role in the city's industrial output. These were bolstered by the
national postwar house building boom. Farley & Loetscher (1875) employed 900-1,100 workers and Carr, Adams &
Collier (1866) had 800 workers. The former was the world's largest plant of its kind and the latter processed 40,000,000
board feet oflumber during 1951. Their combined annual payroll was $7,300,000. Their primary trade area was the
eastern two-thirds of the country. By this time their lumber source was northwestern Ponderosa Pine which could be
cheaply shipped by rail to Dubuque (Ibid.).
AY. McDonald (1856) employed 850 Dubuquers and H. B. Glover (1857) had a 200-person payroll. The latter
was said to be the oldest apparel manufacturing ftrm west of the Mississippi. It also operated a branch plant in
Dyersville. Its sales had been harmed by the weakness in the sale of dress shirts. The Adams Company (1883) provided
375 jobs in its machine shops. Nurre Company (1930's) produced mirrors and employed 60-76 persons. It claimed to be
the world's largest plant of its class. Northome, maker of living room furniture, came to Dubuque in 1937 from
Minneapolis to take advantage of a better corporate tax situation, better transportation and good mechanics. It was the
ftrst plant to utilize a conveyor belt in furniture manufacturing. The ftrm employed 240 persons (Ibid.).
The city issued $2,000,000 in general obligation bonds to construct an industrial park south of Eagle Point Park
(Des Moines Register, October 17, 1976).
Dubuque's new riverfront industrial park, aerial view to northwest, Rhomberg neighborhood along top of image
(Telegraph-Herald, May 24, 1957)
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
90
The Architectural and Historical Resources of DubuQue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Hard Times, The Great Depression And State And Federal Intervention:
Historian Wilkie found that the Great Depression "hit Dubuque harder and lasted longer than it did in other
places, partly because the fabled prosperity of the 1920' s had never settled on the city as a whole." Wealthy Dubuquers
were well represented in stock investments on the national level but these tended to be conservative investments not
made on margin, so losses were few. It was the average family small-scale bank deposit that was wiped out in the failure
of four of seven city banks within a few months time in early 1932. Successive runs toppled the Federal Deposit and
Trust, Union Trust and Savings, the Iowa Trust and Savings and finally the Consolidated National Bank. The First
National and American Trust and Savings barely survived, as did the Dubuque Savings and Loan Association (Wilkie, p.
419).
The Dubuque Business magazine, a Chamber of Commerce monthly promotional, was a casualty of worsening
hard times. Its last issue came out in July 1931 and it was then heard from no more.
Hard times overwhelmed the many charities and social service agencies which, in the past, had met local needs
successfully. The estimated 25 percent unemployment was exacerbated by the plain fact that there was little or no
resulting out-migration, Dubuquer's were as of 192092.8 percent "native-born" to the city and the Catholic majority
community was the only home to its members who were out of work. Another factor was the absence in Dubuque of
what was termed "a floating [population] element." This was a city of homeowners, once credited with having a higher
house-owning percentage than any other city in the nation (Julv 1934 Housing: Report. pp. 23-24; 1934 Housing: Reoort.
p. 19, 1935 Housing: Reoort, p. 3).
Dubuque had always had a strong and varied array of social aid agencies, both private and secular. A
Community Chest was organized in 1929 specifically to provide aid to the rising rolls of unemployed. The church roster
(41 total churches) included four Methodist, three Presbyterian, (and their University of Dubuque), five Lutheran (and
their Wartburg Seminary), three Congregational, two Christ Scientist, individual Baptist, Episcopal, Evangelical,
Spiritualist, Nazarene, Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah's Witness (500 members, no church building) for a total
Protestant church membership of23,000. There was a 200-member Jewish community (both Orthodox and Reformed).
There were 12 Catholic churches with a combined membership of23,135 or 55.5 percent of the total. The Catholic
churches ran nine parish schools, three academies, Columbia College (now Loras), Clarke College (the only state
woman's college offering a B.A. degree). Catholic Charities was organized by 1929. Earlier fraternal and other
organizations included the Boys Club (1903), YMCA (1866), WYCA (1902), Rotary (1916), Kiwanis (1920), Lions
(1922), Elks (1900), Masonic Lodges (largest with 1,150 members and the oldest), and Knights of Columbus (1900).
Collectively these and a host of other assistance agencies were overwhelmed by the tide of misery that engulfed the city
(1934 Housing: Report, pp. 90,92-93).
By June 1934 the local relief housing program was in a serious crisis. Landlords were systematically threatening
to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration encouraged the city to request the
Iowa State Planning Board to perform a health and housing survey. The sixth such study (the other surveyed cities were
Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Sioux City, Davenport, and Mason City) was carried out during July and August 1934. W. L.
Bierring chaired the study and Leonard Wolf of Ames was project coordinator. Thirteen Dubuquers participated in the
work. (1935 Housing: Report, pp. 21-22).
Dubuque by 1934 had its "Hoovervilles" on City (Ham's) Island, on the Seventh Street extension. These new
shacks and trailers were predominant and these accounted for 60 percent of the city's renters. There were 729 unfit
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
91
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
housing units and another 587 units in need of major improvements. These housed 3,948 residents. Eighty percent of
these units were in what were termed slum areas. Houses without city water numbered 736. Overcrowding, defmed as
more than one resident per room in a unit, was found in 800 dwellings, 153 of these being grossly overcrowded. The
agricultural crisis, which had its roots in the early postwar years, contributed to the unemployment and housing crisis as
large farm families became refugees into the city. Some new housing areas such as Fremont Area were beyond the reach
of the city sewer system, while older parts of the city fronted on open sewers. The famous "Canal B(Sewer" ran down
along Kauffman Avenue and was enclosed as far as 19th and Elm, but from that point onward, it ran open to the river
(1934 Housing: Reoort, pp. 15,33,38-39; Julv 1934 Housing: Reoort, p. 77; 1935 Housing: Reoort, p. 52).
In keeping with planning theory of the day the report stressed the claim that the slum areas of the city,
comprising ten percent of the total city area, produced 70 percent of juvenile delinquency, 60 percent of major crimes, 30
percent of all fires, 25 percent of communicable diseases, 52 percent of relief cases (2,000 Dubuque families were on
relief) and 80 percent of unfit houses (1935 Housing: Reoort, p. 44).
The city offered a range of amenities for those who had the resources to utilize them. There were eight theaters,
four neighborhood skating rinks and a ski jump (opened in 1931), and the Central Fire Station made its third floor
gymnasium available for winter basketball and volleyball. Two golf courses catered to the better off, with Bunker Hill
Golf Course on the northwest edge of the city, and the Dubuque Golf Club on the west edge. Lacking was a municipal
pool and auditorium (Julv 1934 Housing: Reoort, pp. 85-90).
Increasingly federal assistance found its way to Dubuque. The city was awarded $175,000 by the Works
Progress Administration at the end of 1937 for river improvements, these including barge terminal and trestle repair, and
harbor and Lake Peosta dredging. A municipal pool, first sought in 1934, was fmally built on Hawthorne Street and
opened in June 1937, paid for with $44,000 in WPA funds and $17,000 in local match (Telegraph-Herald, December 10,
1937; WPA, p. 89).
World War II and Dubuque:
Dubuque's wartime involvement, in addition to its military contributions, was primarily reflected in its industrial
commitment. Dubuque's perceived vulnerability due to its river location led to understandable paranoia. Chain link
fence soon encircled the city water reservoirs and other key security points and armed sentry's patrolled against the threat
of an assault on the municipal water supply.
The most evident monument to the war was the Julien Dubuque Bridge. This pre-war marvel was rapidly
completed by 1943 at a cost of$3,120,OOO. Its completion was made possible because it was a national security asset
(Dubuaue. The Birtholace ofIowa, Vol. I, p. 119).
A second monument to the war's home front industrial mobilization was the Zebulon Pike Lock and Dam #11.
Completed just prior to the war, the lock and dam system and the nine-foot channel facilitated wartime inland shipping
and made it possible to build larger ocean-going vessels at Dubuque.
The Dubuque Boat and Boiler Works was located along the southern edge of the Ice Harbor when the war began.
A river survey of river boat building facilities, conducted in late September 1941, determined that the Dubuque works
was the only one in operation on the Mississippi. Democrat Congressman William Jacobsen, of Clinton was interested in
setting up a boat yard at Clinton. The Dubuque company enjoyed a high rating with the federal military departments
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
92
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
given its 100-year history. The federal government sought to utilize inland boat builders to reduce pressure on coastal
boat building facilities. The plan also promised to absorb unemployed persons who lost their jobs to domestic production
cutbacks. The works had launched the Coast Guard cutters Dogwood and Sycamore in the fall of 1940, one of which was
christened by the Congressman's mother. The first wartime contract was to provide seven "distribution box" or mine-
laying boats (Des Moines Register, September 28, 1941).
The Early Tourism Industry and Dubuque's Self Image:
Motor to Scenic Dubuque, Iowa, On The Mississippi River-I929 Chamber of Commerce Billboard in Il1inois
(Dubuque Business, February 1930, p. 11)
Dubuque's natural beauty was a drawing card for an emerging tourist industry as early as the late 1800's.
Colored postcards enabled visitors to take their visual memories back home with them. Two developments made in the
1920' s and 1930' s, the construction of hard surface roads and the introduction of color photographic film for the home
camera user, dramatically increased tourism, particularly visitation linked to the fall's colored leaves showings. The
billboard image shown above attests to an early recognition of the economic and promotional potential of tourism in the
Dubuque area.
Perhaps the meanest description of Dubuque dates to 1964 when a Des Moines Register article "Dubuque: An
Old City With A New Outlook" noted that until a few years previously, Dubuque was "a medieval-like city ruled by the
church, the aristocracy and the merchants." Social change is said to have impacted the city beginning with the end of
World War II. Ethnic rivalries, Irish versus Catholic, had finally faded in the 1920s and was replaced with religious
ones, Protestant versus Catholic. After the war, labor versus management joined these religious animosities. The city
was divided into two conflicting camps, those who lived atop the bluffs and those who didn't. Class was further
determined by membership in the Dubuque Country Club with a 400-family membership, or the Shooting Park which
was the flatland's equivalent, an invitation only social organization with 100 members (Des Moines Register, August 17,
1964).
George Shane, writing in 1954, lauded the city's attributes, noting Dubuque had "an abundance of tradition,
glamour, the best of the state's nineteenth century architecture, atmosphere, and among many other items a shot tower
and the world's shortest cable car railway." The latter, still charging a nickle for a lift, claimed to have carried seven
million passengers since its 1882 inception (Des Moines Register, June 13, 1954).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
93
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Postscript, Dubuque, 1956-Present:
Municioal Growth:
New residential construction during 1956 comprised 51 percent of all construction. Religious building (Greek
Orthodox Church, Holy Ghost School, St. Columbkille's School, Maria Josita Hall at Clarke College, totaled $1,945,000)
Accounted for 35 percent. They "for the most part are of conventional design and constructed on definite plans. There
were many imposing and many fine medium priced houses constructed with many extras to add to better living." The
new houses no longer had garages behind them and the newer subdivisions lacked alleys. The house plans were "spread
across the lot with a breezeway and attached garage." Panels with intricate designs replaced the "blank look" of the early
side-by-side garages. Three bedrooms predominated with one larger master bedroom (Telegraph-Herald, May 24,
1957).
The 1980 federal Census of Housing documented a city with high proportions of both old and new housing. The
chart shown below dates housing units (not single family houses but all units):
Period
Pre-1939
1940-59
1960-69
1970-74
1975-80
Unit Count
12,577
5,877
4,796
3,119
11 J 99
37,567
Percentalle of Total
33%
16%
13%
8%
30%
100%
The post-1939 figures are inflated by the inclusion of multi-unit apartments. These were commonly built after 1962. In
more recent years very large apartment complexes were built although these postdate the 1980 figures. As of 1980 renter-
occupied units accounted for just 22 percent of all households. The high annual new house start counts occurred in the
face of population stagnation and decline between 1970 and 1990. The population grew by 63 persons between 1970 and
1980 and then decreased by 4,836 in the next ten years, an eight percent decline (Metropolitan Housing Characteristics,
Dubuque, Iowa, 1980 Census of Housing).
Year Total Construction New Residential Construction Notes: (excludes misc. permits)
Total Value Total Non- Number New Total Value New Multi-
Residential SIP Houses familv Houses
1956 $5,500,000 233 $2,837,500 792 total bldll. oermits
1957 $7,496,358 207 $2,566,000 1/$20,000 695 oermits
1958 $5,709,934 302 $3,714,500 2/$36,000 771 nermits
1959 $7,978,026 355 $4,351,500 2/$26,000 734 oermits
1960 $7,607,875 288 $3,599,500 5/$81,000 919 permits
1961 $7,123,412 305 $3,842,500 4/$77,000 9750ermits
1962 $6,869,771 181 $2,431,500 27/$299,000 12490ermits
1963 $6,070,563 237 $2,951,000 5/$185,000 1,009 permits
1964 $12,114,746 321 $4,159,500 5/$152,000 928 permits
PS Form 1 G-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
94
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State------
1965 $10,323,036 159 $2,112,000 11/$220,000 1,076 nermits
1966 $18,506,645 261 $3.683,000 9/$685,000 1,250 nermits
1967 $14,126,416 193 $2,716,000 11/$263,000 766 permits
1968 $13,523,058 170 $2,478,000 12/$328,000 762 nermits
1969 $13,623,656 167 $2 288,000 26/$784,000 712 nermits
1970 $8,507,004 105 $1,624,000 28/$1.724,989 789 permits
1971 $13,274,901 123 $1,750.000 28/$3,067064 841 nermits
1972 $10,096,963 129 $2 110,000 10/$1.231,000 804 permits
1973 $15,143,139 141 $2,642,000 2/$1,710,000 882 nermits
1974 $15,111,037 215 $4,796.455 7/$2,240,200 906 permits
1975 $26,306,371 219 $5,167,500 23/$1,492,000 932 nermits
1976 $23,427,645 169 $4,755,000 25/$2.021,500 1,116 permits
1977 $22,167,160 219 $8,148,126 26/$2,034,931 1,375 permits
1978 $26,954,444 176 $7,133,746 4/$1,967,834 1,437 permits
1979 $29,849,624 167 $9,623,473 8f? 1,493 permits
(all new
residential)
1980 $16,750,087 73 $3,952,071 21? 1,160 permits, total of37,567
(all new living units as of 1980 census
residential)
1981 $15,425,630 16 $1,361,769 0 913 permits
1982 $14,567,225 8 $470,739 1/$153,216 1,108 permits
1983 $20,727,955 13 $1,192,399 0 1,141 permits
1984 $17,969,793 28 $2,221,673 0 Total includes $10.8 In dogtrack
1,268 permits
1985 $25,158507 26 $1,716,981 2/$458,192 1,278 permits
1986 $21,562,784 72 $5,937,518 2/$427,000 1,486 permits
1987 $23,448,292 80 1 1,498 nermits
1988 $33,137,154 88 6 1,468 permits
1989 $25,154,777 98 11 1,358 nermits
1990 $56,665,609 110 7 1,401 permits
1991 $32,827,288 116 15 1,360 nermits
1992 $43,404,890 170 9 1,402 nermits
1993 $56,977 ,536 126 21 1,526 permits
1994 $50,134,480 105 32 4,133 nermits
1995 $59,816,324 84 23 6,043 permits
1996 $73,200,487 65 22 2,334 permits
1997 $32,985,189 57 9 1,440 permits
1998 $46,851,024 67 6 1,214 nermits
1999 $70,322,883 54 11 1,266 nerrnits
2000 9
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. S.S61
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
95
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Context #5, The Architecture of Dubuque, 1833-1955
The succession of architectural styles is described in Section F of this report. This context treats the local
perspective on style as it was described by newspaper editors, architects and builders. Style and its appreciation is all the
more important in Dubuque where vernacular design and building has always been favored almost to the exclusion of
style, at least in residential construction.
This context will simply summarize the emergence and dominance of the various styles and contain descriptive
information about local construction. A second section will identify major designers and builders. Only extant examples
of their works appear in this listing.
The editor of the Weekly Tribune offered his hopes for the newly popular Gothic style in the following account,
penned August 11, 1852:
The fine residence now being erected for Mr. F. V. Goodrich, on Locust Street, is designed to vary in
some degree the sameness of style so prevalent in the dwellings of this city.. . We should like to see the
Gothic cottage architecture introduced here. No style of building admits of so great a range for fancy as
this. A building can be made cheap, and yet neat and tasteful, or it can be adorned in the most costly and
elaborate manner, and the style be preserved and the structure satisfy the most critical eye. A hundred
houses might be built in the Gothic style, and no two be alike, and yet all be admirable for proportion and
general effect. The handsomest towns in the Union owe their beauty in the main to the prevailing modes
of architecture. Take for example, Euclid street, in Cleveland, Ohio,--an avenue almost or quite
unrivalled in the United States. What gives it its great beauty and attractiveness? Two things, alone,--
tasteful and ever varying styles of building, and abundance of shade-trees and shrubbery. Take these two
elements away, and in their stead supply a plain and uniform style of houses, and denuded grounds, and
no traveler would linger there for an instant, or bear away a solitary remembrance that would cause him
to speak in praise of the scene he had left... . Dubuque already takes high rank amongst the cities of the
West for natural beauty; we hope soon to see her taking an equally elevated position in the scale of
architectural taste and adornment.
It is interesting that the writer was conversant with prominent streets in other Midwestern cities.
The Weekly Express and Herald (March 8, 1857) hinted at an incremental approach to building in the city. The
source noted that many of the new buildings raised up in 1857 "were erected as back buildings for front or main portions
to be added..." Presumably the reference is made to all types of buildings. If this trend was at all commonplace at least
in the earlier history of Dubuque, the back portions of buildings might actually be of earlier (and therefore more
interesting) periods than those in front. The first county courthouse was built in two stages, the rearmost section being
next to the jail, and the addition being added to the south or front of the lot. A second reference to staged building
involved double brick houses. Mr. Mullaly started half of a double house in 1862 on Locust Street between 14th and 15th
streets, finishing it the next year. The second half was done during 1864. The source curiously noted that the building
was two stories high "including the wood sheds" (?) Each half was quite wide, measuring 44 feet in width and 51 feet in
depth. This reference indicates that some of these buildings were built a half at a time. Not every double house
represented the efforts of a single owner/bui1der. In 1870 F. Mue1er and John Lutz built a two-story double brick on
White Street near 9th Street (Herald, January 1, 1864; December 18, 1870).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. S-SS)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
96
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State------
That same source made some stylistic references to new buildings. E. F. Bissle's mansion on 10th Street was
done in the "Elizabethian style" with four gables and a central observatory. Kesler's Hotel at White between 5th and 6th
was done "in the modem style of architecture." Lorimer's Hotel was done in a "very neat style of architecture." The
looked-for Gothic was making its appearance with six cited examples. These included the parsonage for the First
Congregational Church (Main and Locust streets), Mr. Green's house on Bluff Street south of3rd Street, Mr. L. Kneist's
brick house on 16th Street and three houses on Nevada Street (Messrs. Able, Higginson and Gurnsey) were so described.
The elaborate houses on the bluffs, "almost wholly [built by those]. . . who attend to mercantile and other pursuits in the
lower portion of the city" were simply described as 'justly entitled palaces" and doubted that any other western or
eastern cities could match Dubuque's "many expensive and beautiful mansions."
Stylistic references were abundant in the 1867 Herald progress review. The parsonage for St. Mary's parish was
"a Gothic structure of brick, of an irregular shape." Sol Turck's Third Street new mansion was "a beautiful Italian villa,
of brick, which, when fmished, will be one of the handsomest residences in the city." Henry Louray's new house at
Locust and 14th was also of brick and "will be covered by a French roof, surmounted by an observatory." Vernacular
references were also numerous. Three stone houses, mostly story-and-a half plans with basement, were being built. 1. F.
Steiner was building a frame house on Seminary Hill ''bricked in between the siding and the lath." Three small frame
houses were being built on 5th Street to house "that most aristocratic class of our fellow citizens, Irish laborers."
The Herald in 1868 noted just one example of style, H. Sauer's brick residence, designed "partially [in the]
gothic style." A year later L. Zust's two-story brick Seminary Hill house was also termed Gothic in design. The same
source in 1870 reported "a goodly number" of new buildings that "combine great strength of column and architectural
beauty. Edward Langworthy's house at Main near 6th streets was one of these (Herald, December 13, 1868; December
16, 1869; December 18, 1870).
The Herald saluted architectural progress made during 1871. The city had assumed
"more of a metropolitan air than on [sic] previous years. More of the elegance of architectural style has
been embodied in our building sameness. More of AtticS has been infused in the notable structures of the
year. The dullness of the old styles has given place to somewhat oflife and warmth. Who does not
admire the beauty of those marble fronts and those cornices on Main Street[?]. They alone have made
the street a hundred percent handsomer, and not a stranger that visits the city that points them out first
thing
The year 1871 witnessed the building of an "unusual number of fine residences.. . almost palatial in style." Yesterday's
style was undergoing a makeover and many "a house once ugly and unsightly, has been remodeled until it vies with any
of its neighbors in good looks" (Herald, December 17, 1871).
The same source made the first known "Italian style" reference (although that style had been around for some 15
years!) was made to John Mulligan's brick block at Main and 151 streets. The same source also first referenced the
"French style" embodied in William Ryan mansion at Main and 14th streets as well as R. E. Grave's brick residence at the
8 A reference to the base used in the Ionic order or a lower story in the upper part of a house rising above the main portion of the
building, or finally a window-lighted apartment in the rooflevel.
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PS Form 1 o-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
97
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
same corner ("French style with Mansard roof'). The Tribune cited the new Mullany block as having a "Mansard roof,
crowned with a cupola" (Herald, December 17, 1871; Tribune, December 21, 1871).
Mr. W. L. Bradley finished his Locust Street 1872 residence (between 13th and 14th streets) in the "Grecian style"
(Herald, November 24, 1872).
By the end of 1873 the Herald declared William Ryan's house to be "in the opinion of competent judges" to be
unequalled in the city for its "richness of design and fmish." Two nearby Second Empire designs were also lauded, these
being William Andrew's mansion and that of Alfred Tredway. Three mansions were underway on upper Main Street.
Two owner/builders were named, these being D.B.Henderson and George Crane. No specific styles were cited but the
paper observed
[the three] make an elegant architectural display, unsurpassed on this main thoroughfare. They are built
of brick, with the best stone cappings, French plate glass windows and all the latest conveniences, and all
the latest touches of fine workmanship, at very reasonable cost, and are a valuable adornment to the
street and highly creditable to the taste of the architect [one?] and proprietors.
St. Joseph's Academy on Main Street between 12th and 13th streets also reflected the Second Empire style with its
Mansard roof form. Jacob Michel's three story brick business block with its elaborate parapet and balustrade was
deemed the best commercial design and it was said that "no specimen of architecture made in Dubuque this year can vie
with it" (Herald, November 9, 1873).
By the end of 1874 Locust Street was the place to live with "a large number of the richest and most aristocratic
mansions in Dubuque" crowding along it. The Herald enumerated the houses of William Andrew, D. S. Wilson, Alfred
Tredway, William Ryan, D. N. Cooley, John Thompson, and others valued from $17-22,000 in value. The
Congregational Church had completed its new "French Romanesque" steeple and the structure received "the first
morning kiss of Sol" each day (Herald, November 22, 1874).
Messrs. Heer & Nascher whose activity as practical architects of a noteworthy and
tasteful form of building here in town the past several years have produced some
splendid structures both among places of merchandising and private residences, all
highly visible, eloquent proofs of excellence, have now this year unfolded an activity
bearing witness to their spreading influence as architects and as contractors. ..
Der National Democrat, November 9, 1876
The architecture of new commercial blocks was stressed in 1875. The Eagle Building at Main and Ninth streets
combined "the elegant simplicity of the Rennaissance with the more elaborate and imposing Corinthian
ornamentation. .." The James Levi residence was designed in "the Rennaissance order, which cannot be excelled in
combining simplicity with graceful beauty." The Booth and Waller double-mansion was designed in "the Venetioan
style. .. with mansard roof." St. Louis pressed brick was combined with marble trim. Increasingly the term "cottage" was
used to describe smaller residences, built both in brick and frame. "One of the most beautiful little villas of which
Dubuque can boast, will be the French cottage now being built by Mr. Woods for Col. G. F. West" in Grandview Park.
Dr. Porter was remodeling a Grandview Avenue house, "making it one of the most imposing French villas on the
avenue" (Herald, October 31, 1875).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No_ 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
98
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQue County. Iowa
County and State------
The year 1873 was the first wherein new construction was dominated by working class housing, "with a greater
proportion of money paid out by the poorer classes of the community to secure homes." The same pattern was observed
in 1883 with "the rapid increase of our population demanding the tenements, and in most instances the dwellings have
been built by those who occupy them.. . for the most part the tenements are of an ordinary but substantial character,
costing from $1,000 to $4,000." In 1886 overall construction was dominated by less expensive middle class dwellings
"chiefly of a middle class, two stories, comfortable houses, but nothing lavish, costing from $800 to $2,000" (Herald,
November 9, 1873; December 4, 1882; January 1, 1887).
The same trend continued through 1887 and the Herald offered a linkage between home ownership and
democracy that typified the "Own Your Own Home" campaign of the early 20th century:
It will be noticed by the list that by far the larger portion of the building permits were issued for the
construction of dwellings of medium cost. This is one of the surest indicators of wealth. When the man
of limited means builds himself a little home, he then is in a position to accumulate wealth to be turned
into the highways of commerce. If every citizen owned his own home, the government would run itself.
It is this continued improvement in this respect year after year that has given Dubuque such a name for
wealth abroad. It is one of the facts that Dubuque should take the most pride in, that her laboring men
and men of limited income are building homes for themselves and wherever possible, putting up double
houses and so insuring a steady income" (Herald, November 24, 1887).
During 1879 "a number of our most elegant residences have been more elaborately adorned and substantially
improved, displaying the taste and enterprise of their owners-notably among which is Mr. A. Levi, whose Main street
residence is one of the most beautiful in this city." It was also claimed the city possessed "more beautiful churches than
any other city in this state." Stylistic references in the newspapers declined as annual new building lists were simplified
but the Second Empire style continued in popularity with institutional building design. The new St. Joseph's Mercy
Hospital sported a Mansard roof that year. Even later was E. Healey's two-story Bluff Street "Mansard dwelling" built in
1888 (Herald, January 1, 1880; December 23, 1888).
During 1884 the Herald claimed "most of [the new houses] constitute first-class architectural houses. Nothing
less than $500 in value has been raised." The new A. A. Cooper mansion, built in 1887, was rated "one of the finest
residences in the state.. . [and] the most attractive in the city." James Howie's block of six row houses, on 17th Street,
with its three stories and a mansard roof, was a noted 1884 addition to the city. The design was termed "a modified
Gothic combined with features of the other orders the whole rendering the building imposing, pleasing, and admirably
adapted to its situation and locality" (Herald, December 12, 1884; November 24, 1887; Dubuque Trade Journal, October
10, 1884).
During 1895 nothing was being built on the "cheap John" order and all the new residences were claimed to be
"modem, of tasty design and have all the latest improvements, both sanitary and otherwise. Dubuque is known
throughout the state as having its beautiful residences and the list has been increased wonderfully from year to year"
(Herald, May 24, 1896).
St. Luke's Church, under construction in 1896, was rated by the Herald as "the finest in the city" despite the
higher building cost incurred building St. John's Episcopal Church (mostly foundation work). Newspapers continued to
avoid using stylistic descriptors. Jacob Traut's new house at 19th and Jackson streets was "of neat design." Other
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. B-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
99
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
examples were of "recent design" or were "strictly modern throughout" or "fitted up in modern style" (Herald, May 24,
1896).
Dubuque's buildings and architects are rated as among the best in Iowa and the beautiful structures
decorating the hills, bring forth admiration from the visitor who chances to view the city from a point of
advantage. The religious institutions which catch the eye of every person passing by or through the city,
have gained an enviable reputation for the architects who have laid the plans for the structures and the
Dubuque builders are constantly in demand by out-of-town parties desiring big contracts to be filled.
Telegraph-Herald, October 2, 1910
Dubuaue's Vernacular Architecture:
Lawrence Sommer (The Heritae:e of Dubuaue) lauded the city's vernacular residences when he studied the city's
architecture in the mid-1970s:
They are, to a large extent, the anonymous architecture of the working classes and were not noted by the
newspapers when built or torn down. They are not fully understood by architects and little appreciated
by historians. Nevertheless, they are the most representative type of Dubuque architecture (Sommer, pp.
75-76).
Much of the earliest frame vernacular and particularly that built and occupied by the Irish of Dubuque has been
lost over time. Also gone is much of the contextual fabric of the vernacular neighborhoods. This included the intensive
land use patterns of the yards with gardens, innumerable types and varieties of outbuildings, an intermixing of small
shops and businesses along alleyways, functional porches and the like. Also lost in many cases are the external details
which made these houses functional, shutters, dormers and decorative elements.
The literature clearly indicates that houses commonly clustered along alleys, and occasionally intruded into
public right-of-ways. Many vernacular arrangements became targets of advocates for safer and more sanitary housing in
the years following World War I. The several 1934-35 Dubuque housing surveys gave particular attention to what is now
termed vernacular housing and the photographs in those reports hint at what has been lost since then.
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
100
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Brick houses step down a hillside, 8th and Hill streets?, view east (Housing: and Health Survey. 1934)
Intermixed brick and frame houses, stone foundations, likely Central Avenue (Housing: and Health Survey. 1934)
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
101
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Closely placed houses along an alleyway, unidentified location (Housinl! and Health Survey. 1934)
Unusual stone/frame vernacular house, unidentified location (Housinl! and Health Survey. 1934)
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
102
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Stone double house, East 14th and Maple, view northwest (photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
The rear wing might be of log construction.
Key Dubuque Architects, Builders and Property Developers:
This listing is not intended to be all-inclusive and focuses on individuals who were practicing in Dubuque prior
to 1955.
Dubuque Architects:
Beck, Guido (1853-1936), Architect:
As of 1911 it was judged that Beck "has had much to do with the beauty and thoroughness of architecture of
Dubuque." Beck was born in Germany and came to America in 1882. He worked first as a stone cutter at the Rock
Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Illinois. In Dubuque he turned to architectural design and by the mid-1880s was
specializing in church design. By 1911 he had designed 100 of these ranging from the "small to the cathedra1." He first
practiced with (probably) Fridolin J. Heer as Beck & Heer in 1886, practiced alone until he partnered with Martin Heer
c.1889-1895. After 1899 he practiced by himself (Oldt, pp. 651-52; Lyon, p. 33; Shank, p. 20).
Works:
St. Joseph's College Chapel and Auditorium
West Hill Roman Catholic Church
West Dubuque Roman Catholic Church
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PS Form 10-900-.
IRev. S-S61
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
103
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Coun1y. Iowa
County and State-------
Carkeek, Harvey T. (?- ?), Architect:
Shank lists only for 1897 and places both Carkeek' s in the same office building. Their relationship is not known
and Carkeek was never affiliated with Iowa Chapter AIA (Shank, p. 38).
Carkeek, Thomas T. (1843-1927), Architect:
Carkeek was English-born. He was the son of a stonemason and Carkeek learned that trade and carpentry prior
to emigrating to America. He carne to Dubuque from Wisconsin in 1882. He first worked as an architect for Carr, Ryder
an Wheeler Company until 1891 at which time he started his own architectural practice in the Lincoln Building. He was
"an entirely self-made architect." He was prolific with over 200 local designs credited to his hand during his 20-year
practice. A prominent Romanesque design, the Odd Fellows Building (9th and Locust streets) was recently demolished
(Sommer, pp. 160-61; Odlt, pp. 708-09; Lyon, p. 57; Shank, p. 38).
Works:
701 Bluff Street
Odd Fellows Temple, 9th and Iowa (1892, razed 1970)
YMCA Auditorium and Gymnasium (c.1894)
August A. Cooper House ("Redstone') (1890, 504 Bluff Street)
Lincoln Building (8th and Locust Streets)
Central Engine House (9th and Iowa streets)
Rider, Burden and Rider Building (7th and Locust streets)
Bell Bros. Building (4th and Locust streets)
John Ernsdorff Sons Company (Main and Jones streets)
C. H. Gregories House (109 Alpine Street)
Fred Bell House (968 W. 3rd Street)
D. J. Lenehan House (41 Cornell Street)
G. W. Healey House (701 Bluff Street)
Harris House (349 Hill Street)
Clemonson House (575 W. 3rd Street)
W. H. Day Jr. House (66 Highland Place)
C. Mathis House (118 Broadway Street)
J. Lenihan Double House (5th and Hill streets)
Second National Bank
William Lawther Building
Bell Brothers Building
Presbyterian Convent
Heer, Fridolin Joseph Sr. (1834-1910), Jr. (1864-1940), Fridolin J. Heer & Son:
Like many European architects, Heer started as a stonecutter in Switzerland. His father was a builder. He carne
to the United States in 1865 and Dubuque three years later. He started his architectural firm in 1870 and was joined in
the practice by his son in 1887. By 1880 he had "built up a large business and [was] the architect of many of the best
buildings in the city." He first practiced with Edward Naescher as Heer & Naescher c.1874-76+. By 1875 Heer designed
buildings, monuments, fumiture and did fresco paintings. He also designed bridges, viaducts and tunnels. Beginning in
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
104
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
1886 he partnered with Guido Beck, but a year later was in partnership with his son. Beginning in 1889 church design let
their list of advertised specialties. Heer joined the Architectural Association of Iowa in 1885 and was elected into the
American Institute of Architects a year later. He was a charter member of the newly organized (1903) Iowa Chapter of
AlA. The son practiced until 1934. Fridolin Heer Sr. is rated as being one of the city's leading architects and it is
important that the city was the point where he opened his practice and received the majority of his design efforts. The
importance of his son as a designer needs to be evaluated (Sommer, pp. 159-60; Oldt, pp. 597-601; Lyon, p. 195; 1880
County History, p. 803; Shank, pp. 79-80).
Works:
Second City Clock and tower (1873, Clock Tower Plaza)
Jesse P. Farley House (1879, 6th and Bluff streets)
W. J. Knight House (1397 Main)
William Bradley House (1268 Locust Street)
Co!. William Henderson House (1433 Main)
J. Van Duzee House (1471 Main)
Alex. Young House (1879, now Behr Funeral Home, 1491 Main)
William Andrew House (1135 Locust Street)
A. Tredway House (1182 Locust Street)
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church and School (1885, 635 West 22nd Street)
Dubuque County Courthouse (1891, 7th and Central streets)
Mt. St. Joseph Academy Building (Clarke College)
First Security Building (1901, 8th and Main streets)
M. M. Hoffman Funeral Home (1890, 15th and Clay streets)
H. L. Stout House (1145 Locust Street)
L. Gonner House (1295 Aha Vista Street)
N.1. Schrup House (14th and Main streets)
W. S. Malo House (16th and Main (?) streets)
F. A. Rumpf House (West 11th Street)
Alphonse Matthews House (1335 Locust Street)
A. F. Heeb House (15 Jefferson Street)
Telegraph-Herald Building (7th and Main streets)
St. Joseph Academy (1894, 13th and Main streets)
J. L. Hancock House (11 Highland Place)
Dubuque Brewing & Malting Company (supervision architect)
Levi Residence
Baptist, Zion and Lutheran churches
Heer, Fridolin Joseph, Jr. (1864-1940), Architect:
Fridolin, who was trained in architecture in the School of Architecture in Stuttgart, Germany, was the only
descendant of Fridolin Heer Sr. who carried on the family's architectural tradition (A daughter Pauline did work in her
father's office but not as a designer). In 1879 he first worked as a draftsman for Dankmar Adler in Chicago (Adler
partnered later with Louis Sullivan). Beginning in 1881 he studied as noted above in Stuttgart, receiving his degree in
1886. He was elected to the national AlA the same year as his father and a year later partnered with his father in
Dubuque. He was also a charter member of the Iowa Chapter AlA in 1903 and he served as chapter president in 1906.
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PS Form 1 0-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
105
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State------
He succeeded his father upon his death in 1910 and worked on his own until retiring in 1937. He was also registered in
Illinois and Wisconsin. Tbree children were born to Heer and his wife but it is not known whether any of these worked
in architecture (Shank, p. 81).
Works:
Sunnycrest Sanatorium (1919, Roosevelt Avenue)
Heer, Martin (?-1915), Architect:
Heer was German born and came to Dubuque at an undetermined date. His family emigrated to America in
1843. He practiced along c.1884-88, and partnered with Guido Beck c.1892-95. He was working on his own as of 1897
being officed at 824 8th Street. He is documented as still working in Dubuque through 1899 although family history
states he did so through c.1912 when he returned to Germany. He died there. His design work was regional in scope
(Petersburg, Clinton, Fort Atkinson, Dubuque) (Shank, p. 82).
Works:
Eichhorn Building (1889) (Beck & Heer?)
Holy Ghost Church and School (1896)
Hyde, Franklin D. (1849- ?), Architect:
Hyde was born in Maine but grew to adulthood in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He came to Dubuque in 1878,
having been trained as an architect in St. Paul, Chicago and Boston. By 1880 it was reported that Hyde "is taking a
leading position in his profession." A 10-page inventory of his designs covers Iowa and includes a few commissions in
Wisconsin, Minnesota and Montana. The projects date from 1879-1892. He was a charter (1885) member of the
Architectural Association ofIowa, the Western Association of Architects (1884) and the Architectural Association of
Des Moines. He was professionally committed to the education of architects and served as secretary of the national AlA.
He first (1881) specialized in school designs and later (1880) advertised a specialty in remodeling existing buildings.
Hyde briefly (1891-92) partnered with William H. Castner ofSt. Paul until the latter's untimely death. Hyde departed
Dubuque in 1893 apparently response to the panic of 1893-94 although there is no indication that large architectural
commissions in the city were impacted by that downturn (Wilkie, p. 319; 1880 County History, p. 814; Shank, pp. 86-
87).
Works:
Bishop's Block, 1st and Main streets 1887-89
M. M. Walker House, Grove Terrace, c.1884
Water Works Company Pumping Station, 1888
Jesse P. Farley House, 6th & Bluff, 1879
Paint Works Company Mill and Warehouse, Iowa Street, 1883
Block of Houses, James Howie, 17th & Locust, 1883
Block of three houses, W. H. Peabody, Locust and 7m, 1883
Byrnes Bros. Livery, 1888
Store/apt. building W. S. Bradley, 1888
Store/flats, Rev. P. Burke, 1888
Julien Hotel, $100,000, 1889 (burned 1910)
PS Form 10-900-8
IRev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approvel No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
106
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Queen Anne cottage, W. H. Day, 1883
A. A. Cooper factory, 1890
Block of residences, W. S. Bradley, 1887
A. A. Cooper House, $30,000, 1887
Staples & Wibber double-front store, 1887
W. S. Bradley warehouse, 1886
Block ofresidences for Bishop Hennessy at 2nd and Bluff streets, 1886
Visitation Academy School, 1886
G. L. Torbert business block, 1886
Wm. Andrews Commercial Block, 1885
J. Herod Double House, 1885
A. A. Cooper Warehouse, 1885
Dubuque Ominbus Co. Stable, 1883
B. B. Richards House, 1492 Locust, Street, 1883
James Howie Six tenements, 1883
St. Josephs College addition" $15,000, 1884
4th Street Elevator, station and engine house, J. K. Graves, 4th Street, 1886
Geo. L. Torbert House, 1890
Thomas Connolly House, $18,000, 1890
E. M. Woodworth house, 1880.
Linseed Oil Mill, 9th and Jackson, 1880
Thedinga Business Block, Main Street, 1880
Jones, David (?-?), Architect:
Works:
First Congregational Church (1857, 10th and Locust streets)
Krajewski, Casimer Ignatius, (1893-1949+), Architect:
Polish-born, he received a B. S. in architecture degree from Notre Dame in 1916 and entered into his own design
practice in 1922. He was practicing in Dubuque from 1927 but cancelled his registration in 1940. He then worked in
Chicago from 1944 at least through 1949. One school design is identified in Ottumwa (Shank, p. 102).
Larkins, John P. (?-?):
Rated as of 1902 as "one of the best designers in the city" English-born and trained Larkins formed his own
design practice that year after partnering for two years with architect John Spencer (see below). He previously worked
with Chicago architects Jenny & Mundel prior to moving to Dubuque. He partnered with architect Thomas Carkeek (see
above) c.1898-l900 before joining with Spencer (Dubuque Enterprise, August 3,1902).
Mullany, John, Architect (1812-1884):
Mullany was somewhat of a rarity, given that he was an Irish-born architect. He was also, like Rague, from an
earlier generation of designers. The 1870 Industrial Census credited Mullany as a house builder with finishing five
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
107
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
houses during 1879. He had eight employees and his houses were valued at $15,000. His son John I. Mullany (1847-?)
was a noted Dubuque lawyer. The family emigrated to America in 1849 (Oldt, p. 624).
Works:
Cathedral of Saint Raphael (1852, Second and Bluff streets)
St. Mary's German Catholic Church (1864)
Rague, John F., (1799-1877) Architect:
Rague was born in New York and came to Dubuque in 1854. He worked ten years in New York where he
worked for Minard Lafever. He moved to Springfield, Illinois in 1831. He won the 1837 competition to design the new
Springfield state capitol building. In 1839 he designed the Iowa territorial capitol building and contracted to build it with
two Springfield masons. The design was altered and he resigned from superintending the construction. He was also
dismissed from the Springfield construction and relocated to Milwaukee in 1841. He came to Dubuque with his second
wife in 1854, practicing alone until 1857 when he joined with William H. Drake as Rague & Drake. A year later he was
again on his own. His career was a casualty of the 1857-58 panic and deteriorating eyesight. He died in Dubuque.
Rague is clearly regionally significant for his design/construction supervision with the first Iowa capitol building in Iowa
City and the first Illinois capital building to be built in Springfield, as well as for his employment of the Egyptian style.
Many of his pre-Civil War designs survive which is remarkable in and of itself (Sommer, p. 159; Shank, pp. 133-34).
Works:
Dubuque City Hall, 13th and Central streets (extant)
Dubuque County Jail, 8th and Central streets (extant)
F. E. Bissell House (11 th bet. Bluff and Locust streets)
Goodrich-Wilson-Ryan House (1243 Locust Street)
Edward Langworthy Octagon House (1095 W. 3rd Street)
Prescott School, 13th Street, 1857 (extant)
(three schools-extant?)
Rogers, Robert, (?-?) Architect:
Works:
Frederick Weigel House (1854, 1192 Locust Street) attribution only
Spencer, John (1856-?), Architect:
Spencer was English-born and was an 1877 graduate of the South Kensington Art Institute. He emigrated to
America after 10 years of practice in England. He partnered briefly with W. W. Boynton and Company (designers of the
Bank and Insurance Building, Dubuque). He worked two years in Chicago but returned to Dub~que. His clients were not
limited to Dubuque (Oldt, pp. 688-89).
Works:
Iowa Trust and Savings Bank
German Trust and Savings Bank
PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. B.B6)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
108
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Young Women's Christian Association Building
Carnegie-Stout Library
Iowa Telephone Building
Eagle Point Park Pavilion
Pavilion at Tri-State Fair
Glover and Company Warehouses and Offices
German Presbyterian Church
Carr-Ryder and Adams Factory, Warehouses and Offices
St. Luke's Parsonage
F. D. Stout Residence
Stillman, Charles (?-?)
C"AS. STillMAN,
Architect. General Contractor
and Builder.
FINE RESIDENCES, FLATS and
DOUBLE HOUSES A Specialty.
Estimates Furnishtd Upon Application.
Residence ot Dr. J. R. Guthrie
NO CHARCE FOR PL.ANS
One of the I\omes I I\ave Designed and Built.
when Cont.ract ts Awarded
Bell Telephont.
DUBUQUE, IOWA.
(Dubuque Enterprise, April 15, 1905)
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PS Form 1 0-900-8
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
109
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Dubuque Carpenters and Builders:
Bell, John, (1827-?):
Scottish-born Bell came to Canada in 1844 and to Dubuque in 1853. He worked in the city for 30 years
(Sommer, p. 161).
Broadhurst, John G. (1827-?):
English-born, Broadhurst came to the U.S. in 1848 and Dubuque ten years later. By 1880 he was described as
one of the oldest contractors operating in the city, then partnered as "Biles & Broadhurst". Works included the Julien
Hotel addition, the Lorimer House and the Argyle House (1880 History, p. 478).
Brunkow, Ferdinand W. (1861-?) IF. W. Brunkow Sons & Company:
Brunkow was born in Wisconsin of German-born parents and came to Dubuque in 1892. He had worked as a
teacher and town clerk but immediately entered into contracting work. Beginning in 1907 he was general agent for the
German-American Equation Premium Life Association and was at one time president of the local contractors'
association (Oldt, p. 837).
Works:
Lincoln School
"many of the best residences of which the city boasts"
Burdt, Frederick C. (1872-?)/C. Burdt & Son Contracting Company:
He was born in Dubuque and was the son of noted contractor Christian Burdt (?-?). His German-born father
came to America in 1859 and to Dubuque the same year. He built the public school and bank buildings in East Dubuque,
the Carr, Ryder & Adams factory, Couler Avenue car barns, Dubuque Club, (first) Sacred Heart Church, Holy Ghost
Convent, the Thill double store building and "numerous public and parochial school edifices and score of imposing
buildings." He built buildings throughout the region. Frederick worked with his father, saw brief Spanish-American war
service, and was a city contractor as late as 1911 (Oldt, p. 846).
Conlin Construction Company:
Richard Conlin (1922-?) founded this firm in 1922 and by 1948 the company with 50 employees had contracts in
seven states. Taking on larger jobs the firm had a 17-state market by 1989. Notable early works included the Carnegie-
Stout Library addition, McCormick Gymnasium (University of Dubuque) and the more recent Five Flags Center (Lyon,
p.81).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
110
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Dubuque Homes Inc.
Charles Mettel Jr. was company president and this firm built the Asbury Park houses for the John Deere workers
in 1946-47 (Telegraph-Herald, January 6, 1946).
Foye, James N. (1833-?):
Foye reached Dubuque in 1857 and first specialized in moving buildings. He was a Civil War veteran and
worked as a general contractor postwar, residing at 143 Alpine Street (1880 County History, p. 791).
Fricke, Alois (1818-?):
Fricke was a Swiss-born brick and stone mason. He reached the U.S. in 1845, worked a year in Galena and then
carne to Dubuque in 1846. By 1880 he was responsible for "many of the best buildings in Dubuque" including the
Lorimer House and St. Joseph Academy. He resided on 13th Street between Elm and Washington streets (1880 County
History, p. 792).
Geiger, Henry (1840-?):
Geiger was German-born and worked as a carpenter and builder after the Civil War. He carne to the U.S. in 1861
and saw Civil War service in the 5th Iowa Cavalry and two years military engineer service at Nashville. He resided on
White between 16th and 17th streets (1880 County History, p. 793).
Gregory, E. James (1872-?), Carpenter Contractor:
Gregory was born at Webster City, Iowa and carne to Dubuque in 1890. He apprenticed under _ Ketsch and
worked as a journeyman under _ Jordan. He worked briefly in St. Joseph, Missouri, but returned to Dubuque and had
his own firm beginning in 1902 (Oldt, pp. 775-76).
Works:
Fowler Flats
"various additions to local public buildings and also many fine residences"
Grether, John M. (1816-?):
Grether was German-born and carne to the U.S. and Dubuque in 1854. He resided at 1539 Washington Street
and was "a natural mechanic [who] can make any kind of machinery" (1880 County History, p. 796).
Hartmann, Anthony A. (1884-?):
Hartmann was born in Dubuque and was a member of a younger generation. His father (Austrian-born Leonard
Hartmann, ?-1908) was a general contractor in Dubuque who built St. Joseph's Academy. Anthony learned contracting
working with his father and worked with his brothers Leo L. (1888-?) and Bernard A. Hartmann. By 1911 Hartmann
Contracting Company was responsible for "many of the finest residences and public edifices" in the city (Oldt, pp. 833-
34).
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PS Form 10-9OO-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
111
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Heitzman, William, (1863-?):
Heitzman was German-born and first worked as a millwright. He emigrated to America in 1885 and arrived in
Dubuque c.1887. He first partnered (1890) with Rheinfrank who died and he continued alone specializing in building
fine residences. His son William Heitzman Jr. joined him in 1908 (until1911) (Oldt, pp. 669-70).
Henderson & Brandt:
The 1870 Industrial Census credited these 3rd Ward builders with fmishing 12 houses during 1879. They had 10
employees and his houses were valued at $10,000. Theirs was the largest reported house building operation although the
average price of their houses was just $1,000.
Herdmann, Thomas A. (1870- ?):
He was born in Canada, the son ofa builder-contractor. He was an 1886 graduate of the manual training
department of the State University of Nebraska and learned contracting working with his father. Herdmann came to
Dubuque in 1888 where he soon specialized in building fine residences (Oldt, p. 830).
Holland, Ora (1825-?):
Holland was a contractor/builder and came to Dubuque in 1846. He developed a large business and by 1880 had
"built many of the best buildings in the city." By that time he had worked as a contractor in the city for 33 years "longer
than anyone else" (1880 County History, p. 806).
Howie, James (1841-?):
Scots-borh Howie reached Dubuque in 1869 and started his firm employing 10-15 hands. He did all of the
carpentry work for the Norwegian Plow Company and the Waller building (1880 County History, p. 813).
Jones, B. W., (1837-?):
English-born Jones came to America in 1845 and to Dubuque in 1856. He worked in the city through the late
1800s and served as city alderman beginning in 1879 (Sommer, p. 16; 1880 County History, p. 817).
Jones, Rudolph (1855-?):
Jones was born near Chicago to German-born parents (family name of Joens). The family came to America in
1853 and reached Dubuque c.1856. Father John Jones was a contractor but farmed in the county for 30 years. Rudolph
did carpentry work for his father and moved from the family farm to Dubuque in 1878 at age 23 years. He rose from
journeyman to self-employed contractor and by 1911 had "erected many of Dubuque's fine commercial houses and
private residences, churches and public buildings." He was a Republican and served as Alderman-at-Iarge from 1898-
1906 (Oldt, pp. 689-90).
Works:
Masonic Temple
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
112
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-----
Keenan, John, (1824-1909):
Irish-born Keenan came to America in 1850 and to Dubuque six years later. He learned his trade in New York
and worked in this city through the 1880s. By 1880 he was the veteran of 25 years as a builder and was one of the oldest
working contractors. He served 50 years as president of the Dubuque Council of St. Vincent de Paul (Lyon, p. 236; 1880
County History, p. 819).
Kutsch, Joseph P. (1859-1939)/Kutsch Brothers (Charles and Joseph):
Joseph was born in Dubuque and was of German parentage (his father was also a contractor). He was the senior
partner in a two-brother contracting firm. They were noted for their perfectionism and artistry. He was Catholic and was
a member of the Sacred Heart Church. He was also a member of the Shooters Club and was a noted marksman (Oldt, p.
505; Lyon, p. 252).
Works:
St. Francis Convent (2105 Washington Street)
St. Mary's Casino (Nicholas Street)
Immaculate Conception Academy
Luchterhand, Fred L. M., (1869-?):
Born in Germany, his family emigrated to America c.1876 and came directly to Dubuque. He learned
contracting under the tutleage of Christ Burdt over a seven-year period. He then partnered with _ Keller as Keller &
Luchterhand. By 1911 they were "regarded as one of the best firms in their line of business in the city, and have erected
many fme buildings, public and private..." His residence was at 579 Windsor Avenue (as of 1911) (Oldt, p. 709).
Works:
Home for the Aged
The Casino
N.1. Schrup House
McCoy, John (?-?):
Irish-born McCoy came to the U.s. in 1850 and to Dubuque six years later. He was first employed as a
carpenter/joiner. The 1870 Industrial Census credited McCoy with finishing eight houses during 1879. He had five
employees and his houses were valued at $4,000. By 1880 he was one of the oldest contractors working in the city and
had "erected some of the best buildings in Dubuque" (1880 County History, p. 842).
Mihm, John J. (1860-?), Stone Mason Contractor:
Mihm was born in Dubuque of German parents. His father, Peter Mihm (1824-1902) was also a Dubuque stone
mason contractor and the two partnered after 1884. The firm contracted foundation work for the most part (Oldt, pp.
717-18).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. B-B6)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
113
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Works (foundations only):
Sacred Heart Church
St. Matthew's Church
Third Presbyterian Church
Home for the Aged
Nicks, N. P., (1 846-?):
Nicks was born in Dubuque and had his own firm beginning in 1882 (Sommer, p. 161).
O'Farrell, James (1850-?):
O'Farrell was Irish-born and came with his family the same year as his birth. They reached Dubuque in 1856.
James apprenticed as a stonecutter with Schulte & Wagner. He partnered with John P. Dorgan in 1871 and ceased the
partnership when he was appointed city street commissioner. He served in that position for two years and was in
partnership with Charles Stenck from 1889-1897 specializing in streets, sewers and concrete work. His partner went off
to the Alaskan gold fields and O'Farrell remained behind. His "O'Farrell Contracting Company" operated a large stone
quarry and employed 75 hands (Oldt, pp. 832-33).
Pfiffner, Andrew (1830-?):
He was Swiss-born and reached the city in 1845 where he worked as a stonemason and contractor, partnering
with his brother Martin Pfiffner. By 1880 he boasted of 33 years work as a contractor (1880 County History, pp. 857-
58).
Rebman, William, (1821-?):
Rebman was born in Pennsylvania and came to Dubuque in 1837. He worked as a blacksmith until 1850 when
he started contracting and real estate ventures. He built many downtown buildings and did streetwork. He graded
Washington Park when it was finally improved. By 1880 it was said "he has erected more buildings than any contractor
in Dubuque." He built the Rebman Block (later called Sanford Block) the city's first brick business block located north
of 8th Street. He served two terms as city health officer (Sommer, p. 161; 1880 County History, p. 864).
Scharle, Frank D. (?- ?):
Rated as of 1902 as a "well known Dubuque contractor and builder. He was the son of a Dubuque builder who
was credited with building "many of our largest buildings." The younger Scharle had traveled extensively and had
"made a special study of modem styles and methods. He was noted for church designs at Mineral Point (Wisconsin) and
Haverhill, Iowa. He built "a number" of Dubuque and area residences (Dubuque Enterprise, May 25, 1902).
Schilling, M. H. (1835-?):
Schilling was German-born and came to the city in 1857. He was a brickmason and contractor. By 1880 it was
said he "has done some of the best work in the city" and was also one of the city's oldest contractors (1880 County
History, pp. 876, 880).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
114
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Schulte, Bernard (1832-1900), cut stone contracting:
Schulte was German-born and came to America in 1854, locating to Dunleith, Illinois, but relocated to Dubuque
in 1867. He was in the stone contracting trade there for 22 years, an early contract was for the Cathedral Parochial
Residence. The fIrm was called "B. Schulte & Son." Sons John J. Schulte (1861-?) and George G. Schulte (1871-?)
continued the business. By 1911 the fIrm was "one of the able and substantial houses of the city, and many fme homes
and substantial public buildings have been erected by them." This fIrm in particular serviced a broader Iowa and Illinois
building market (Oldt, pp. 756-758).
Works (Dubuque only)
First National Bank of Dubuque
Conservatory of Music, St. Joseph's
Dubuque InfIrmary
F. D. Stout House
N. J. Schrup House
Skemp, Charles W. (1848-?):
Skemp was English-born and came to America in 1859. He was in Dubuque by 1876. He was a journeyman
until 1897 but then turned to contracting (Oldt, pp. 608-09).
Works:
Mercy Hospital
Presbyterian Seminary
Lawther's Candy Factory
St. Joseph's College (part, 14th Street)
Couler Avenue School
Burlington Freight House
McDonand Manufacturing Company (addition, 13th Street)
St. Anthony's Catholic Church, West Dubuque
Orphan's Home (addition, north of Linwood)
Power House at Finley Hospital
Carr, Ryder and Adams Company (addition)
"numerous residences"
Steuck, Carl A. (1848-?):
Steuck was German-born and emigrated to America in 1873, locating that same spring in Dubuque. He worked
several years in local stone quarries and then became a contractor. He "macadamized most all the streets of Dubuque
and has also bricked most of the sewers of the city." He was noted for his honesty and thoroughness. He was a veteran
of the Franco-Prussian War and resided (1911) at 58 Francis Street (Oldt, p. 854).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
115
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Taylor, Thomas J. (1865-?), General Contracting and Building:
His parents came to Dubuque in 1832, 1837. His mother came first and was among those who were driven back
to Illinois by federal soldiers. His father was a millwright. Taylor was born at Asbury in Dubuque County. He was an
1883 graduate from Epworth Seminary. He was a grocer for four years before entering into contracting (Oldt, pp. 830-
31).
Trexler, John, (1825- ?):
Trexler was born in Bavaria where he was a woodcarver and carpenter. He emigrated to America in 1852 and
arrived in Dubuque three years later. He was first a carpenter/joiner and then worked (as of 1880) 25 years as a
contractor (Sommer, p. 161; 1880 County History, p. 889)
Tuttle, L. B., (?-?):
Tuttle was born in Connecticut and arrived in Dubuque in 1858. He learned his carpentry/joinery trade locally.
The 1870 Industrial Census credited Tuttle with finishing six houses during 1879. He had three employees and his
houses were valued at $13,800. By 1880 he had worked 15 years as a contractor and had "built up a good business." He
was a Civil War veteran (Sommer, p. 161; 1880 County History, p. 890).
Weaver, Gassoway S. (1846-?):
He was rated a contractor "possessing rare skill and ability, who devotes himself principally to the erection of
fine residences." His father Benjamin Weaver was a contractor in an Eastern state. Weaver came to Dubuque in 1868,
partnered for eight years with B. W. Jones and two years with S. Alexander. He had his own firm by 1892 and by 1911
had worked as a contractor in the city for an impressive 43 years (Oldt, p. 503-04).
Works:
W. Dubuque Schoolhouse
Senator N. J. Schrup House
Wilber, C. A. (?-?) contractor/architect:
Wilber came to the city in 1859. He was trained in New York and worked five years in Canada. He was an
officer in the Civil War and then developed a large business as a contractor and architect (1880 County History, p. 896).
Willy, Ulrich (1857-1941):
Willy was born in Switzerland where his father Otto worked as a contractor. He carne to Dubuque in 1881 and
had his own firm by 1894 (Oldt, pp. 506-07; Lyon, pp. 483-84).
Works:
German Presbyterian Church
17th Street Presbyterian Church
Dubuque Club
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
116
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
School of the Presbyterian Sisters
Glover Factory
Lutheran Church
Woods, W. J. (?-?):
Woods came to Dubuque in 1856 and by 1880 was one of the city's oldest working brickmasons and builders
(1880 County History, p. 902).
Zwack, Anton:
Major builder of institutions as of 1919, builds Tuberculosis Sanitarium, Brunswick Additions (Daily News,
December 31,1919).
Realtors/Developers:
Two distinct classes of individuals are included. There are land dealers who didn't necessarily subdivide or build
and there are realtor/developers who did. The latter group is more pertinent to this report, but both groups played key
historical roles in developing the city.
Barney, William 1. (?-1886):
Lawyer and land speculator during the years 1850-62 (at which time he departed for Chicago). He partnered
with Caleb Booth in "W. J. Barney & Company." It is said that he bought and sold 800,000 acres of land in his dealings
(Lyon, p. 28).
Burden, George (1814-1889)
English born, Burden came to Dubuque in 1857. He worked in real estate with B. B. Richards as "Taylor,
Richards & Burden." He was also a banker (Lyon, p. 51).
Hammond, William A., (1859-?):
Hammon was of Dutch ancestry and was born in Illinois. He came to Dubuque in 1890 and worked as a real
estate dealer, loan and mortgage broker. He belonged to St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal Church (Oldt, pp. 528-29).
Herod, Joseph (1825-1911)
Herod arrived in Dubuque in 1852 and first mined lead. He built a 17-unit suite of apartments in the early
1900's. He was secretary of the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad, was one of the organizers of the Dubuque & Dunlieth
Bridge Company, was instrumental in forming the streetcar system, and was alderman and saw 25 years of service as city
school treasurer (to 1902) (Lyon, pp. 198-99; 1880 County History, p. 804).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
117
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Highland Realty Company:
Formed by two World War II veterans, Homer Vincent Butt Jr. and Frank Whittington in 1945. The firm
obtained its first buildings permits in December 1945 to build houses on Simpson Street near the Wartburg Seminary
(Telegraph-Herald, January 6, 1946).
Lightcap, Leonard L. (1853- ?):
Lightcap was born in Wisconsin and came to the city by 1906 when he entered into real estate trading (Oldt, pp.
702-03).
Ma1ony, Lawrence (1819-1864):
Malony was born in Ireland and was an early real estate developer. He operated out of his general store at 3rd and
Main streets. He accumulated vast holdings during the mid-1850s boom times but lost most of his wealth when he chose
to build on his properties just as the national economy collapsed in 1857 (Lyon, p. 316).
Nagle, Joseph J. (1860-1932):
Lyon describes Nagle as "one of the best known real estate agents" in the city's history. Nagle also served as the
fiscal agent for the archdiocese (Lyon, p. 325).
Norton, Patrick (1821-1868), Teaming and Real Estate:
Norton was born in Ireland and his family emigrated to America in 1832. Norton came to Dubuque in 1837. He
first operated a drayage and "later dealt extensively in real estate, building and renting homes and selling same on time
payments" (Oldt, pp. 854-55).
Pfohl, Louis (?-1986):
A noted and more recent major realtor-developer (Lyon, p. 350).
Richards, Benjamin Billings (1823-1912):
Lyon terms Richards "one of the city's most influential bankers." He worked in real estate after 1854, partnered
with _ Taylor, and later George Burden. He unsuccessfully challenged Allison for his U.S. Senate seat in 1864.
Richards served 10 years in the state house and as many years in the senate. He again lost a U.S. Congress challenge to
David Henderson in the 1880s (Lyon, p. 377).
Sanford, Horatio (1815-1884):
Described by Wilkie as "Iowa's biggest buyer and seller ofland" prior to the Civil War. He came to Dubuque in
1834. Never married, he accumulated holdings of in excess of one million acres of land. Most of his real estate activities
dated 1848-64. At one time he owned almost the entire block of Main Street between 8th and 9th streets. In his later years
he made seven European and Mid-eastern tours (Wilkie, pp. 160-62; Lyon, pp. 399-400).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
118
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State------
Voelker Realty Company, Chris A. Voelker (?-1956):
Chris Voelker was the city's leading large-scale home builder c.1906-1919. He is the city's best example of the
"community builder," a real estate man who expanded his services to encompass house design, construction, and
financing. He perfected a low-cost installment home buying plan that put many working class families into their own
homes. He epitimized the "Own Your Own Home" movement and his house designs combined stylistic and the front
gable locally dominant in vernacular housing. Voelker's large scale building legacy has dotted the city with his very
recognizable house plans. He also promoted concrete block house construction in conjunction with the Peer-Amid
Cement Company (Daily News, December 31, 1919).
Voelker Realty Company was a well-established firm by the time it began to build houses. The business was
located at the northeast comer of 13th and Clay (1300 Clay). Voelker was president and Louis C. Kolfenbach was vice-
president. Christian A. Voelker, Jr. was company secretary. Chris Voelker Sr. resided at 491 Seminary Street as early as
1904. He served as mayor in 1888 (1904-05 City Directory, p. 406).
Voelker was "prominent among the builders of the city" as early as 1906. That year he built 27 houses at an
average cost of $2,300. From the start he built in the north end of the city, grouping his houses along Washington Street,
between 24th and 25th streets. During 1907 he built 22 houses valued at $53,030. These clustered near 24th and Jackson
streets, but were also along Lincoln and Audubon avenues. The first reference to a concrete block house was made that
same year to a Couler Avenue location. His Peer-Amid Concrete Company first appears in the 1909 city directory,
located at 3005 Pine Street. The firm produced concrete building blocks (Telegraph-Herald, December 30, 1906;
December 27, 1907; 1909 City Directory, pp. 394, 438, 561).
By 1908 Voelker was termed the "Wholesale Home Builder" and his building now included flats, double houses
and cottages. His building market covered the city. His 1908 building efforts included three Peer-amid "cement" houses
and his listed 1909 jobs numbered 15 houses and cottages (Telegraph-Herald, December 27, 1908, January 1, 1910).
By 1910 he was running large advertisements which featured his "Pay-As You Can" home buying plan. Echoing
the "Own Your Own Home Campaign" Voelker challenged potential home buyers to worry more about saving money
rather than earning more. The home buyer could save by eliminating rent, by buying coal off season and storing it in the
basement (along with garden produce). The wear and tear on furniture resultant from frequent moves was saved once a
family owned rather than rented a home. Voelker was an early advocate of the home as a good investment. Perhaps
unique to Dubuque, he promised that the rapid exhaustion of building lots and rising house values guaranteed that house
values would appreciate. He warned his clients to buy "average" houses ("That's the kind of homes that we build and we
build them at the right place"). Voelker's new homes were all located within the "mile circle" with its center point
located in the downtown. Nearly every Voelker home also resided directly on a streetcar line. The company's interest
rates were high, ranging from 8-15 percent but the down payment was only $100 and interest diminished as the mortgage
was retired. Buyers could pay extra up front and their interest rates were recalculated every six months when they did so.
Most buyers owned their houses within eight years and Voelker claimed in 1912 that he had not had a single contract
"lapse" in five years. Buyers who suffered illness, layoff due to a strike or job loss received a six-month grace period
without penalty, to resume their payments. A 1912 ad titled "Voelker's Plan Showed Up At Last" featured an inquisitive
reporter who probed the realtor about his too-good to be true scheme. The investigator concluded "Voelker is succeeding
because his plans are right and his methods beyond criticism" (Telegraph-Herald, October 2, 1910, September 29, 1912).
I
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86l
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
I
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
I
Section number E
Page
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The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Voelker's house designs were synonymous with modem moderate cost new Dubuque housing by 1910 at which
time they were being featured in annual progress reports and in the 1911 Greater Dubuque. He was called "the home
builder of Dubuque" and it was said "all of these homes are built for the benefit of the working man.. ." The Telegraph-
Herald continued "When one stops to consider the enormous amount of money annually invested by Mr. Voelker in the
building of new homes, the idea of what a real booster is, becomes more exemplified by the work of the Dubuquer"
(Telegraph-Herald, October 2, 1910).
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TYPES OF m:m:;Ql:E WORKIXG:MEX'S HOMES.
One of the ft'amr!'S that clla.rseterlze Dubuque Is the
attractive and.ubStantlal homes In "'hleh the ""01'1011&-
men dwcll. A remarkably l8org<l percentage own their own
bomes ,,'hi"'h b~pe&kl! a prosperous eonllttlon. There
are many desirabl" sites n<lttar removed from the _-
tacturing district" that. dcrd sulftcleDt Iavwn space. n.h
air -.n4 ee.a,- access to the publl<: lIChoolll. )la.nl' ot th_
homes even boast of a thrifty UtIle prden spot. An
a.bundazlt sUppl~' c.t building mateTia.! otvariousk11ids at
Ila.nd..a.nd land in Ideal locations a.t reuollll.ble prices,
olfer every Inducement rr, th.. ....orkinr;.ma.n to buy or
build h1.~ ""'n b",,,e.
Voelker Homes, Greater Dubuque (1911)
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
I
Voelker pledged to never place the same house design side by side but he certainly built continuous rows of
strikingly similar plans. By 1910 he was building "a new operation" on Caledonia Place near the 8th Street carline. By
1914 he had caught bungalow fever and was building a "bungalow neighborhood" around the former ball park. The
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
120
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
completion of the Bee Branch sewer that same year opened up the area above 28th Street to development. Voelker had
also built up the district south of the Visitation Academy on South Alta Vista Street between 1912-14. The area was
"transformed from a sore spot of rough hill and valley with old fences, mine dumps and sundry debris, within two years
to a magnificent neighborhood with beautiful lawns and room residences artistically placed." The accomplishment "is a
fair indication of the activity of Voelker in the upbuilding of Dubuque" and the realtor was having a broader impact as a
result, the same source noting "This neighborhood redevelopment idea is taking a hold in Dubuque" (Telegraph-Herald,
December 27, 1914).
Voelker's house designs commonly featured a pedimented front gable. Commonly his houses employed double
and triple window sets, an early provision of extra natural light into house plans. Gable fronts were shingled and flared
wall bases and roof eaves were commonplace. His bungalow designs were taller variations of hip roof cottages set on
raised foundations. Commonly a hip roof dormer projected atop the recessed front porch. Voelker's story and a half
cottage plans were promoted as single story plans with attic space that could be developed for supplemental bedrooms.
These houses could be more efficiently cleaned, a precursor of the more efficient bungalow concept. A buyer who
selected a design could make "slight changes" and could select paint colors (Telegraph-Herald, January 2, 1910).
A Home of Your Own Will Give You greater comfort, you will provide
yourself with the things which many landlords deny you, you will be able to secure
comfortable furnishings that you now deny yourself for they may not suit the next home
you rent.
Voelker-Headquarters for Homes, Telegraph-Herald, October 2, 1910
Voelker also promoted the duplex or double house as an optimal investment opportunity for the home buyer:
Duplex apartments pay biggest returns. Very popular in the larger cities. Live in part and rent the rest
and just as quickly as you will be paying off a single home for yourself, you many just as well be having
a renter payoff one for you, giving you a magnificent property in a few years.. . (Telegraph-Herald,
January 1, 1911).
The company's annual production never exceeded 30 units, an apparent indication that this volume
matched building technology of the day and the scale of the company's resources. Twenty houses were built in
1917 and 29 in 1919. The company was also building commercial buildings and some larger combination
storefront/flats as well however. Voelker's house-building operation disappears after 1919 and it is probable that
it didn't survive the postwar building slump. The Voelker real estate firm survived as late as 1975 (Times-
Journal, January 1, 1918; Daily News, December 31, 1919; 1913 City Directory p. 500; 1918 City Directory, p.
518; 1925; City Directory, p. 567).
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
121
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State------
Phase I Survey Report:
The survey area comprises a 31-block primarily residential that occupies the floor of the Couler Valley. Bluff
lines rise some 150-200 feet along the east and west sides of the valley. To the west, the bluff line is broken up by the
presence of two major drainages, these being marked by Kaufmann Avenue, at the west end of East 22nd Street, and
Diagonal Street, which centers between the west ends of East 26th and East 25th streets.
Survey Overview, view southwest across Couler Valley from north end of Marquette Place
Photo by Jim Jacobsen, March 7, 2000
Neighborhood Name:
Lyon states that the area north of 20th Street was known as "Frogtown" because of its German population. This
name has not been otherwise encountered and the term "frog" is normally associated with the French rather than the
Germans. The Victor Gruen report labeled the survey area the "north end" but occasionally it is Eagle Point and the
Rhomberg area that bear this name. That collective designation encompassed six neighborhoods, 22nd Street, Broadway,
Comiskey, Holy Ghost, 30th Street and Sacred Heart. Only 22nd Street and Comiskey lie within the Phase I survey area.
Absent a compelling area name, the Phase I survey area will remain unnamed in this report for the present.
Plat:
PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
122
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
The basic plat of the area takes the form of elongated blocks having a north/south orientation. Each block is
bisected in that same direction by an alleyway. Lot widths vary with the platting but lot depths measure 100 to 100 feet
for the most part. The four blocks south of East 20th Street and west of Jackson Street were part of the original town plat
and are square-cut, measuring 220 feet east/west and 256 feet north south. Each block is bisected by a 20 foot-wide
alleyway and includes ten rectangular lots (lOO-foot depth, 51.2 foot width).
The East Dubuque Plat extended the original plat east from Jackson Street and north to East 20th Street. The plat
used the same street widths (64 foot widths) and block/lot dimensions as the original plat. Edwin and J. L. Langworthy
developed the East Dubuque Plat and filed it on August 4, 1853.
L. H. Langworthy's Addition comprises the survey area between East 20th Street and East 24th Street. North of
East 22nd Street this plat consists of four double-long blocks which stretch unbroken between East 22nd and East 24th
streets. Just one block, that between Jackson and Washington streets, has an alleyway. South of East 22nd Street, the plat
consists of eight blocks. The blocks between Central and White streets are half-width and alleys bisect only the central
four blocks. Elm and Washington streets narrow to just 40 feet north of East 22nd Street but the other streets retain the
standard 64- foot width.
Between East 24th and East 25th streets, the blocks located west of Jackson Street represent an amalgam of small
and conflicting plats. A number of lots front northward onto East 25th Street in this area, an exception to the general rule
ofa strict east/west lot orientation. East of Jackson Street is the L. S. Langworthy's Boulevard Plat (filed May 31, 1873),
now known as Comiskey Field. The plat, between Jackson and Washington, provided 46 25-foot wide parcels, the only
plat in the survey area to do so. East of Washington, the next block was divided into 24 lots (50x100 feet).
Between East 24th and East 25th streets, the survey area comprises the Davis Farm Addition (plat filed August 5,
1853) to the west of Jackson Street, and Edward Langworthy's Addition (plat filed October 1, 1856), east of Jackson
Street. Elongated double-long blocks link these two cross streets and each block is turned to the west at its midpoint to
accommodate the constrictive lay of the valley floor. The Davis Farm blocks are narrower without alleys and lots run
180 feet between cross streets. Lots in both additions are broader than are those below East 24t" Street. Lot widths are
fairly irregular however.
Survev Area Develooment:
The survey area was predominately settled by Germans in the post-Civil War years. Swiss and Luxembourg
emigrants also intermixed with the Germans. Randolph Lyons states that Germans first concentrated along White,
Washington streets and Central (then Coulter) Avenue, to the west ofIowa Street, between 5th.6th streets and 14th Street to
the north up until the 1860s. Thereafter German settlement spread west of Central Avenue and expanded north and
northeast up to 24th Street (Lyon, pp. 76, 92, 175).
A major impediment to settling in the survey area was the "Grotteloch" a marshy swamp that was fed from
springs along Diagonal Street. The drainage accumulated in the area north of 24th Street and west of Jackson Street.
White Street terminated at 24th Street for this reason (Ibid., p. 186).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
123
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-------
Detail, Birds Eye View of the City of Dubuque Iowa, 1872, Augustus Koch Engraver
View is to northwest, Contemporary street names added.
Couler Avenue was the original "Plank Road" north and its importance from the start as a northern highway is
reflected in that early short-term hard surface medium. Even though the valley did not generally infill until after the
Civil War Couler Avenue was the focal point of early and prestigious house building. Part of this building activity
represented a northward extension of the first bluff front or top house building c.1847. Early houses included those of
Timothy Davis and James M. Marsh, both built "up Couler Avenue in the direction of Eagle Point." As of 1860 it was
reported
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. S.S6l
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
124
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
There are some of the finest and most promising residences and gardens in our city to be found on the
Couler Ave. just above Smith's Brewery. Among these are Mr. Blocklinger's Peter Kiene's, Judge
King's and others all located on a natural terrace about halfway between the bottom of the Couler and
the top of the bluff.
Likely these are in the Broadway area. The first two named were raising grapes (Herald, September 19, 1860; 1880
county history, p. 525)
The 1880 county history links the arrival ofthe Illinois Central Railroad in 1855 with stimulating German
settlement in Dubuque:
The Germans began to come in and take upland for farms, gardens, etc. Manufacturing interests now
regarded as valuable. Couler Avenue was built up by the German element who toiled in the workshops
and saved their profits to be invested and lost in the financial crash impending... (1880 county history, p.
530).
The 1872 depiction shown above clearly indicates that settlement in the survey area first occurred west of
Washington and below 24th Street. Central (Couler) Avenue from the start was a mixed use arterial and included
commercial, industrial and residential land uses. There are no churches or schools apparent as yet. The fire station with
belfry is at 18th and Central and the frame German Congregational Church is immediately west of the firehouse on the
side of the bluff. There is a large property with a grove of trees located on the northwest comer of East 22nd and Jackson
streets. A major drainage parallels Elm Street to the south. Just visible at the lower (southeast) comer is the Milwaukee
Railroad roundhouse and shops. These yards employed many in the area.
A number of streets in the survey area were renamed over time:
OrilZinal Name Present Name
Coulter Avenue Central Avenue
Eagle Point Road East 22nd Street
Lake Garfield
Sanford Street East 24th Street
The principal German cultural institutions were located to the south of the survey area and the Shooting Park was
north of the city, out Central Avenue. A series oflarge German-owned breweries located along the west side of Central
Avenue. Later in the 19th century the survey area experienced an intensification of its German identity, most notably
with the construction of the Saengerbund Auditorium in 1896. This massive frame hall mirrored the then-popular "com
palaces" with its ornamentation. This $6,000 temporary exhibit hall housed the "German Day" events of October 16,
1902, described as "the grandest spectacle ever witnessed in Dubuque." The regional event featured a 13-block long
parade. The hall was demolished soon after this event, the operating cost exceeding the resources of the Saengerbund
organization (Dubuque Enterprise, September 28, October 12, 19, 1902; John Pate).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
125
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Saengerbund Auditorium, Southeast Corner Kauffman and Central avenues
Protestant German church congregations were formed as railroad expansion and nearby industrial growth
fostered neighborhood growth in the Couler Valley and in nearby Rhomberg to the northeast in the 1880s and 1890s.
Catholic parishes predominated in nearby Rhomberg where St. Mary's Parish produced two offspring parishes, Sacred
Heart (1879) and Holy Ghost (1896). In the Couler Valley St. John's Lutheran Church located its St. Peters mission
church at 20th and Elm streets' in 1885. That church was independent as of 1911. The Immanuel Congregational Church
used the bluff side frame church at 18th Street for 20 years before building a new edifice at the southwest corner of 18th
and Jackson streets in 1887. St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church relocated its frame building to the northwest corner
of East 20th and Jackson streets in 1878. A new building followed in 1890 and a school wing in 1925 (Lyon, pp. 218,
390-91,396).
Other Protestant German churches clustered immediately southwest of the survey area around Jackson Park.
These, as of 1884, included the German Presbyterian Church at Iowa and 17th streets. The imposing Gothic style German
Theological School was atop the bluff across the street to the north from this church. The German Methodist church
fronted on Clay (now Central Avenue) Street between 17th and 18th Streets. St. Mary's Catholic Church and school was
just three blocks south, at 15th and White Streets. St. Patrick's Catholic Church fronted north onto Jackson Park at Main
Iowa and 15th streets (1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
126
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
German Congregational Church, viewed northwest from 18th Street and Central Avenue (Wilkie, p. 325)
The 1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps indicate that the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad tracks ran
southwest above East 18th Street and turned south and followed Pine Street, accomplishing this turn just beyond the
southeast comer of the survey area. Numerous industrial buildings clustered just south of the survey area along East 18th
Street. These included Schepple's Flour Mill west of Pine Street and the Dubuque Furniture & Burial Case Company
which straddled Washington Street.
Central A venue was always a key commercial arterial in addition to its residential role. Central was the primary
streetcar line link to the shooting park, horse track, and other north Dubuque attractions. The tracks doubled back on
Jackson at East 32nd Street, rejoining the Central line along 24th Street. The Linwood Cemetery streetcar dogleg departed
Central along East 22nd Street. The Rhomberg line similarly left Central at East 20th Street. The streetcar bams were
located on the southwest comer of East 24th Street and Central from the inception of the streetcar service (Wilkie, p. 331).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
127
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
" ...
Nicholas Glab's Northern Brewery, southwest corner Central Avenue and Kauffman, early 1880s
(Center for Dubuque History, Nagle Collection)
As of 1881 Central Avenue north of East 18th Street was far from densely developed. Many lots remained vacant
and scattered frame buildings with protective fire breaks remained the rule. The west side of Central was particularly
undeveloped and dwellings predominated north of East 19th Street. Brick buildings and brick blocks were the exception.
Double dwellings were present, particularly along White and Jackson streets but they were not common. Anton Heeb's
Dubuque Brewery (later Glab's, shown above) was operating on Central Avenue. Two blocks north, on the west side of
Central, Schmid Brothers & Company Iowa Brewery operated south of the streetcar barn. The two-story beer hall
survives at **** Central. Dubuque Weiss Beer Company and later the Artesian Bottling Works used the same site till the
stone factory burned in 1945. The streets east of Central and north of East 22nd Street were only partly developed with
scattered small houses. The future Comiskey Park was a baseball park (Lyon, p. 402).
North Dubuque grew tremendously during 1887 in response to the completion of the Mississippi River highway
bridge, the addition of two additional railroads, and the extension of the streetcar service to Eagle Point. The Times
predicted the city's most prosperous year yet and added "In the upper portion of the city a grand transportation scene has
taken place inside of a year, and no less than 100 new residences are contemplated. As soon as the weather permits
lively building will be inaugurated. A notable improvement in the upper end of the city will be the opening of Lake
street from Couler avenue to Washington street. A row of tenement houses, it is expected, will be erected upon the new
street" (Times, February 27, 1887).
The 1891 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps documented seven years of growth in the survey area. Some rather
remarkable transformations were apparent in the southwest corner of the survey area. Central Avenue and White and
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
128
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-------
Washington streets were considerably more built up in just seven years. There were many more buildings and brick was
virtually predominant, reflecting a virtual complete makeover. Of particular note was the cutting through of several cross
streets. East 20th Street, then called Lake Street, was cut through between Central and Washington and St. Paul's new
church building was suddenly on a corner lot! East 2151 Street, then called Division was also cut through as far west as
Jackson Street. The Kauffman Street brewery remained in operation and the map still called it Heeb's although Heeb
was by then ten years in his grave. The Iowa Brewery and the Dubuque Street Railway Company Car House remained in
operation as well. The west side of Central was still only partly built up. The residential development north of East 2200
Street was denser but apparent vacant lots are likely large garden plots. Intensive lot usage is implied by complex
patterns of outbuildings, commonly arranged in a line along one side boundary line. Couler Avenue School stood just
east of the intersection of Central Avenue and Diagonal Street. Immediately south of the school was William
Springborn's Greenhouse. A new industrial presence was Morrison Brothers Boiler Factory, which occupied the north
end of its now extensive yards. The baseball grounds remained at the Cominsky park site, but grandstands now filled the
southwest corner of the block (1894 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps).
1895 Central Avenue, 1895
(Wilkie, p. 297, courtesy of Mrs. Marguerite Trudell Lucey)
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PS Form 10.900..
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
130
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State------
Present-day view (photo by James Jacobsen, Apri121, 2000)
Fifth storefront ri t from corner with bold t line survives
.)k;f~:Jz.7?;~~~>f<.\
East side of Central Avenue viewed to north from East 22M Street, c.1891
(Center for Dubuque History, Olinger-Mulgrew Collection)
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
131
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State--
Present day view (photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
Sixth building from right and side-gabled store in left rear survive.
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
132
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-----
.-
.... ~ ,.~.... .
Unidentified Catholic Parade, c.late 1880s, view northwest from East 22nd and White Streets
(Center for Dubuque History, Photo #4119)
Same view today, photo by Jim Jacobsen, taken March 7,2000
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
133
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State--
c.1884-85 overview looking east fromSeminary Hill (Shelby Street), St. Paul's Church is in center of image
(Center for Dubuque History, Photo #8878)
Present day view, photo by Jim Jacobsen, March 7, 2000
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
134
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue_ Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-----
c.1884-85 view :from present day Heeb Street, northeast across Kauffman (foreground) and Central Avenue
Both of the double houses along Kauffman survive, this view cannot be replicated due to trees and houses
(Center For Dubuque History)
PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
135
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue_ Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State--
c. 1884-85 stereoscopic view looking east across Central A venue from Heeb Street (Seminary Hill)
(Center for Dubuque History, Photo #1501, all buildings in foreground do not survive)
c. 1884-85 stereoscopic view looking east across Central Avenue from Heeb Street (Seminary Hill)
(Center for Dubuque History, Photo #1500, all buildings in foreground do not survive)
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
136
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-----
c. 1884-85 stereoscopic view looking northeast across Central Avenue from Heeb Street (Seminary Hill)
Eagle Point visible in background, Dubuque Brewery in left foreground
(Center for Dubuque History, Photo #1499)
Present day view of Photo #1499 shown above, photo by Jim Jacobsen, March 7, 2000
PS Form 1 0-900-8
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
137
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State------
General Descriptive Observations. Phase I Survey Area:
The Couler Valley residences are primarily of frame construction and f01.mdations are most commonly of local
limestone. Brick construction accoWlts for perhaps 10-15 percent of the total. It is surprising that there is so little all-
stone construction. Just one example was found.
The range of vernacular types fOWld in the survey area is described in Section F and the eligibility
recommendations appear in Section H of this report. What is particularly striking about the residences in the survey area
is their density, shallow setbacks and the occasional off-square siting or massing of some buildings. A few quaint
examples survive.
2531,2535 Washington Street (photo by Jim Jacobsen, March 7, 2000)
The example shown above is an extreme one, but it illustrates the "cheek and jowl" placement of some houses.
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PS Form 10-900..
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number E
Page
138
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State------
2540 and 2538 Jackson Street (photo by Jim Jacobsen, March 7, 2000)
In this example, the north side wall of2538 Jackson is actually in line with the south side wall of2540 Jackson
(left). The entry to the rear wing of 2540 is gained by the sidewalk which runs across the front yard of2538.
2562 Washington, view northeast, property includes both frontages center and left in "U"plan
(photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
139
The Architectural and Historical Resources of DubuQue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-
Associated Property Types:
Five property types are defined for use Wlder this multiple property documentation form; the detached single
family house, the multiple-family house (duplex or larger), commercial properties, industrial properties, and districts.
Architectural type and style as it relates to the first four property types, is discussed below. The significance and
registration requirements for each property type is then treated.
Vernacular and Stylisticly InftuencedHouse/Cottage Sub-Types/Styles:
This typology of residential styles and types is based primarily upon Virginia and Lee McAlesters' A Field
Guide To American Houses (New York: Alfred. A. Knopf, Inc., 1984). Theirs is a generally accepted comprehensive
stylistic typology. They also simplify the number and range of accepted styles and some styles will not appear separately
but have been consolidated into a larger stylistic category.
This typology attempts to distinguish type and style. The same property can frequently be analyzed from the
?erspective of type andlor style and this can cause confusion. Some house types are treated as styles by some typologies.
The Cape Cod cottage for example is frequently subsumed Wlder Colonial Revival style and is not separately defined as a
recognizable type. This approach is used here. This typological approach assumes that style will be emphasized when
there is a predominance of stylistic attributes present in a property and vernacular or type related attributes will be
stressed absent a strong stylistic presence.
Some properties will fall through the cracks, failing to fit any category in the typology. Alterations since
construction explain some of these. Idiosyncratic design and building tastes likely explain most of these. These
exceptions are not unimportant and they might represent the work of a particular builder/designer or my hint at
interesting local building patterns and traditions. Care must be taken before these "outlyers" are simply combined into
other categories and are consequently lost.
A great many of the Dubuque residential example properties were first architecturally categorized by Lawrence
Sommer in his 1975 Dubuque study titled The Herita2e of Dubuoue. Sommer's work still stands the test of time and
plans are underway for a reprinting of this book. Sommer was particularly sensitive to the importance of Dubuque's
vernacular architecture at a time when such an interest was fairly in its infancy. Sommer in fact noted "Perhaps more
important than different styles in establishing the city's character, were the unifying elements of similar scale, mass,
color and materials found on hundreds oflocal buildings." Sommer's examples will be shamelessly copied in this
typology and any substantial supplement to his good labors will be made in the vernacular categories (Sommer, p. 113).
For the most part only surviving "best" examples are illustrated Wlder each classification. There is no
comprehensive stylistic listing for Dubuque's properties and it is the purpose of this typology to simply define the range
of each type and style and to establish a standard by which a property can be architecturally classified.
RomanticStyle Houses, 1820-1880:
The romantic styles represented a conscious avoidance of things English following a hard-won independence.
The Greek Revival style was the first of several romantic styles and it enjoyed the most enduring popularity. Beginning
c.1840 other styles with Medieval and Italian origins were introduced and successively rose and fell in popular esteem.
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PS Form 10-900-.
IRev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
140
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State--
Both the Gothic and ltalianate styles persisted beyond the Civil War years and would be reinterpreted as Victorian era
styles during the 1880s (McAlester, p. 178).
AdamIFederal Stvl~ 178O-c.1840:
This national style had largely receded in popularity by the time of Dubuque's founding but McAlester states that
it continued to be built as late as 1840. Most commonly this style utilized a two or three-story rectangular core with a
centered entrance on its long dimension, and a side gablelhip roof form. A simple formal entryway, usually with
elliptical arch and fanlight highlighting and classical surround or portico was the only variation of an otherwise plain and
symmetrical fayade.
Six variations of this style occur:
1. Side-gabled/roof: This subtype is the most commonplace with four of six examples representing it.
888 Yale Court (*date) (photo Sommer, p. 135).
Herancourt House (888 Yale Court, *date, self-built) combines Georgian symmetry with ltalianate influences.
Window lintels are either of stone or cast iron (photo Sommer, p. 135).
2 Hipped roof, two-story: Primarily a New England subtype.
690 Fenelon Place (c.1865) (photo, Sommer, p. 135)
Cunningham House (690 Fenelon Place, c.1865, unidentified architect) features a notable cut stone lintel above
its entryway and rectangular transom lights (photo, Sommer, p. 135).
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
141
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQue Countv. Iowa
County and State--
710 Fenelon Place (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 135)
Cox House (710 Fenelon Place, *date, unidentified architect) is a pure example of the style. The classical porch
if original warrants further investigation (photo, Sommer, p. 135)
3 Hipped roof, three-story: Primarily a New England subtype.
4 Centered Gable: One of ten examples has this feature, either set flush with the fa9ade or projecting in pavilion form.
5 Town House:
40 Clarke Drive (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 79)
40 Clarke Drive (*date) combines Adams and ltalianate (windows) as well as a late-date classical porch in a
more vernacular townhouse plan (Sommer, p. 79).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
142
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Count".. Iowa
County and State--
1129-31 White Street (*date) (photo, Sommer, p.79)
1129-31 White Street (*date) is a vernacular double house version of the Adams townhouse subtype (Sommer,
p.79).
1100-34 Locust Street (*date) (photo, Downtown Walking Tour)
1100-34 Locust Street (*date) said to comprise three separately constructed houses following the same design.
1132 Locust was the residence of notable U.s. Senator William B. Allison, veteran of 46 years of service in the
Senate (Downtown Walking Tour).
1215 Washington Street (*date) contains three houses in a single rowhouse massing. Only the center unit retains
its twin dormers.
General Warner Lewis-John T. Adams House (325 Alpine Street, 1854, c.1904, unidentified architects, *get
original photo) represents a post-1900 ltalianate Revival recasting of what was originally a Federal design. The
alterations are so substantial as to preclude consideration of the house as an example of this much earlier style.
A full-width porch (sidewings added to a central portico), balcony and cross gable, and large square
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
143
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State--
hipped belvedere were aU added. The chimney (or chimneys) are now located on the endwaUs. Most northern
Federal examples utilized central interior chimneys although the remodeling could have changed the chimney
location(s). See under Italianate, below (Sommer, pp. 63, 65).
Greek Revival Stvle.. 1825-60:
The Greek Revival style was nationally dominant from 1830-50 and it was also called the "National Style"
accordingly. It persists as late as 1860 in areas which enjoyed rapid development in the pre-Civil War years. It died out
with the economic downturn of the late 18505 and the coming of the war (Ibid., p. 182).
This style employed a low-pitched gable or hip roof in either a side gable or front gable orientation. Greek
temple design is reflected in a two-part broad band which runs beneath the eavesline and substantial round or square
columns which support a centered entry or full-width front porch. The trim band consists of a frieze (top) and an
architrave (lower). Columns are usually Doric in style. The front door is commonly highlighted by flanking sidelights
and a transom light. Transoms are rectangular (not in the Georgian fanlight form).
There are six subtypes of the Greek Revival style (Ibid., pp. 178-79):
1.
1204 Mount Loretta (photo, Sommer, p. 50)
1204 Mount Loretta Avenue (***date) is a porchless example of this subtype although McAlester does not allow
for the absence of a porch. This plan combines ltalianate rounded window arches with Greek Revival returned
eaves and a rectangular entrance transom light (Sommer, p. 50-51).
2. Side gablelhip v.rith full-height entry porch. Like subtype #1 above, the entry porch is less than full v.ridth.
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PS Form 10-900..
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
144
The Architectural and Historical Resources of DubuQue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQUe Countv. Iowa
County and State--
Solon Langworthy House (1856) (drawing by Carl H. Johnson, Sommer, p. 48)
Solon Langworthy House (264 Alpine Street, 1856) is an excellent example of this subtype. The plan is oriented
not to the street address but rather towards the river. A wing has been added but the core house retains its design
integrity .
3. Side gablelhip with full width and full height front porch. There is no pediment above the porch. The porch roof is
either a flat separate extension from the fayade or it is integral to the main roof. The porch can wrap around the plan.
This subtype is more common in the South.
Joseph A. Rhomberg House (508 West 7th Street, 1856) originally featured wrap-around porches and a rooftop
belvedere. The house was colonialized probably prior to W odd War I and four full-height tapered round
columns and a bracketted eavesline were substituted for its Greek Revival elements. Consequently this
prominent blufftop residence no longer represents its original style (Sommer, p. 46).
Welbas House, 2615 Hillcrest Road (***date) and 3035 Pennsylvania Avenue (***date) offer similar porch
replacements (Sommer, p. 51).
4. Front gable with optional full-v.-idth colonnaded porch or a centered entry porch. This subtype is particularly
common in the Northeast and Midwest.
5. Gable front with subordinate side wing or wings. This subtype is rare in the Midwest.
6. Town house with straight pediment, with optional porch.
*Sommer offers other style examples including 2452 Broadway, 713 Lincoln, 1323-25 Bluff and 1163 Highland. The
first two appear to be ltalianate examples. A review of the other examples will categorize them.
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
145
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuq.ue County. Iowa
County and State-
Gothic Revival Stvle. 1840-1880:
This picturesque style had its origins in England in 1749 and was a reinterpretation of Medieval architectural
themes. The first American example dates to 1832 and was the work of architect Alexander Jackson Davis, the initial
promoter of the style. He published the first known plan book in 1837 which he used to present three-dimensional
examples of his work. Architect Andrew Jackson Downing carried the promotional effort on a broader scale beginning
in 1850. The Gothic Revival was particularly appropriate for a picturesque rural cottage setting and it was ill-adapted to
construction on a narrow town lot. The style persisted in popularity through 1865 and it was commonly employed during
the Civil War years in military chapels, officer's quarters and military installations. It was also popular for public
settings such as parks, cemeteries and fairgrounds (Ibid., p. 200).
The style was built in six subtypes (Ibid., pp. 196-97):
1. Side gable/hip with centered cross gable: The profile is symmetrical. The cross gable can project in a wing form and
it is sometimes flanked by side dormers which are either subordinate or of equal size. One of three examples
employs this subtype.
2. This subtype has the same form of subtype #1 but offers two cross gables of equal size. They too can project to form
shallow front wings.
No surviving examples found in Dubuque.
3. Front gable with or without cross gables on the sides of the roof.
No surviving examples found in Dubuque.
4. L-shaped asymmetrical plan and cross gable roof. Secondary cross gables can be employed and square towers are
commonly placed in the comer of house core and wing after 1860.
863 West 5th Street (date) (photo, Sommers, p. 57)
863 West 5th Street (*date?) is a late-date example of this Gothic Revival subtype.
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
146
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv'. Iowa
County and State---
1207 Prairie Street (date) (photo, Sommer, p. 57)
1206 Prairie Street (*date?). This house has been resided with either a masonite or asbestos shingle siding but its
windows and perforated bargeboards remain intact (Sommers, p. 57).
5. Flat roof with castellated or parapeted wall treatment. More truly Medieval in derivation, churches more commonly
utilized this subtype.
Dubuque Female College (*address, 1854) is a considerably altered example of this subtype. The building is an
amazing surviver and it has successively housed the college (founded as a result of funding by the noted Beecher
family of New England), a public high school (1862+), the Episcopalian Lee Female Seminary (1864+), the
Presbyterian Theological School (1872+), Catholic Immaculate Conception School (1907+) and Lady of Lourdes
Nursing Horne. The towers lost their onion domes and the pointed windows were infilled and Rornanized. The
castleated parapet walls have also been lost. Originally the side wings were single story in height so the overall
massing stepped up from the ends to the center of the plan (Sommer, pp. 54-55).
Dubuque Female College Building (1854) (photo, Sommer, p. 54)
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
147
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-
Cathedral of Saint Raphael (1857:"59,1878) (photo, Tourist Guide of Dubuque, p. 31)
Cathedral of San Raphael (231 Bluff Street, 1857-59, 1878, architect John Mullany) is in Sommer's opinion, one
of the state's best Gothic Revival examples and the most important Dubuque building constructed during the
1850s. The tower was originally intended to stand 300 feet above ground but these plans were scaled down when
construction began, the fmished tower being completed in 1876. Stained glass windows followed in 1886, four
bells in 1897, and the replacement organ, said to be the largest in Iowa, were installed in 1919. Gebhard noted
the lancet window at the tower base as being a most unusual component. This is the third cathedral of this name.
The stain glass windows were installed in 1866 and were imported from England. The cathedral occupies a
specia11ocation at the west end of the broad 2lld Street (Sommer, pp. 51-52; Gebhard, p. 84).
Loras Academy (Loras Avenue, 1854, unidentified architect) was built for use as a marine hospital, the first in
the city. Gebhard sees range of styles from Victorian Gothic to Second Empire with the latter being visually
dominant (Sommer, p. 89; Gebhard, p. 91).
6. Polychromed examples which utilize any of the above forms. This use of contrasting horizontal bands was most
common in examples built after 1865.
Italianate Stvle4 1840-85:
The popularity of this style coincided with the explosive new growth of Midwestem urban centers and
the style is consequently well represented in that region. Like the Gothic Revival, this picturesque style was
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
148
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State----
developed first in England and was an attempt to emulate the rambling Italian farmhouse/villa. The earliest American
examples date to the late 1830s. Architect Andrew Downing also promoted this style nationally and the Italianate was
dominant over the Gothic Revival by 1860. It reigned nationally until the financial panic of 1873. Two sub-phases have
been distinguished. A simpler plain phase lasted until the late 1850s and what is termed "High Victorian ltalianate," a
much more elaborated range of designs, closed out the style (Ibid., p. 212).
This style was rarely a single story in height, but commonly had two or three stories. The usually hipped roof
has a low profile and broad overhanging eaves and the eaves are supported by exaggerated and ornate brackets.
Windows are narrow and are commonly arched with stylized hoods. Cupolas or square towers are also frequently
incorporated (Ibid., p. 211).
Six subtypes are differentiated within this style:
1.
1192 Locust (1854-55, 1860) (photo, Sommers, p. 66)
Frederick Weigel House (1192 Locust Street, 1854-55, 1860, architect possibly Robert Rogers, contractor Rufus
Rittenhouse). Five generations of the same family have occupied this property. A simple brick addition with
low profile hip roof and a belvedere was added to an earlier residence (Sommer, pp. 65-66).
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
149
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State--
1453-55 Main Street, double house (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 90)
1453-55 Main (*date, unidentified architect) represents a number of Dubuque ltalianate style double houses.
These have hip or gable roofs. Other excellent examples are found at 324-26 Locust Street and 1257 Locust
Street. Like their Second Empire counterparts, the latter designs employ flanking broad full-height bays which
project around a shared bracketted portico (Sommer, pp. 90-91).
597 Loras Boulevard (1855-60, unidentified architect) is a more elaborate and larger frame example of this
subtype. Fenestration is symmetrical and side windows are paired and set above five-sided single-story bay
windows. The porch is full-width with an enclosed solarium (Ibid., p. 66; Gebhard, p. 91).
389 Hill Street (*date, unidentified architect) is classified by Sommer as Georgian Revival but it combines
Georgian symmetry with ltalianate features including a belvedere atop a hip roof. Windows are rectangular
without decorative hoods, which is a Georgian feature (Sommer, p. 137).
2441 Broadway Street (*date, unidentified architect) is also termed Georgian Revival by Sommer but it likely
had a belvedere and its window hoods are ltalianate dervived. The classical portico is likely a Neoclassical
alteration (Sommer, p. 137).
Scott-Wilson House (732 Fenelon, 1857, unidentified architect, *need photo) combines a broader Georgian
fayade with ltalianate brackets and a belvedere (Downtown Walking Tour).
Co!. D. E. Lyon House (10th and Bluff streets, *date) is three stories high and has distinctive cast or carved
window hoods. The porch is not original and there is an indication that the windows have been shortened or that
one second floor window was once a door (DowntoVvn Walking Tour)
2. The centered gable subtype is based upon a hip or side gable core. Commonly the cross gable is incorporated into a
shallow central wing.
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PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-86l
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number f
Page
150
The ArchitectUral and Historical Resources of Dubuoue_ Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuqJre County. Iowa
County and State---
325 Alpine Street (1854/1900+) (photo, Sommer, p. 65)
General Warner Levvis-John T. Adams House (325 Alpine Street, 1854, 1904, unidentified architects) represents
a very late post-1900 ltalianate Revival make over of a Federal design. The alterations make this an ltalianate
rather than a Federal design and they likely coincided vvith John Adam's purchase in 1904. Adams was president
of Carr, Ryder and Adams Company, a nationally significant millwork firm but he was nationally important as a
Republican Party leader during the early 20th century. This example is exception given its very late date and its
evoking of the ltalianate theme. There are some minimal hints of the Colonial Revival in the porch lines and the
bulls-eye window and Gebhard interprets remodeling as a Colonial reinterpretation (Sommer, pp. 63, 65;
Gebhard, p. 91).
Mathias Ham House (1839, 1857) (Carl Johnson drawing, Sommer, p- 64)
Mathias Ham House (2241 Lincoln Avenue, 1839, 1857, unidentified architect) represents a stone ltalianate style
addition to a much smaller 1839 side gable Greek Revival style stone house. The two-story front with attic and
octagonal belvedere was built of limestone brought north from Nauvoo, Illinois. Purportedly it saw its first use
in the famous Nauvoo Mormon Temple. The Ham house design presents multiple centered gables. Separate
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
151
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State--
Gothic porches are centered beneath each gable. The angles dormer was a 1920s alteration (Sommer, p. 63;
Gebhard, pp. 88-89).
- I
890 West Third (c.1ate 186Os) (photo, A Walking Tour.. . South Dubuque)
Jacob K. Rich-Spahn House (890 West Third, c.1ate 186Os, unidentified architect) has lost its full-width front
verandah (A Walking Tour...South Dubuque)
3. Asymmetrical L or U plan with hip or cross gable roof form. Towers are not employed.
First WardlPrescott School (13th and Central streets, 1857, John Rague, architect)
(photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
Largely ignored and altered in its fenestration, the First Ward School is a rare and very early example of a ward
school. Its significance is bolstered by its noted designer. The decorative cornice with parapets has been removed and its
Vlrindows shortened. Note the round attic light, the massive central chimney and the irregular plan.
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
152
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-
1163 Highland Place (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 83)
1295, 1245, 1163 Highland Place (*dates?, unidentified architect(s)) are three very similar L-plan examples of
this subtype. All front towards the city and river from the bluff front. Each has a bracketted eavesline, the most
elaborate of which is found on 1163 Highland Place. The three plans all have wrap-around porches but the 1163
Highland Place porch is of classical derivation with Ionic columns. Sommer sees a multitude of vernacular,
Second Empire, Queen Anne and Italianate design influences in these plans but ltalianate predominates.
Construction dates will clarify the Queen Anne role. Porches might represent replacements and stylistic updates
(Sommer, pp. 79, 83).
St. Raphael Cathedral Parish House (231 Bluff, 1858, unidentified architect) presents a symmetrical main fayade
but two successive south-facing wings make the overall plan asymmetrical (A Walking Tour. .. South Dubuque).
4. Subset #3 with a tower placed on the front or side of the plan. Most commonly it marks the juncture point of core
and wing.
Ryan Houses, 1375 (left, 1866) and 1389 (1870 ) Locust Street
(drawing by Carl Johnson, Sommer, p. 73)
PS Form 10-900-.
fRev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
153
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State---
What are now termed the "Ryan Houses" are probably the most recognized historic homes in the city. They
certainly represent the best of the Italianate style in Dubuque. They have received constant promotion
particularly in the most recent decades, especially following the establishment of the Ryan House restaurant
(*date). These properties are respectively the William Ryan and John Thompson houses and each is described
below.
William Ryan House (1389 Locust Street, c.1870, John M. Van Osdell architect) represents the successful meat
packing industry which Ryan established in Dubuque during the Civil War. This house is less elaborate than its
next-door neighbor. The roof is low-pitched and combines hip and gable forms (Sommer, pp. 71-72; Gebhard,
pp. 85-86).
John Thompson House (1375 Locust Street, 1866, John M. Van Osde1 architect) was built by a city mayor and
embodies the most ornate and purest design elements of the Italianate style. It also borrows from the then
popular Second Empire in its use of a Mansard roof attic treatment with dormers. This house is larger in plan, is
taller due to the Mansard cap, and employs window groupings, overstated window hoods, elaborate bays and
highly decorated and glassed porches. The Ryan family purchased it in 1888 and owned it until the 186Os. It has
recently served as a noted restaurant (Sommer, pp. 71-72; Gebhard, p. 85).
581 Clarke Drive (1872-75) (photo Sommer, p. 102)
Dr. Ernest M. Porter House (581 Clarke Drive, 1872-75, unidentified architect) is of some historical interest
because its construction was greatly delayed by the financial panic of 1873. It represents of the the later
examples of a purer Italianate style in Dubuque. Note the paired windows with rounded hoods and the elaborate
attic dormers. Like many plans this one incorporates a Second Empire mansard attic treatment. The tower too is
surely one of the most elaborate to be found in the city, it too utilizes the "S" profile of the mansard roof
(Sommer, pp. 102-03).
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
154
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuqp.e. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State----
1133 Highland Place (*date) (photo, Sommer, p- 106)
1133 Highland Place (*date) combines an ltalianate core with Queen Anne bays. It most likely represents a
substantial remodeling (Sommer, p. 106).
Joseph J. Steil House (541 West Third Street, 1870s, unidentified architect) was constructed to house the Ladies'
Episcopal Seminary. The plan has a gabled roof, L-shaped plan and a corner tower. The bluff front location
offers an overview of river and city. It was built for use as the Ladies Episcopal Seminary (Sommer, pp. 71-72).
1330 Locust Street (***date, unidentified architect) (Sommer, p. 72)
1871 North Main, *get photo, (Sommer, p. 72)
333 Villa Street *get photo, (Sommer, p. 72)
5. Front gable with detailing.
1221 University Avenue (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 78)
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
155
The Architectural and Historical Resources of DubuqJle. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQUe County. Iowa
County and State-
1221 University Avenue (*date) presents a vernacular Italianate design. Only the narrow windows with their
decorative stone hoods classify it as Italianate. The double door has rectangular transom lights set above it
(photo, Sommer, p. 78)
Dubuque City Hall (southwest comer Iowa and 13= streets, 1857-58, architect Jo1m F. Rague, building, Jo1m D.
Aubry, Second Empire bell tower) is a rare commercial example of the Italianate style. This three story edifice
features elongated windows, bracketted eaves, and an ornate cupola (top removed in 1954, restored in ****).
Typical of many mid-century commercial buildings, this one employs a projecting structural column and broad
round arch wall plane with recessed brick/window recessed panel inserts. This effect lightens the massing of the
building and places emphasis on its vertical detailing. This effect was originally heightened by the presence of
six chimneys which were spaced along each side wall (Sommer, p. 59; Gebhard, pp. 87-88).
City Hall (1857-58) original appearance (photo, Sommer, p. 59)
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
156
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa.. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State---
Bishop's Block (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 90)
Bishop's Block (First and Main streets,*date, unidentified architect) represents an massive late date ltalianate
commercial design. Like City Hall, brick pilasters and paired window arches frame recessed wan panels within
each vertical bay. The corner turret is particularly impressive as are the surviving finials which cap each pilaster
(photo, Sommer, p. 90-91).
6. Town house with straight bracketted pediment, flat or low pitched roof form. Window treatments identify this
subset_
PS Form 10-900'a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
157
-
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-
975 Locust Street (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 91)
975 Locust Street (*date, unidentified architect) is actually a grouping of three double houses with end pediments
and crestings which highlight the bays (Sommer, p. 91).
340 Wartburg Place (*date, unidentified architect) is classed by Sommer as Georgian Revival but its twin bays,
and semi-elliptical stone arches and bracketted eaves argue for the ltalianate. It is side-gabled and has the same
townhouse plan as the examples above although it is a single family plan.Its entryway has been altered and a
Neoclassical rounded dormer has been added (Sommer, p. 137).
Commercial ltalianate Examples:
401 Locust Street (pre-l 884, *need photo) housed the city's first permanent fire station. Thin round arched 2/2 windows
reflect this style. The cornice line is formed with an arcade of brick piers and rounded arches (A Walking Tour..South
Dubuque).
169-85 Main Street (*dates) comprises several separate buildings which retain ornate cornice lines and window hoods (A
Walking Tour.. . South Dubuque).
Commercial Building (second north from southeast corner 9th and Central streets, *date, unidentified architect)
with Italianate "flavor" (Gebhard, p. 82).
Exotic Revivals. E~"ptian. Oriental and Swiss Chalet. 1835-c.1890:
These three uncommon styles are all contemporaneous picturesque styles but otherwise were distinct styles
(Ibid., pp. 230-232).
The Egyptian style derived its popularity from Napoleon's late 18th century invasion of Egypt. It was very rarely
applied to domestic designs but is more common in public building design. The style is most commonly reflected in the
use of massive flared "bundled" columns and in the use of flared comers and elaborate window surrounds.
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
158
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQUe Countv. Iowa
County and State--
The Oriental is commonly a decorative theme applied to an Italianate villa core. Ogee arches on porches or
Turkish onion domes identify the stylistic influence.
The very rare Swiss Chalet style utilized a broad front gable core and a second floor balustrade or balcony.
Greek or Gothic Revival decorative influences intermixed with Swiss stick work..
E~tian Style. 1830-50:
Dubuque County Jail (1857-58) fayade to left, view southeast
(photo, Horton, Early Architecture in Dubuque, p. 141)
Dubuque County Jail (southeast comer Central and 811l streets, 1857-58, John F. Rague architect) is said to be the
last example of this style built in the nation. The construction of this public building coincides with the national
financial panic of 1857-58 so this design and the building represent the highest aspirations for the city's growth
during what suddenly became a period of fmancial retrenchment. Its rarity of style makes this the city's most
significant building design overal1. This is Iowa's only example of this style in a jail form (Sommer, p. 58;
Gephard, pp. 81-2).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
159
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque_ Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubu<uJe County. Iowa
County and State-
County Jail Door Detail (photo, Horton, Ibid.)
Octa~on Type/Stvle. 1850-1870:
This style employed an eight-sided form and most commonly a two-story core with centered cupola. The form
utilzed all of the contemporary stylistic influences in its ornamentation. New Yorker Oren S. Fowler single-handedly
promoted the type in a series of plan books beginning in 1849. He advocated the form for its additional living space,
improved light and ventilation. He also promoted pounded earth or concrete construction in conjunction with his house
form (Ibid., pp. 235-37).
Langworthy Octagon House (1857) (photo, Tourist Guide of Dubuque, p. 14)
The Edward Langworthy Octagon House (1095 Third Street, 1857, architect John Rague) is one ofa handful of
surviving Iowa examples of this rare house type. It is unusual in that is built of locally produced soft red brick. This was
Dubuque's second octagon, its predecessor fell to the \\'Tecking ball in 1932. The Langworthy house has been
documented by the Historic American Building Survey (1934) and is National Register listed. Octagon forms were
deficient in their interior room layouts. The Langworthy example utilized a full-length central hall and parlor which
filled half of the main floor (Sommer, p. 60; Gebhard, pp. 91-92).
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PS Form 10.900..
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
160
-
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State--
The Mathias Ham house at Eagle Point (1857) employed an octagonal belvedere. Another unusual, though much
later, octagonal structure is the octagonal tower base found on the First United Presbyterian Church (l-rt' and Iowa
streets, 1880s) which is otherwise ofa later Gothic design (Sommers, pp. 63, 87, 89).
Victorian Era House, 1860-1900; The Second Empire, Victorian Gothic, Queen Anne, and
Richardsonian Romanesque styles.
This architectural era was largely based upon Medieval designs but classical influences were also strongly
represented. Designs celebrated textural and color variations and asymmetry of form. Stylistic influences were freely
intermixed and consequently stylistic categories are less meaningful than they were for the Romantic era. After 1876
there was a resurgence of interest in the Federal! Adams and Georgian styles and these would set the stage for the
successor styles which appeared c.l900 (McAlester, p 239).
Second Empire Stvl~ 1855-1885:
This style enjoys the visual dominance of the Mansard roof form, a French-derived attic treatment which allowed
for livable upper level space. No other Victorian style as so singular an identifier. The roof form is accompanied by
molded cornice lines and decorative brackets set beneath the eaves.
This largely urban style was particularly popular during the 1870s and leant itself to rowhouse and multi unit
residential buildings. Hotels and other commercial buildings greatly favored the style during these years. Simply
defined, this style placed a mansard roof on an Italianate base, effectively adding a full floor. The style appears along the
Mississippi River by the early 1850s but reached its greatest popularity during the middle 1870s in the Midwest.
The first Victorian era style, the Second Empire found its inspiration in the rebuilding of Paris which followed
the restoration of the French monarchy. McAlester note that in America it coincided with the first post-Civil War
administration and was known as the "General Grant" style. The style is purported to have developed in Paris as a tax
avoidance practice, the Mansard attic space not being counted as livable and therefore taxable space. Accordingly this
mansard level is usually well lighted with richly ornamented windows. The style was a victim of the economic panic of
1873 although it appears to have persisted as a domestic style into the next decade (McA1ester, p. 241).
This style is particularly prone to loss due to remodeling if only because its combination flat and steep side roof
is hard to maintain and because its examples are frequently multi unit or late date conversions.
There are five subtypes for this style although Dubuque appears to favor one that McAlester fails to identify.
This is a twin-full-height bay plan without a tower. It is particularly favored for the Townhouse variant (see 1100-1150
Main and 1631-33 Main) but it also is found in a free-standing house plan, the best example being 1491 Main Street, the
Behr Funeral Home (*date, unidentified architect) (Sommer, p. 97).
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
161
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State--
1491 Main Street (c. 1875) (photo, Sommer, p. 97)
Young House (1491 Main Street, c.1875, Fridolin Heer Sr. architect) has a Indiana limestone fayade and a
splendidly carved 15th Street frontage (photo, Sommer, p. 97; Gebhard, p. 86).
1. Simple uniterrupted mansard roof form on a rectangular or square core form. Fenestration is symmetrical and
utilizes a three or five-bay cadence with centered 0 . Centered c las also appear in some examples.
652 Needham Place (>Iodate) (photo Sommer, p. 99)
652 Needham Place (*date) is a cottage example of the style and of this subtype. Its narrow rectangular plan is
fronted to the street. There is a separate full-width front porch and a bay/dormer wing on the south sidewall
(Sommer, p. 99).
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PS Form 10-9oo-s
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
162
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque_ Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-----
1025 Walnut Street (*date) (drawing by Carl Jolmson, Sommer, p. 109)
1025 Walnut Street (*date) actually incorporates a tower base onto a rectangular plan. The design is notable for
its delicate porch detailing (Sommer, p. 107).
Dennis Cooley House (1394 Locust Street, c.1866, unidentified architect) has strong historical associations \\-ith
city women's organizations. Cooley was its second owner. The house has lost its centered belvedere or tower,
rooftop iron cresting, and its full-width front porch (Downtown Walking Tour.. .).
Alfred Tredway House (1182 Locust Street, late 1 870s, Fridolin Heer architect) is associated with the Iowa Iron
Works and Dubuque Boat and Building Works. It likely has gained front porches, bays and a side solarium
(Downtown Walking Tour...).
PS Form 10.900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
163
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Count\'. Iowa
County and State---
757 West Third Street (1850) (photo, A Walking Tour...South Dubuque).
John King-Barmeier House (757 West Third Street. 1850, unidentified architect) has historical associations with
the state's first newspaper editor. The house contains 16 rooms and three fireplaces (A Walking Tour...South
Dubuque).
2. As above with a centered wing/gable set above the entrance. The wing repeats the mansard form.
3. Asymmetrical plan without a tower.
Robinson-Lacy House (1878) (drawing by Carl Johnson, Sommer, p. 88)
Robinson-Lacy House (1640 Main Street. 1878, Fridolin Heer Sr. architect) is the premier Dubuque Second
Empire design. This massively built house exemplifies all of the attributes of this style (Sommer, p. 92;
Gebhard, p. 86).
Jesse P. Farley House (605 Bluff Street. 1879, architect Franklin D. Hyde) survives today as the southernmost
portion of the Mary of the Angels Home. The house has lost its original Moorish porch but it is othernise clearly
recognizable. Farley "vas three-time city mayor, was the capitalist partner in the Farley & Loetscher Millwork
Company and was a railroad promoter. He fmally was bankrupted by his loss of a Supreme Court ruling that
went against him in 1892. Three additions (1899, 1911, 1929) designed by two other architects, (Guido Beck,
Fridolin Heer) all continued to honor the original style (Ibid., pp. 94, 96; Gebhard, p. 83).
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PS Form 1 0-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No_ 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
164
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuoue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuoue Countv. Iowa
County and State---
1611 Main Street (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 99)
1611 Main Street (*date, unidentified architect) is another elaborate and well preserved example of this subtype.
563 West Eleventh Street (*date, unidentified architect) (Sommer, p. 98).
Bethany House (original portion is the Christian Loetscher House) (1005 Lincoln Street, *date, unidentified
architect) has a single-off-center bay/wing and a full-width front porch (Sommer, p. 98).
Hattie Scott House (788 Fenelon, 1880, unidentified architect) is an unsual Second Empire design. Its narrow
end of an L-plan is fronted to the street and there is an elongated side porch. The front features a two-story bay
and dormer tower base (A Walking Tour.. . South Dubuque).
4. Any of the above vvith a centered or offset square tower. Three often examples are of this subtype.
1651 White Street (*date, photo Sommer, p_ 97)
PS Form 10.900..
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
165
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa.. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State---
1651 White Street (*date, unidentified architect) is a smaller example of the style. It is noteworthy for its corner
tower and belvedere (Sommer, p. 97).
One tower survives without its building. The second city clock (1873, architect Fridolin Heer Sr.) was set atop a
three-story "Ruskinan Gothic" building at the corner of Eighth and Ninth streets. The remnant incluses the tower
base, the clock component and the only standing seam metal mansard tower roof with round windows in the city.
In 1967 it was moved to Clock Tower Plaza and has occupied its present tower site since 1971. Gebhard
identifies Barton and Aschrnan Associates as the replacement tower designers. He also notes that the clock's
weather vane cast iron key, now lost, read "key to the city" (Sommer, p. 99, 107; Gebhard, p. 84).
5. The townhouse subtype with mansard roof in lieu of a pediment front.
1631-33 Main Street (*Photo?)
Immaculate Conception School, Davis Street, in conjunction with the S1. Francis Convent constitute one of the
largest examples of the style in Dubuque (Sommer, p. 97)
1100-1150 Main (*date) (photo, Sommer, p.98)
1100-1150 Main Street (*date, unidentified architect) comprises a three-part assemblage of six rowhouses. Two
of the projecting bays feature mansard towers while four do not (Sommer, p. 98).
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
166
The Architectural and Historical Resources of DubuQue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State----
1025-37 Locust Street (*date, unidentified architect) combines three rowhouses in a single unified frontage with
vertical differentiations present only at the mansard attic level. Each house frontage exhibits twin elaborate attic
dormers (Downtown Walking Tour).
Double house examples are found on Clarke Drive, Rhomberg, Central, Jackson, Washington and White streets
(Sommer, p. 97).
701 Bluff Street (*date, Thomas T. Carkeek architect) was built by George W. Healey (see drawing p. 95)
(Sommer, p. 96).
Other examples (not classified pending evaluation of photos)
S1. Co1urnbkille's School, Rush Street (older portion)
S1. Francis Convent, Davis Street
1450 Iowa
1552 Locust Street
489 Loras Avenue
Loras Academy (Loras Avenue, 1878-82)
II-B. Victorian Gothic (1860-1890):
This style is distinguished by the presence of polychromatic horizontal bandings which are formed by the use of
contrasting materials and colors in the building exterior fmish. For residences plain stucco is used in addition to the more
common brick. The same Gothic trimwork of the Gothic Revival persists but straight headed windows are used along
with the pointed arch form.
This style leant itself to the design of many picturesque churches especially those of frame construction.
Institutional (armories, public buildings) and commercial structures also favored the style_ The style's elements are also
commonly found in vernacular house types.
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
167
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubulVle County. Iowa
County and State--
1207 Grove Terrace (1890) (drawing by Carl Johnson, Sommer, p. 56)
Benton M. Harger House (1207 Grove Terrace, 1890, unidentified architect). Built too late to exemplify the
Gothic Revival, there is no question that this late example utilizes that style's form as well as its ornamentation.
It would otherwise be termed "Steamboat Gothic" or perhaps an early Tudor Revival example (Sommer, pp. 55-
56; Gebhard, p. 85).
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St. Mary Catholic Church (1864-67) (Photo, Sommer, p. 84)
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PS Form 1 0-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
168
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-
St. Mary's German Catholic Church (northeast comer 15m and White streets, 1864-67, architect John Mullany)
exemplifies the "High Victorian Gothic. Its design is more vertical and employs a variety of colors and
materials. Its organ dates from 1870 (Sommer, p. 84; Gebhard, p. 88).
Dubuque's churches adopted the High Victorian Gothic in the construction of an array of spectacular first
substantial replacement edifices, aU of which survive intact.
First Congregational Church (1857-60, 1880s), note octagonal tower at right-hand comer
(photo, Horton, Early Architecture..., p. 146)
First Congregational Church (10m and Locust streets, 1857-60, completed 1880s, Da"id Jones architect) might
properly represent the earlier Gothic style but this requires further investigation. The decoration was enhanced
by a later generation in the forms of a 13' diameter rose window 1895 and Tiffany windows (Sommer, p. 89).
First United Presbyterian Church (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 86)
PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
169
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Count\'. Iowa
County and State-
First United Presbyterian Church (1 Jd1 and Iowa streets, *date, unidentified architect) also has a cruciform plan
but the special feature is a rear octagonal tower (Sommer, p. 86)
St. John's Episcopal Church (1 875-78)(Photo, Sommer, p. 86)
St. John's Episcopal Church (1410 Main Street, 1875-78, Henry Martyn Conger architect) was designed in a
cruciform plan. Wans are of rough finished local limestone with smooth finished window surrounds and belt
courses. The architect was a national specialist in Episcopal church design (Sommer, p. 86; Gebhard, p. 86).
II-C. Queen Anne (1880-1910):
The Queen Anne style built upon the visual busyness of the Stick Style and this longest enduring style (unless
one counts the Colonial Revival which really consisted of a series of distinct reinterpretations of the Colonial) sought out
and utilized any structural or decorative trick to achieve exterior variety. Over time the style utilized any asymmetrical
form and this asymmetry was greatly facilitated by balloon frame construction. Over half of an Queen Anne houses used
the hip roof form nationally, although Rock Island's Queen Anne houses used the front gable set above and behind
subordinated off-center gabled wings of varying depth. Porches were thin and delicate in their ornamentation and the
wrap-around porch is a certain indicator of the style. Few original porches survive however, and Classical Revival era
replacements are usually in place.
While the Stick Style aggressively infilled any wall surface, the Queen Anne tended to be ornamental in gable
ends and porch pediments, usually mixing wooden shingle shapes. Queen Anne plain wall areas are minimized by the
complexity of the exterior shell and varied wall coverings (shingles, brick, wood) are frequently used to break: up these
wall panels.
Like the ltalianate, the Queen Anne was visually a very vertically inclined expression. Much of this
feeling has been lost due to the removal ofta11 and ornate chimneys, roof crestings and finials.
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PS Form 10-900-a
IRev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
170
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name ofPropeny
Dubuque Coun1y. Iowa
County and State-
The Queen Anne style, like its ltalianate and Second Empire antecedents, is comprised of four subtypes which
employ three basic core shapes. The first two subtypes share a common core shape. The longevity of this style and its
coincidence with large scale urban growth make it a very common one amongst the Victorian-era styles. It accounts for
the vast majority of designed houses in most communities.
Four decorative treatments further distinguish Queen Anne houses. Spindlework encompasses Eastlake or
detailing classes of turned decorative posts and friezes. Free Classic ornament substitutes classical columns, Palladian
windows, dentils, and bay windows. Half timbered examples use early Tudor derived half timbering and window
groupings. Patterned masonry elaborates stone and brick work and can use terra cotta inserts and decorative panels.
"Eastlake Style" and "Shingle Style" decorative motifs are not treated as a styles in this typology but are regarded as part
of the Queen Anne style.
There are four Queen Anne subtypes:
1. Hipped Roof With Lower Cross Gables: Half of all Queen Anne houses present a dominant front gable with one or
more subordinated cross gables. Most common is an L-shaped plan with front facing and side facing gable ends. Hipped
examples differ from the nonn by running the ridge front to back on the plan rather than from side to side (see ltalianate).
Towers occur at a front corner.
1145 Locust Street (1892) (drawing by Carl Johnson, Sommer, p. 105)
H. L. Stout House (1145 Locust Street, 1892, Fridolin Heer Sr. and Fridolin Heer Jr. architects) is to the Queen
Anne what the Ryan House is to the Italianate. This is the most ornate example of this style in the city and it
represents the conscious intermixing of stylistic influences, the Romanesque, Oriental, Byzantine being the most
obvious. Stout built this house for his daughter Fannie. It is presently used as a funeral home (Sommer, pp. 101-
02; Gebhard, p. 85).
PS Form 10-900..
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
171
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State----
900 West Third Street (1891) (photo, A Walking Tour.. . South Dubuque)
Lester C. Bissell House (900 West Third Street, 1891, F. D. Hyde architect) contains 1 0 rooms and a three-story
open interior stairway and an attic ballroom. The foundation is of brownstone (A Walking Tour...South
Dubuque)
Charles H. Eighmey House (1337 Main Street, c.1892, unidentified architect) was one of Dubuque's most
elaborate Queen Anne residential designs but it has been compromised by a Neo-Classical updating. Originally
the plan consisted of a broad gable front on the hip roof core, with flanking comer turrets, the lesser one pointed
and the dominant one onion domed. A classical temple front with pediment and two story columned porch and
balcony and a matching south-facing side porch were superimposed on the plan during the early 19oos. The
resulting hybrid while illustrative of both styles, really represents neither style well (Sommer, pp. 101-02;
Gebhard, p. 87).
300 Central Avenue (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 102)
3000 Central Avenue (*date, unidentified architect) combines Romanesque and Queen Anne features. The
design combines an angled square tower, cross gables and a subordinate side wing to create a visually busy
Queen Anne house_ Heavy stone lintels and sills give the design a vernacular touch (Sommer, p. 102).
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PS Form 10.900'8
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
172
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County and State-
1921 Madison Street (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 106)
1921 Madison Street (*date, unidentified architect) represents a moderate size frame interpretation of the style.
The design is based on a hip roof square core. A comer turret and a square cut gabled bay are cantilevered from
the second floor to balance the fayade. A wrap-around porch unifies the fa9ade and south-facing wing and
solarium (Sommer, p. 106).
1105 Grove Terrace (*date, unidentified architect) presents a substantial frame interpretation of the Queen Anne
style and this subtype. Two broadly projecting gabled wings disguise the fact that the plan core is a two-story
hip. A full-height round tower with cone roof is centered between the two wings and a wrap-around porch
unifies the whole plan. Shingle Style influences might by indicated by the generous use of wood shingles to
surface the entire upper level and gable fronts. This property enjoys one of the most impressive vistas in the city
(Sommer, p. 106).
1045 West Third Street (*date, unidentified architect) is a fairly compact yet strikingly tall brick interpretation of
the style. A massive round comer turret and cone roof dominates the two shallowly projecting wings or bays and
a rounded v"Tap-around porch interconnects the whole plan. Pediments ",ith classical features hint at the
emerging Neoclassical style while rusticated stone trim reflects the Romanesque Style (Sommer, p. 107).
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
173
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Count\!. Iowa
County and State---
2955 Jackson Street (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 78)
2955 Jackson Street (*date) is a vernacular interpretation of the style and it is an anomaly with regard to the four
subtypes. Clearly the core structure is side-gabled and a hip wing with offset six-sided tower projects from that
core (photo, Sommer, p. 78).
2. Cross Gabled Roof: This is the gabled variation of the above subtype. Towers occur on a front corner.
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August A. Cooper Housei'Redstone" (1888) (drawing by Carl Johnson, Sommer, p. 104)
August A. Cooper Housei'Redstone" (504 Bluff Streets, 1888, Thomas T. Carkeek architect) is another very well
known Dubuque Queen Anne style residence. A corner Romanesque style tower dominates the complex
intermixing of gables, dormers and pediments. Gebhard sees Colonial Revival components as well. This is the
last of three residences associated with the Cooper family however it has the lesser historical association, having
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. S-S61
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Pa.ge
174
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State--
been the residence of daughter Elizabeth and it was built as a duplex rather than as a single family house (Cooper
Wagon Works) (Sommer, p. 103; Gebhard, p. 83).
2735 Windsor Avenue (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 103)
Linwood Cemetery Office, (2735 Windsor Avenue, *date, unidentified architect) combines a Second Empire
corner tower cap with Queen Anne whimsy. Likely of an early date, this residence is of particular interest given
its public service origin and its survival (Sommer, p. 106).
Harry Tredway House (565 Fenelon Street, 1880s, unidentified architect) consists of a hip roof two story core
and prominent Romanesque tower. A wrap-around porch encircles the tower base and unites the whole plan (A
Walking Tour.. . South Dubuque).
- -
1492 Locust Street (1883) (drawing by Carl Johnson, Sommer, p. 93)
PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
175
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State----
Benjamin B. Richards- T. Ellsworth House (1492 Locust Street, 1883, unidentified architect) is Dubuques best
example of what many term the "Stick Style." Its extensive use of wood shingles on the upper floor also evokes
a "Shingle Style" feel as well. The stick style (treated as a Queen Anne subset here) emphasized steeply pitched
gable roofs, decorative trusses which cap gable fronts, overhanging eaves and exposed rafter ends. The interior
decoration is equally profuse with seven fireplaces and a broad range of wood trim types. This house has been
occupied by the same family since its construction (Sommer, p. 91).
lar plan.
Loras Avenue and Main Street (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 107)
Loras Avenue and Main Street (*date, unidentified architect) is a massive polychromatic example of the Queen
Anne with Neoclassical Revival style influences. The core form is that of a front gable rectangle. The dominant
steep pitched front gable is balanced between the corner tower and the projecting bay. The corner location
allows for a wrap-around porch and a side entrance (Sommer, p. 107).
3087 Central Avenue (*date, unidentified architect) almost matches the above example except in scale and
elevation. Frame and brick are intermixed and the wrap-around porch is oflight frame and turned post
construction (Sommer, p. 103).
4_ TO\\-ll House: Detached houses are gabled, while row houses employ flat or gabled roofs.
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PS Form 10-900-.
IRev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
176
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-----
.. T A..... ~- ---.',',,-
Corner 2n4 and Bluff Streets (1880s) (A Walking Tour...South Dubuque).
Hennesey House (Corner 2n4 and Bluff Streets, 1880s, unidentified architect) is an elaborate corner interpretation
of a Queen Anne style rowhouse. A corner turret is cantilevered from the base of the second floor and an
elaborate pattern of broad and narrow dormers, a central cross gable, and varied porch lengths combine to
visually enhance the longer dimension of the plan (A Walking Tour...South Dubuque).
Fifth and Bluff Streets (c.1890s, unidentified architect) offers a more substantial example of the same corner
design lines exhibited in the above case with a complete corner tower, substantial stone foundation and two
complete frontages (A Walking Tour. .. South Dubuque).
Unassigned:
Richards House (1392 Locust Street, 1882-1883, Franklin D. Hyde architect) is an example of the Eastlake style.
The multiple gable ends feature exposed medieval timber work (Gebhard, p. 86). *get photo and assign
Richardsonian Romanesque (1880-1900):
The subtypes of this style are based not upon basic form, but rather on roof type. Three components identify the
style. These are the use of round topped arches, rough faced stonework and the presence of round conical capped towers
(75% of properties according to McAlester). Dark red brick with thin colored mortar lines and rubbed brick arches, as
well as the application of decorative terra cotta panel inserts, are also associated with this style. While the brickwork
seeks to minimize surface texturing, stone walls seek a varied and rusticated visual surface effect but avoided applied
ornament.
This style being ill suited to smaller residences and restricted to brick ones, there is but one fairly pure example
to be found in Dubuque although numerous Queen Anne residential designs betray a Romanesque influence. Two-thirds
of all residential examples employ a hipped roof with cross gable form.
It was this style which coincided with another intense church building phase and numerous religious properties
represent its influence.
Unlike other Victorian era styles, this one, while still evocative of the Romanesque era, was uniquely American
in its inception, being largely credited to Boston Architect Henry H. Richardson. His work directly influenced the
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
177
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State---
forthcoming Sullivanesque and Prairie styles, also American generated styles and a conscious result of an architectural
search for an American derived style that did not come from European sources (Blumenson, p. 47).
1105 Locust Street (1890-91) (drawing by Carl Johnson, Sommer, p. 125)
F. D. Stout House (1105 Locust Street, 1890-91, unidentified architect) is Dubuque's only Romanesque
residential design and its original cost ($300,000) perhaps explains why others weren't built. Lumberman Stout
built the house and it serves as a monument for an industry that was already fading when construction was begun.
The rectangular plan incorporates a hexagonal comer tower and the broad low stone upper level arch is
particularly impressive. It is constructed of red sandstone and the interior features rosewood and mahogany trim
work.. The Archdiocese of Dubuque has owned the house since 1911 and has served as its agent of preservation.
There is a matching carriage house on the I>ro Sommer,. 124; Gebhard, p. 84).
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Sacred Heart Catholic Church (1885-87) (drawing by Carl Johnson, Sommers, p. 114)
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
178
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State--
Sacred Heart Catholic Church (635 East 22M Street, 1885-87, Fridolin Heer architect) represents the city's
earliest Romanesque edifice. Its uneven and contrasting towers continue the Dubuque tradition of a single
dominant comer tower (Sommers, pp. 113, 115)_
Holy Trinity Catholic Church (1910) (photo, Sommer, p_ 115)
Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Rhomberg Avenue, 1910, unidentified architect) follows the same design lines as
Sacred Heart but it hugs the ground more closely. The rose window is shifted to the upper reaches of the main
tower and a multi-light rounded main window is substituted for the traditional rose window setting. Paired
entrances are substituted for separated triple entrances as at Sacred Heard (photo, Sommer, p. 116).
Villa Raphael Motherhouse (1909) (photo, Sommer, p. 115)
Villa Raphael Motherhouse (1235 Mt. Loretta, 1909, unidentified architect)features an elongated rectangular hip
core with flanking hexagonal towers, and a central classical portico with a cupola set above it. Heavy pilasters
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
179
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-
terminate in three-story high rounded arches and a dormer caps each bay above the facade (Sommer, p. 116;
Gebhard, p. 90).
Saint Luke's United Methodist Church (1199 Main Street, 1896-97, George W. Kramer architect) originally
served as a design counterpart to Central High School which has been lost. Rusticated Bedford Indiana
limestone was used as an exterior cladding. A single square tower dominates the plan and an enlarged rounded
arch window substitutes for a rose window. A full-width Italian loggia of rounded openings sunnounts the broad
front steps. This church is justifiably notable for its ornamentation. It contains the state's best array of actual
Tiffany dedicatory windows and chandeliers and Tiffany Company designed the church interior. Architect
Kramer was nationally known for his church designs. This is Dubuque's fourth Methodist church and replaced
an 1853 Gothic Revival design (Downtown Walking Tour, Sommer, pp. 118, 120; Gebhard, p. 87).
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PS Form 1 0-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
180
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuq,ue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State--
Motmt Carmel Motherhouse (1893-94) (photo, Sommer, p. 123)
Mount Carmel Motherhouse (south end Grandview Avenue, 1893-94, John J. Egan, Chicago architect)
was the nation's largest convent when it was built on the most commanding site in the city. It is more a
complex than a single bui1dng. Brick and Bedford limestone trim comprise the exterior materials. Total
construction cost equalled that of the Stout House at 1105 Locust Street! (Sommer, p. 123).
CommercialJIndustria1 Examples:
Dubuque Brewing and Malting Company (1894-95) (Architect's sketch, Sommer, p. 122)
Dubuque Brewing and Malting Company (3000 Jackson Street, 1894-95, Louis Lehle, Chicago architect,
Frido1in Heer construction supervision) is a complex of from three to seven stories which fills an entire three acre
industrial site. The facility was one of the nation's largest brewery plants and was regionally famous for its
product. Note the massive Romanesque towers. The ground level is faced with stone, and brick above that point
(Sommer, pp. 120- 122; Gebhard, p. 88).
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
181
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State----
Dubuque Star Brewery Company (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 120)
Dubuque Star Brewery Company (*address, *date, tmidentified architect) is a smaller brewery facility designed
in the Romanesque style. Note that the multi-light windows and the round lights are also found in the several
church designs discussed previously. Note also the decorative finials, the central tower, and the integration of
the smokestack into the overall design (Sommer, p. 120).
Bank and Insurance Building (189Os) original photo (photo, Sommer, p. 127)
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
182
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv'. Iowa
County and State--
Bank and Insurance Building (*address, 18905, unidentified architect) is one of two Sullivanesque (flat parapet
or roofline and exaggerated cornice line) commercial designs and one of the "skyscrapers'" of Dubuque. The
building has gained an aluminum covered additional floor that replaced its original cornice line detailing. This
change along with the obliteration of the lower story/mezzanine has destroyed the architectural integrity of this
once grand building (Sommer, p. 126).
Security Building-J. F. Stampfer Building (*address, 1896, unidentified architect) is the second Sullivanesque
influenced commercial design in Dubuque and it is well preserved (Sommer, pp. 126-27).
Grand Opera House (1889-90) (photo, Sommer, p. 132)
Grand Opera House (8th Street, 1889-90, unidentified architect) has only recently had its Romanesque brick
fayade uncovered after many years and the building is undergoing a restoration. The ground floor of the fayade
consists of truly massive "Richardsonian" brick arches. Successively smaller rounded arches infill the
mezzanine level and a Palladian-like band of square cut short windows traces the attic level.
1000 Main Street (1894, unidentified architect, *get photo) is a three-story commercial block vvith a comer
location. It was built as commercial rental property and long housed the Dubuque Electric Company (1924-?).
Its first tenant was Richard Herrman Furniture (Downtown Walking Tour..).
Commercial Building (southeast comer Central and 9th streets, *date, unidentified architect) said to be
Richardsonian Romanesque by Gephard, well preserved example (Gephard, p. 82).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
183
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-
Eclectic House Styles, 1880-1940:
McAlester groups these styles under three general sub-categories, the Anglo-American, English and French
Period Houses (includes the Colonial Revival, Neoclassical, Tudor, Chateauesque, Beaux Arts and French Eclectic
styles), Mediterranean Period Houses (includes the Italian Renaissance, Mission, and Spanish Eclectic styles) and
Modern Houses (includes the Prairie, Craftsman, Modernistic, and International styles). Until the end of World War I,
eclectic influences were largely limited to the larger house. After the war, economical brick and stone veneers extended
these styles to the small tract house as well.
Anglo-American, English and French Period Houses:
This subgroup of the numerous eclectic styles can be distinguished by the common effort of its several styles to
more accurately replicate various European and New Wodd building traditions.
Colonial RevivallDutch Colonial Revival 0880-1955):
The fIrst twenty years of the Colonial Revival saw the emergence of an amalgam of Queen Anne basic forms
with so called Colonial and even Classical ornamentation. It wasn't until c.1910 that the style f1rst clearly focused on
faithfully replicating original American Colonial house plans. The Colonial, even in its earliest expressions, represented
the emergence of the fIrst American-generated architectural style (Labine, McAlester, pp. 321-341).
These houses differed fundamentally from their Neo-Colonial predecessors because they actually attempted to
replicate actual upperclass late 18th Century Colonial plans. The house footprint Vlas rectangular and the facade was
symmetrically arranged. The decorative components differed from those of the Neo-Colonial; and included scrolled
pediments, dentil bands, modillions, fanlights over doorways, and formal porch columns (Clem Labine, "The Neo-
Colonial House, The Old House Journal, May 1984, pp. 73-77).
Even the more accurate designs departed from the Georgian and Adam originals by adding window groupings,
side wings, dormers, broken pediments and various window hood treatments. The gambrel roof form was completely
reinvented to serve the needs of taller residences. The Colonial Style is unifIed through its common linkage to a true
Colonial architecture. The higher end examples of each subtype shared the same range of window and decorative
treatments. The earliest style examples can be distinguished from Free Classic Queen Anne precursors only with great
difficulty. Colonial inspired elements are simply overlaid on the same asymmetrical house core. Hipped roof subtypes
accounted for one third of Colonial Revival houses in the years leading up to World War 1.
Later examples of this style employ a centered entrance on the long side of the house plan, and the entryway is a
point of particular design attention. Porches or hoods are minimized for all but the second described subtype. Brick and
stone exteriors are associated with early high-end style examples. Brick veneers on tract house examples appear in the
post-World War I years. There are nine subtypes of the Colonial Revival Style:
Schweitzer and Davis identify a transitional Colonial Revival that endured through 1925, peaking in its
popularity between 1905 and 1917. This sub-style slightly predated 1900, but unlike the Queen Anne and Georgian
carryover styles, it did not enter the century at a flourishing state, achieving broad acceptance only by c.190S. This style
represented the move to reduced and simpler ornamentation. It typically employed grouped porch columns, dentil
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
184
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State--
moldings, returned cornices in their ornamentation. The houses stood one and a half to two stories tall, occupied a narrow
core plan and had a front-facing gable with high-pitched roof. A full-width front porch was considered by the authors to
represent a Queen Anne holdover. If cross-gable wings are present, their roof ridges are subordinated to the main
roofline. The main entrance is centered (although early examples use a side entrance on the facade with side hall) as are
side wings and bays. The later examples also employ the living room that runs the full width of the house (Schwei1zer
and Davis, p. 131).
Schweitzer and Davis note that the Dutch Colonial Revival was the only holdover that was influenced by the
Arts and Crafts movement. The gambrel roof on this two-story house came in three varieties, with front, side and cross
gable versions. The front-gables came first, side-gables appearing by the 1920's. The gambrel roof form offered more
second floor interior space and used shorter pieces of lumber for its rafters. The front gambrel subtype disappeared by
1919, but was succeeded by a new form side-gable subtype at about the same time, c.1918-19. This subtype peaked in its
popularity c.1932-40 (Schweitzer, pp. 134-37).
They similarly observe that the "Neo-Colonial" house design represents a "Colonialized Victorian" house and as
such it epitomizes what they describe as a "carry-over" style from the late 19th century. The house shape is still Victorian
while the decoration is Colonial. These houses were not reproductions of the actual Colonial houseplans, this difference
distinguishing these from the 20th Century Colonial Revivals that came later. The marriage of Victorian and Colonial
was an effort to produce a unique American style, a ''National'' style. Shingles were commonly used for this style,
combined with clapboard. Decorative elements included classical columns, Paladin windows, oval windows, pedimented
dormers and porches. Distinguishing any demarcation between Neo-Colonial and the Colonial Revival, the latter
developing between 1895 and 1910, is no easy task. By 1910 Colonial Revival house plans were accurately replicating
actual Colonial houses (Schweitzer, pp. 119, 121; Clem Labine, "The Neo-Colonial House, The Old House Journal, May
1984, pp. 73-77).
Schweitzer and Davis distinguish a Williamsburg subtype, which they say was introduced in 1928 and peaked in
popularity between 1935 and 1940. Their "Modem Georgian Revival" similarly is said to have appeared in 1920,
flourishing between 1925 and 1940.
Subtypes:
1. Asymmetrical, 1880-1900, c.1930s: Usually central entry and interior hall, entry with pediment, frequently combines
a front wing or full height bay with asymmetrical fenestration. Later examples are asymmetrical due to addition of an
attached garage.
2. Hipped Roof With Full Width Porch, 1880-1915, and post World War II into the 1950s:
3_ Hipped Roof Without Full Width Porch: Most popular nationally after 1910, this subtype uses an elongated hipped
roof plan with central or off-center entrance, a small entry hood, porch, or no porch at an, with more extensive Colonial
detailing.
4. Side Gabled Roof: This subtype follows the same ground rules specified for the subtype described above, but
substitutes side gabled roof. The resulting footprint tends more toward the rectangular as opposed to the square (which
favors the hip roof form). This subtype can be as narrow as two bays (and as a result squarish in its footprint) but it most
commonly occurs in a three or five bay plan, with either an off-center or center hall entry scheme. The center hall plans
favor a symmetrical fenestration scheme and a vertical line of central components is commonly employed, based upon
the alignment of the porch or hood, entry, a smaller upper floor window set or decorative window, and a rooftop dormer.
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
185
-
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuoue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuoue County. Iowa
County and State--
Additional subordinated side extensions are common in later examples_ Solariums, porte-cochere's, garages, and entire
wings are stepped back from the core front wall plane and have separate lower roofs.
5. Centered Gable: Either of the two examples described above with an added subordinated front cross gable usually
superimposed on an entrance pavilion.
514 Fenelon Street (c.1910) (photo, A Walking Tour...South Dubuque)
Jay Farwell House (514 Fenelon Street, c.1910, unidentified architect) is associated with a noted inventor (A
Walking Tour...South Dubuque).
6. Gambrel Roof: Pre-W.W.! examples combined front and side gable gambrel wings. The postwar Dutch Colonial runs
a steeply pitched gambrel roof parallel to the front. The key characteristic of this Colonial Revival subtype is the use of
the gambrel roof form.'\Vhen wall dormers are employed the subtype very nearly becomes the full two-story house. Like
the Cape Cod, twin dormers can peer out from the gambrel roof surface. Confusion comes when all things gambrel are
simply lumped together as Dutch Colonial Revival.
Front gable gambrels were the earliest, and side gable versions began to appear only by 1919. It is thought that
the gambrel roof form maximized second floor interior space while still conserving on the length of lumber required to
frame the roof. Gambrel roof cottages are not a full two stories high. The reappearance of the style in the 1920s is a
distinctly different Colonial manifestation, however. These houses do not commonly employ the cross gable and the
gambrel ends run parallel to the street_ Increasingly a unified shed roofed dormer fills most of the front and rear roof
plane_ The gambrel roof form is increasingly marginalized in an effort to make the upper level more fully a second story.
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
186
The ArchitecnrraI and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iovlta
County and State---
512 Fenelon Street (1897) (photo, A Walking Tour...South Dubuque)
Trewin-Huntoon House (512 Fenelon Street, 1897, Thomas T. Carkeek, architect) (A Walking Tour...South
Dubuque)
7. Second Story Overhang (post 1930): "Garrison Colonial" with side gabled, central entrance, second-floor cantilevers
beyond lower one.
8. Cape Cod (1920s-1950s):
Numerically the Cape Cod cottage was the most popular small house type in America for over 30 years, an honor
previously and much more briefly bestowed upon the bungalow, and subsequently by the ranch house and split level.
Unlike the bungalow with its multitude of forms and styles, the Cape Cod had a precise and unchanging basic appearance
and form. This form was that of a story and a half side gabled cottage with steep roof pitch, with twin dormers set atop
its front roof plane. Colonial Revival style by definition, it employed a symmetrical facade with centered entryway,
double hung light sash windows with various Colonial multi-light patterns, Colonial detailing around the entrance,
window shutters, a broad clapboard covered exterior, and the occasional use of stone or brick as supplemental building
materials.
Even the Cape Cod form could evolve and more expensive house plans tended to elongate, spacing the dormers
across a broader roof plane (or rarely adding a third middle dormer, more commonly broadening the two dormers) or
adding subordinated side wings, particularly breezeway/ garage combinations. Schweitzer and Davis date the
introduction of the type to 1929 and its zenith in popularity to 1935-40.
The frequency of the Cape Cod style is underestimated because the form is defined by the presence of dormer
windows. Architect Charles Keefe, writing in late 1930, called for the recognition of the styles "inherent characteristics."
These elements included a clapboard/shingle exterior, a recessed front entryway with flush-set pilasters and transoms,
low design lines (with eaveslines close to the tops of windows and doors), no front porch (usually a lattice surround on
the entryway), a massive central chimney, and a 39x30 overall footprint. Keefe makes no reference to the use of
dormers. Of course it can be argued that the popular or idealized Cape Cod form is the twin-dormer plan, but caution is
urged that earlier examples might have more closely approximated Keefe's standards and these are likely classified as
colonial bungalows in contemporary surveys (Keefe, pp. 9-11, 66-67).
Classical RevivallNeo-Classical 0895-1950):
This style reinterpreted the Early Classical Revival and Greek Revival homes of America. The style was first
applied to monumental governmental buildings. The new style's appearance coincided with the United States emergence
as a world naval and colonial power, the product of the Spanish American War. The hallmark of the Neo-Classica1 style
is an ornately formal two story front porch. Otherwise the Classical Revival employs a one and two story porch that are
centered on or covers the front of a hipped or side gabled rectangular core form. The style focused attention on a central
entryway and a symmetrical facade composition was mandatory, there are no asymmetrical subtypes under this heading.
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
187
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQUe Countv. Iowa
County and State-
Examples of this style up until the mid-1920s exhibit the hipped roof form most commonly along with ornate
Corinthian or Ionic fluted columns. From then on into the 1950s the side gable and square plane columns were the norm,
with the full width porch dominating. Like the Colonial Revival many components including the rounded flat-topped
portico, side extensions, combination one and two story porches, and grouped windows were not found on the original
houses which were being emulated. The style lends itself to high end designed houses. Many earlier small houses were
given Classical Revival porch replacements as original porches wore out or were considered outdated.
Subtvoes:
1. Full Height Entry Porch: Like its earlier (Greek Revival and Early Classical Revival) counterparts, the classical porch
does not cover the broad (from three to five or more bays wide) facade.
1090 Langworthy Avenue (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 136)
1005 Locust Street (*date) (photo, Downtown Walking Tour...)
Dr. James Guthrie House (1005 Locust Street, *date, unidentified architect) presents contrasting dormers
including one with a rounded vault roof, paired columned two-level porch and twin contrasting full-height bays
(DOwntOv.-l1 Walking Tour. . .).
2. Full Height Entry Porch With Lower Full 'width Porch: This subtype takes the above example and adds flanking
subordinated front side porches to the central porch.
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
188
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubu<p1e County. Iowa
County and State--
1595 Montrose Terrace (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 136)
1595 Montrose Terrace (*date) interweaves two separate porches. The plan has a stone porch and house
foundation and a stucco exterior (Sommer, p. 136).
541 Fenelon Street (c.1909) (A Walking Tour...South Dubuque)
Peter J. Seippel House (541 Fenelon Street, c.1909, unidentified architect) reflects the city wealth derived from
lumbering as well as the rich array of wood types expected in the house of a lumber dealer (A Walking
Tour.. . South Dubuque).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
189
-
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State--
First Church of Christ Scientist (1911) (photo, Sommer, p. 134)
First Church of Christ Scientist (Ninth and Bluff streets, 1911, 1.IDidentified architect) combines a Roman temple
front "porch" which projects beneath an open pediment building front. This example fits none ofMcAlester's
subtypes because the portico is technically not full-height, but is of even height with the side wings (Sommer, p.
134).
3. Front Gabled Roof: This full height and full width front porch covers the entirety of this gabled front house type.
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PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
190
The Architectural and Historical Resources of DubuQue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Count\!. Iowa
County and State---
Carnegie-Stout Public Library (1901) (drawing by Carl Johnson, Sommer, p_ 133)
Carnegie-Stout Public Library (southeast comer Eleventh and Bluff streets, 1901, Williamson and Spenser,
Chicago architects) offers a perfect example of the style and subtype_ Six Corinthian columns support a formal
temple front. The new addition on the east side dates to 1979-81 (Sommer, p_ 134; Downtown Walking Tour;
Gebhard, p_ 84).
4. Full Facade Porch: Like the above, this type substitutes a side gable roof form for the front gable form. The porch
usually has a flat roof. There is a full-width colonnade but the main roof or an extension of that roof covers the porch
area.
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
191
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuoue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Count\'. Iowa
County and State-
342 Main Street (upper two stories) (c.l900, 342 Main Street (c. 1900) (photo, A Walking Tour...South Dubuque)
German Bank (342 Main Street, c.1900, unidentified architect) features four engaged Corinthian columns on a
commercial front. The columns are uniquely patterned with layers of smooth and rusticated stone (A Walking
Tour.. . South Dubuque)
372 Main Street (c.1910) (photo, A Walking Tour_..South Dubuque)
Henry H. Mehlhop Company (372 Main Street, c.1910, unidentified architect) is a diminutive Neoclassical
design with an elaborate stone fayade and cornice (A Walking Tour...South Dubuque)
5. One Story: This one story subtype encompasses a broad range of hipped roof variants with a variety of recessed and
projecting porches.
Tudor Revival (1890-1940):
This style loosely evoked late medieval English houses rather than anything specifically Tudor. Unlike the
Colonial Revival, earlier formal Tudor designs tended to be more accurate while later ones were more generalized. The
style found popular acceptance for both more modest and tract house applications beginning in the middle 1920s and this
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
192
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name ofPropeny
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-----
popularity, rivaling the Colonial Revival, persisted until World War II. The abrupt demise of the Tudor style, in the
years right before the outbreak of the war, is a research topic that is yet to be explored. The Tudor would rebound in
suburbia during the early 1970s and remains a part of that stylistic range today.
The Tudor Revival had its inception with the showing of the "Victoria House" at the British Exhibit at the
Chicago Columbian Exposition in 1893. For the most part the houses were too large to be included in early plan books
and they are more represented in the field than in those sources.
Like the earliest bungalow form, the Tudor Revival house 'was dominated by a steeply pitched roof. A massive
and elaborate chimney was also central to the type. The style could also be incorporated onto a simplified Queen Anne
foundation. These transitional house plans tended to have central halls and entrances, and elaborate applications of
dormers, oriels and bays. The houses ranged from the small house to the great country house (Bruce Lynch, "The
Popular English Revival Style," The Old-House Journal, July 1983, pp. 117-20).
An asymmetric facade was the hallmark of this style with no preferred core form save for a decided preference
for the side gabled roof form. Roofs are steeply pitched and are set behind one or more prominent cross gables or
gable/dormer combinations that cluster or are distributed across the facade. Half of the style's examples employ a non-
structural half timbering usually in the gable areas. Bands of tall narrow windows and tall chimneys with chimney pot
caps give these buildings a vertical visual sense.
Schweitzer and Davis defme a two phase Tudor Revival, the whole lasting from 1875 through 1940. The Arts
and Crafts-influenced phase peaked from 1909 through 1917. These authors credit this style with bringing the Arts and
Crafts influence into this present century. The style or type is represented by half timbering, plaster infill between the
exposed structural members, steep multiple gable roofs, and bands of small windows. Twin front gables frequently
linked by a long shed-roofed dormer, fronted side gables and rounded entry hoods over the main entrance. They see the
so called Shingle Style as essentially Tudor and lump a number of late 19th Century styles, including English,
Elizabethean, Jacobean, Norman, "Old Country Farm", and the Picturesque as being representative of the Tudor, which
they collectively term "Tuderbeathean" (Schweitzer, pp. 126-29).
In its tract house application this style favored the use of a rectangular core with a very shallow side wing. The
steep roof form produced a story and a half cottage. Frequently a dormer balances an in-wall cross gable. There are four
types to this style, all of which are defined by the choice of exterior cladding materials:
Modern Tudor Revival, Introduced 1920, Flourished 1925-40
Bruce Lynch distinguishes what he terms "the English Revival," a subtype that differed from its predecessor
EnglishlTudor Revival by virtue of its post-war symbolic association with the victorious and now unified "English
heritage and its public acceptance was directly linked with the architectural development of the small house, as a
competing house form with the bungalow (Bruce Lynch, p.120).
Subtypes:
1. Stucco Wall Cladding.
2. Brick Wall Cladding:
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
193
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State---
The vast majority of area examples have brick veneered exteriors, commonly accented with decorative stone
inlays arotmd the entrance, at corners, and in the chimney construction. A randomn intermixing of stone or other
insterted materials is frequently fotmd. Late-1930s examples commonly use a polychrome brick.
1130 South Grandview Avenue (c.1928, unidentified architect) combines an entrance gable chimney with the
core roof, brick construction with diagonal patterning (Gebhard, p. 90).
3. Stone Wall Cladding. No local examples have been fotmd.
John G. Kuehnle House, (1924) (photo, Sommer, p. 138)
John G. Kuehnle House, (northwest corner Kirkwood and AIta Vista streets, 1924) is a rare stone Tudor Revival
design. It was featured as a model house in 1924 and was Dubuque's frrst "all electric" house. At the time of its
construction it was termed "English Style"and Sommer categorizes it as "Btmgaloid." The cottage has an
ususual "thatched" roof of an tmdetermined material (Sommer, p. 138; Gebhard, p. 91)
4. Frame Wall Cladding:
Unassigned:
Wartburg Theological Seminary (333 Wartburg Street, 1914-16, Perkins, Fellows and Hamilton, architects) is
interpreted by Gebhard as an example of "English medieval" or "modernized Gothic." The building has aU-plan
and a six-story crenellated tower. The exterior is of stone. Brown, Healy and Block Architects of Cedar Rapids
designed the 1981-82 addition (Gebhard, pp. 90-91).
Chapel, University of Dubuque (University Avenue past AIgona Street, 1907, unidentified architect) is said to
represent a "Gothic Revival" design using brick with stone trim (Gebhard, p. 91).
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev, 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
194
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Propeny
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-
Beaux Arts (1885-1930):
This style was employed in public buildings and great house designs. Symmetrical stone-faced plans featured
rusticated first floor exteriors and smoothed stone on the upper levels. The exteriors were richly adorned with Ionic or
Corinthian columns, quoins, decorative garlands, floral patterns, and pilasters. There were two very different subtypes:
1. Flat or Low-Pitched Hip Roof: This subtype derives from Italian or Northern European Renaissance examples and is
readily confused with the Neoclassical Style. Paired columns identify the Beaux Arts. The latter has lower roof
profiles and the more distinctive vertical division of detailing.
.~; ",
-'.~....'
~, '~
to">~,~,
[,fill'
Dubuque County Courthouse (1891-93) (photo, Sommer, p. 148)
(Third) Dubuque County Courthouse (720 Central Street, 1891-93, Fridolin Heer, Fridolin Heer Jr., architects) is
said by Sommer to represent the Beaux Arts Style but also reflects Romanesque and Neoclassical (Gephard says
French Classicism) influences. This was one of the first National Register of Historic Places listed properties in
the city. The first courthouse (1836) was of two-story log construction. A two-story brick replacement (1839,
1857) was Greek Revival in style. The building has had its original segmented tower dome replaced and four
massive corner statues were lost to a W orId War I scrap drive. The building was proposed for demolition in
1932 but the Depression saved it (photo, Sommer, p. 116; Gephard, p. 81).
2. Mansard Roof: This subtype brought a revival of the Second Empire stylistic elements but the scale is greater, the
exteriors are of stone and the range of Beau Arts ornamentation is distinctively different.
Majestic Orpheum Theater (northwest corner Fourth and Main streets, 1910, Cornelius W. and George L. Rapp,
architects) was the first known commission completed by its designers and is described by some as '"Flemish
Renaissance" in style. Gebhard says Second Empire with Beaux Arts fayade. Restored 1974 and became part of
the Five Flags Center (A Walking Tour.. . South Dubuque; Gephard, pp. 82-83).
PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
195
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuoue County. Iowa
County and State--
Unassigned:
German Trust and Savings Bank (southeast comer Central Street and Loras Boulevard, unidentified architect) is
now the Dubuque Bank and Trust Company and represents this style in its fluted pilasters and its cream colored
terracotta fayade. Italian marble covers the interior \\--aIls (Gebhard, p. 87).
French Eclectic 0915-1945):
The visual hallmark of this style is the steeply pitched hipped roof or roof combination on a rectangular or
asymmetrical core. Exterior cladding is in stone, brick, stucco (or half timbering). As loosely defined as the Tudor
Revival, this style offers endless variety of form and detailing, given that it mimics no particular era in French domestic
architecture. This style consists of three subtypes:
Subtypes:
1. Symmetrical: Uses the large hipped roof which parallels the house front. The fenestration is symmetricaL
McCoy House (1160 S. Grandview Avenue, 1928-30, Karl F. Saaur architect) represents a French Provincial
revival design according to Gebhard. The design combines dark brick and a light tan brickwork (Gebhard, p. 90).
2. Asymmetrical: This most common variant offers varied roofline elevations and an asymmetrical fenestration and
range of varied facades.
3. Towered: Adds a dominant tower, usually including the entryway, to either the straight or ell shaped plan.
Mediterranean Period Houses:
Italian Renaissance Revival (1890-1935):
This late Victorian-era style sought to represent the original inspirations for the Italianate style in a more accurate
manner. It retained the basic square or rectangular core form, the low-pitched hipped roof, and the horizontal
differentiation between base (the foundation), column (the wans) and the capital (the attic/root). The first floor
dominates the facade with its column flanked or arcaded central entryway and the longer, frequently arched windows.
The second floor is often distinguished by a string course that runs along the sill level of the upper floor. The style favors
the use of tile roofs. There are four residential subtypes of this style:
Subtypes:
1. Simple Hipped Roof: This subtype accounts for half of all style examples. A straight front, sometimes with a full
width front porch (an arcade or series of heavy piers) (pre-l 920 examples) has central entrance and hall, rectangular plan
and low hipped roof which runs the length of the plan.
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PS Form 10-9oo-s
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
196
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name ofPropeny
Dubuque Count\'. Iowa
County and State----
2. Hipped Roof With Projecting Wings: The same basic subtype described above is augmented with a recessed or
projecting wing/porch with flanking side wings, either integral to the core structure or subordinated as lower and separate
WIngs.
3. Asymmetrical: The same basic subtypes described above feature asymmetrical fenestration, ell shaped ",ings, short
towers, front chimneys, side porches or angled wings.
4. Flat Roof: These architect designed urban examples have flat roofs, additional floors and a three part horizontal
division of the facade_
Mission 11890-1920)/SDanish Colonial Revival 0915-1940):
The presence of a Mission shaped dormer or roof parapet places a Mediterranean influenced house design within
this stylistic camp. Other secondary signature elements are a red tile roof, white stucco exterior, heavy porch support
piers or an arcade. Like the bungalow and later the ranch house, the Mission style was perfected in California and
accepted nationally. Like the bungalow, its popularity had waned by the end of World War I. Schweitzer and Davis
distinguish between the onset of the Spanish Colonial Revival, c.1915-16 and its most popular period, 1929-34, by
explaining that it's comparatively early introduction was made through the bungalow as a medium.
Subtvoes:
1. Symmetrical: The house massing is square or rectangular with a hipped roof and a symmetrical facade with regard to
both elements and fenestration.
1105 Highland Place (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 140)
1105 Highland Place (*date) represents what McAlester would term a Mission Style inspired design (photo,
Sommer, p. 140).
2. Asymmetrical: The same basic form is elaborated with asymmetrical components such as towers, porches, entrances,
porch arcades and chimneys.
PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
197
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubu<v1e County. Iowa
County and State----
999 Kirkwood Street (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 140)
999 Kirkwood Street (*date) represents what McAlester would term a Spanish Eclectic design (Sommer, p. 140).
Modern Houses:
Prairie Stvle 0900-1920):
The Prairie School of design is both an American as well as a Midwestern architectural style. It enjoyed a
comparatively brief popularity, losing out to period designs, and never achieved broad public acceptance in its purest
forms. Its influences left their long-range mark on a broad range of houses, most commonly in the form of window
treatments and Prairie style ornamentation.
In its ultimate form, interior walls were virtually eliminated as wings of the house merged at a central point (the
two story portion of the plan and the site of the massive fIreplace) inside the house, the whole lighted by banks of glass
walls which were formed by bands of windows. The house exterior, capped with a low-pitched hip roof blended into the
horizontal prairie landscape and the particular setting of the house.
In popular design applications Prairie style motifs and forms were frequently adapted to the basic isolated cube
form that Frank Lloyd Wright had tried to transcend. These house designs utilized a basic two story broad basic form
with low-pitched hipped roof. There is frequently as much if not more vertical flow in the design than there is horizontal
emphasis. Narrow casement window bands, tall chimneys, pilasters and bays all conspire to draw the eye upward (Foley,
p. 227).
There is no middle ground when the signifIcance and success of the Prairie Style are debated. To its advocates,
the style spa-wned or greatly influenced the bungalow form as well as the ranch house and was therefore integral to much
that followed it. On the other hand, Schweitzer and Davis echo the majority of historical architectural scholars when
they state that the Prairie School or style never really caught on with the general public. To the extent that it left a
broader imprint on the built landscape, other types and styles attempted to interpret its basic principles, for the most part
without success. The authors don't think that the style had much of any influence on house plan books or ready-cut
house plans, being relegated for the most part to the higher-end catalogues such as William Radford. "Prairiesque"
features are to be found on bungalows and foursquares, in the form of contrasting trim and main body colors, window
bands, decorative linear motifs, low-pitched roofs, broad overhanging eaves, and the use of stucco and brick veneers. H.
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
198
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State--
Allen Brooks believes that the Prairie Style was actually popularized by the more popular bungalow, which "extended its
aura of respectability to the prairie house." Mass public acceptance was prevented by the high cost, the fact that a Prairie
house couldn't even begin to fit on a narrow urban lot, and the fact that non-standard construction materials and designs
were employed. Scholars attribute both the bungalow and the Prairie School as being the precursors of the modern ranch
house (Ibid., pp. 138-29; Brooks, p. 25; Ames, pp. 22, 71).
The Prairie Style or school receives surprisingly little press coverage in the several house journals, and this term
is rarely employed when example house plans are offered. The exception was the Chicago based House Beautiful that
carried some 20 Prairie School articles between 1905 and 1909. A unique instance in another journal is Peter B.
Wright's "Country House Architecture in the Middle West" from the Architectural Record of 1915-16. That article is
interest for two reasons; the first being the Prairie Style coverage and examples, and the second is the the author's
atypically more generous definition of the what consituted the "Middle West." Wright went beyond Ohio and included
the entire area between Western New York and the Rocky Mountains! Wright actually used true Midwest house
examples, including the E. C. Crossett House in Davenport, a Prairie design by Architects Temple and Burrows, and the a
Delevan Lake, Wisconsin side-gable bungalow. The author suggested that the Prairie style was "so well fitted to the
natural conditions of the strenuous liberty of the [Middle] West." The majority of house plans which feature a Prairie
Style influence feature square houses with no Prairie reference (Brooks, p. 24; "Country House Architecture in the
Middle West," Architectural Record, 1915-16, Vol. 38, pp. 385-421, and Vol. 40, pp. 290-321).
Gustav Stickley, editor of the Craftsman Ma2aZine, thoroughly ignored the Prairie School despite the fact that
both the Craftsman Prairie movements derived inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement. Richard Wilson and
Sidney Robinson suggest that the greatest cross fertilization took place between the bungalow and the Prairie School, and
note that some scholars see the Prairie School as representing "the regionalization of the bungalow." H. Allen Brooks
offers the "high-end" example of the Harold C. Bradley bungalow, which was constructed as a summer residence at
Wood's Hole, Massachusetts 1911-12. It was designed by architects Purcell, Feick and Elmslie and represents, in
Brook's opinion, an example of the convergence of this style and the bungalow house type (Brooks, 206; Robinson, The
Prairie School In Iowa, I.S.U. Press, Ames, 1977, p. 8).
Subtypes:
Hipped Roof Symmetrical With Front Entry: Square or rectangular plans with low pitched hipped roof and a prominent
centered front entryway. Single story wings or appendages can be present but core structure is symmetrical.
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
199
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuq,ue County. Iowa
County and State-
Eagle Point Park Pavilion (1934-36) (photo, Tourist Guide of Dubuque, p. 25).
Eagle Point Park Pavilion (1934-36, Alfred Caldwell landscape architect and designer) is one of Dubuque's most
significant architectural designs. It represents an extraordinary blending of site, natural materials and style.
Gebhard rates this as one of two of the best Iowa Prairie designs (the other being the Rock Glen neighborhood in
Mason City, designed by Walter Burley Griffm. He also credits Wendell Reffenberger with design input but
offers no explanation. Caldwell's work was an interpretation ofWrights Taliesin design, set in what he termed
<<The City in a Garden" and the landscape architecture of Jens Jensen. (Sommer, p. 142; Gebhard, pp. 89-90).
Eagle Point Park Bandstand (1957, Rossiter and Ham architects) is a later interpretation of the Prairie Style
(Gebhard, p. 90).
1761 Plymouth Court (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 142)
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
200
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County_ Iowa
County and State---
1761 Plymouth Court (*date, unidentified architect) represents a faithful application of the Prairie Style.
Note that the core of the house is a full two stories high however (photo, Sommer, p. 142).
Ward Donovan House (1721 Plymouth Court, 1941, Alfred Caldwell landscape architect) is a two-story
Prairie style plan (Gebhard, p. 89).
Gabled Roof: Front and side gables can intersect or can step down along the ridgeline.
Arts and Crafts/Craftsman (1905-1930):
The Craftsman Style is a fairly recently generated term. Today the term embodies the more stylized range of
bungalow and foursquare exterior treatments. In its own time, this style was best represented by the house and interior
furnishing designs of Gustav Stickley, founder of the Craftsman movement. Stickley's house designs were substantial in
size and were uniformly executed in concrete, stucco, and wood, and used Arts and Crafts detailing. Schweitzer and
Davis distinguish between a Craftsman house type and the bungalow type. They defme the former as a two-story house
being either more substantial in their massing or more complex in their design than the bungalow. They identify three
regional subtypes of the Craftsman style, the Colonial/Adirondack (East Coast), the Prairie (Midwest), and the Oriental
(West Coast). Stickley considered the bungalow house form to be appropriate only for seasonal occupation, as a
summerhouse, and his year round designs were rarely bungalows. He was strongly influenced by the Mission, Spanish
Colonial and his own "Craftsman" values. A good house exterior included sloping roofs, verandahs, pergolas, the use of
rough timbers, overhanging eaves, and exposed construction (Craftsman, June 1908).
The Craftsman design aesthetic sought to integrate the house and site. The interior and exterior were integrated
by the use of windows and multiple entries. No room "''as to be buried within the house without windows and nearby
egress. Building materials were to retain their natural untreated qualities to the greatest extent possible, and major
structural members were to remain exposed and visible. Stucco and shingle exteriors were favored. Structural members,
such as rafter tails, knee braces, tie beams, and tapered or battered porch posts are purposely exposed. Craftsman
windows, with multi-light upper sash (usually w-ith vertical divisions) were commonly used in many other styles of the
time.
This style had its roots in the Arts and Crafts movement, which in turn derived largely from the writings of
Englishmen John Ruskin (1819-1900) and designer William Morris (1834-96). It was both a reaction against
industrialized society and an effort to unify art and architecture with morality, politics and science. The movement
celebrated individual craftsmanship over mass produced repetition and sought to achieve societal improvement through
its design concepts and its teaching of the basic crafts. Stickley was one of the leading American adherents of the Arts
and Crafts movement. By the early 20th century the architectural and design aspects of the movement focused upon
integrating the house with nature and the particular house setting, as well as celebrating the exposed usage of minimally
processed natural building materials. Thus structural columns and beams are prominently displayed and cladding
materials favored the use stucco, cobblestone, shingles wood. Asymmetry of design was celebrated, favoring complex
roofing schemes and visual variety in fenestration, patterns of materials, porch lines, and the overall house plan. Favored
structural expressions include the exposed knee brace and rafter tails, extra stickwork, and the common use of battered or
sloped porch columns, of varying lengths, in combination v,.ith heavy pier bases.
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
201
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa.. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQUe County. Iowa
County and State-
Schweitzer and Davis credit seven different house types or styles as being directly influenced by the Arts and
Crafts Movement, these being the Tudor Revival, the Transitional Colonial Revival, the Dutch Colonial Revival, the
Prairie School, the Gustav Stickley Craftsman, the Bungalow and the Foursquare/Box. Schweitzer and Davis reserve the
style to Stickley but many other designers produced what were termed Craftsman or Arts and Crafts houses (Schweitzer,
p. 125).
Alan Weissman in his introduction to Craftsman Bungalows (1988), a compilation (1903-16) of bungalow
articles from Gustav Stickley's The Craftsman Ma!ZaZine. states that "the American Arts and Crafts movement
unofficially adopted [the bungalow] as the ideal Craftsman house." The vast majority of American bungalows are best
described as being most strongly influenced by this style. The "high-end" bungalows therefore are equally bungalow
house types and represent the Arts and Crafts style in Weissman's opinion.
Stylistic terminology is particularly problematic in this case. Today the title "Arts and Crafts" is the generally
preferred one for anything not purely Stickley derived, and is accepted one for use in describing the majority of
residential housing of the period c.1905-25, although these words were not historically applied to houses. Today many
prefer that the term "Craftsman" be reserved for that range of house designs which was the work of Stickley or his
architects. The problem is that "Craftsman" is the historical term and then-contemporary society would have used it to
refer to these houses.
Schweitzer and Davis define and distinguish a separate range of Arts and Crafts houses (they call them
Craftsman), these being two story houses, being either more substantial in their massing or more complex than their
bungalow counterparts. The two house types share common characteristics including the avoidance of adornment, a
functional nature, the use of natural materials, a strong and direct link with the immediate setting and environment, a low
roof pitch, tapered porch columns, pergolas and porches, earth-tone colors, the use of built-in interior furniture, and the
common use of a "living room." Three regional variations are identified; Colonial! Adirondack in the East, the Prairie in
the Midwest, and the Oriental in the West (Ibid., pp. 142-48).
Schweitzer and Davis suggest that the Craftsman style followed the earlier trends, including the bungalow. The
style incorporated the attributes of those antecedents. They themselves are not always certain what is Craftsman.
Several of their pattern book examples are Georgian Colonial or front-gable square plans (Ibid., pp. 144, 148).
One would be hard pressed to develop a consensus list of Arts and Crafts or Craftsman influenced house
examples. For the most part craftsman stylistic features are overlaid on the other period house types. The same house
could be rightfully termed an Arts and Crafts house, with reference to style, or a bungalow, with reference to its type.
Stubblebine that only Stickley house designs can properly termed "Craftsman" houses and anything close had to be
labeled Arts and Crafts examples. Using the Stickley design authorship relieved Stubblebine from even attempting to set
any stylistic guidelines apart from setting, materials uses and treatments and relatively open interior plan. The author
warns that many builders eschewed Stickley's fairly expensive interior appointments and chose to cut construction costs,
thereby compromising even the Stickley designs (Old House Journal, July August, 1996, pp. 26-31).
H. Allen Brooks notes that Gustav Stickley, like most of his peers, chose to publish few Midwestern house plans.
Brooks was not enamored with what was published, judging that "Craftsman houses [were] boxy in plan and utterly
devoid of any artistic sensitivity" (Brooks, p. 22).
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
202
The Architectural and Historica1 Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-
One effect of the Arts and Crafts movement was to reinvigorate craftsmanship in house building. Carpentry &
Building observed in January 1907 that
There are indications pointing to a renaissance of genuine hand work in America, voiced chiefly
through the arts and crafts movement, which, from an artistic fad, is rapidly approaching the stage of
practical utility. It now appears probable that handicraft will speedily come again into its own, bringing
with it a new development of the best as well as the simplest type of domestic art. In this development
will be opened up a new avocation for the mechanic who has a natural tendency toward the artistic side.
Key here, and in keeping with the growing rejection of the overly and purposefully ornate and impractical Victorian
artistic ethos, was the point that in this new age, the artistic had to be functional, natural and subtle (Carpentry &
Building, January 1907, p. 6).
Art ModerneIModernistic (1925-1940):
The style encompasses two subtypes, the Art Moderne and the Art Deco. Both subtypes employ the same basic
flat roofed (less commonly gable or hip) square or rectangular core. The Art Moderne rounded comers and streamlined
the whole through the use of horizontal lines and patterns. Art Deco imparted a largely vertical emphasis by adding
towers and other vertical elements, and ornate detailing. Both styles disappeared with the coming of World War II.
120 South Grandview Avenue (c.1939) (photo, Sommer, p. 141)
120 South Grandview Avenue (c.1939, unidentified architect)is an Art Moderne design with a matching attached
garage! This example is likely from the late 1930s given the use of block glass and comer windows. This design
is safely Moderne and is the only Dubuque example with a rounded comer, but it does clearly reflect
International Style design influences in its window treatments. Gebhard sees as almost identical to 535 South
Grandview Avenue (see below) (photo, Sommer, p. 141; Gebhard, p. 90).
155 South Grandview Avenue (*date, unidentified architect) is an L-plan with tuck-under double garage, and
liner window bands (Sommer, p_ 141).
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
203
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue_ Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuqpe County. Iowa
County and State-
1144 South Grandview Avenue (c.1935) (photo, Sommer, p. 141)
1144 South Grandview Avenue (c.1935, unidentified architect) combines classical proportions, a very unusual
rounded bay and landscaping to produce a marvelous overall effect. Gebhard interprets the design as combining
"Regency Revival" and Modeme elements (photo, Sommer, p. 141; Gebhard, p. 90).
United States Post Office and Federal Building (1932-34) (photo, Sommer, p. 144)
United States Post Office and Federal Building (350 West fI' Street, 1932-34, Proudfoot, Rawson, Souers, and
Thomas; Herbert A. Kennison, architects) is the only Dubuque Art Deco design. It was built by the Public
Works Administration. The design is centered on a four story central pavilion. There are two Grant Wood
murals inside. This was the only one of three public buildings proposed for a Modeme style government center
by designer John Noland in 1932 (photo, Sommer, p. 144; Gebhard, p. 83).
Masonic Temple (southwest comer Locust and 12th streets, 1931-32, Raymond E. Moore architect) is considered
by Gebhard to exemplify an "abstracted medievalism" with an Art Deco overlay (Gebhard, p. 85).
Red Cross Building (1200 Main Street, c.1941, unidentified architect) is an example of the later-date and less
exuberant Streamline Modeme with yellow tile, stainless steel facing on the marquee (Gebhard, p. 87).
House, 535 South Grandview Avenue (c.1939) is another streamline Modeme example according to
Gebhard. The exterior combines glass block and light cream-colored brick (Gebhard, p. 90).
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
204
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State---
Strand Theater (southeast comer Main and 12m streets, unidentified architect) combines a Moderne design on a
late 19th century Baptist church. Black and cream vitrolite are combined on the fayade (Gebhar~ p. 87).
International Stvle . (1925-presenO:
This style combined a flat roof form. smooth and uninterrupted wall planes, large window masses and projecting
balconies or upper levels. Eaves are nonexistent or boxed using the same surface covering material.
V emacularCottage/House Types:
Vernacular architecture is defined in this typology as "nonacademic architecture." This range of recognized
house types was most strongly influenced in its design by the realities of regional climates, the availability of (or the
processing of) building materials, and by ethnic or other cultural/traditional values. Certain house types emerged to
dominate regional and even national architecture and examples of these commonly accepted types are found in most
communities. These local applications of type are commonly reinterpreted by those who built them. As a class or type,
these house/cottage forms largely address the working class spectrum of residences although this is not exclusively the
case.
Most of these nationally accepted vernacular types have little application to Dubuque's urban vernacular
architecture. Dubuque vernacular types are therefore appended to this section.
Hall and ParlorlDouble Pen (c.1817-c.1870):
This double pen cottage form is basically a two-room side gabled single story plan. There is no hall but one
larger room (the "hall") is the more public room on the ground level and this larger room has the only front entryway.
John Jakie terms this form the "Pre Classic" I House or the "Early I House") (Jakie, Common Houses. p. 216).
p)-Tamidal Cottage or Pyramidal Hip Cottage (c.1865-c.1920):
This story or story and a half-square plan (two rooms deep and two rooms wide) is covered by a hip roof and the
roof commonly extends forward to cover a recessed front full width porch. This form is possibly of Southern derivation.
The peak of the pyramid is sometimes flattened. The later forms of this cottage type blend into the Bungalow era and
these types are distinguished only with some difficulty. This earlier type is sometimes modified using a Craftsman style
porch to approximate a bungalow form. Usually the resulting porch is not recessed under the roof.
Gable Front (pre-1850-1930+):
Also termed the "Open Gable," or "Gambrel Front." The two defining characteristics are a front gable roof (as
opposed to a side gable) and a gable end house entrance. The type ranges from one room and a side hall in width to two
rooms and a central hall (three to five bays). Generally the overall plan is a rectangle with its shorter dimension fronted
to the street.
PS Form 10.9oo.a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
205
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State--
The housing literature is silent with regard to this commonplace type and even Schweitzer and Davis fail to
identify to acknowledge it. The diminutive size and early date of these cottages (c. 1890-1920) hints that this very small
cottage form was already well established in the ublic's tastes when thebunalow form ed.
One-story front gable cottage, 2552 Jackson Street (photo by Jim Jacobsen, March 7, 2000)
These cottages were too small to attract the attention of house designers and these carpenter-built single and one
and a half story cottages therefore never appeared in plan books and those authors natw"ally would not have covered this
range of houses. Often only familiarity vvith the broader neighborhood housing context is the best arbiter for knowing
whether to count houses with the same general characteristics as being vernacular cottages or bungalows.
The one and a half story front-gable cottage is especially common on the East Side, particularly in the Grandview
College area and around the Fairgrounds. Many of these houses have gambrel roofs. Commonly diamond, triangular or
even round lights are found above the porch roof in either lower corner of the gable/attic front. The above figure depicts
several front-gable cottages with flared eaves lines. This vernacular class includes a very broad range of house types
ranging from the lowly shack or "shotgun" up to square house plans that were not quite two stories high.
Shotgun (c.1860-70):
In its pure form, this Southern house requires that all rooms interconnect via centrally placed doors, thereby
blending public and private areas in the cottage. One could in theory fire a shotgun to the back of the house with the load
passing through those open doors without injury. The true shotgun has no side hall but aligns its interior doors along the
center line of the plan. Its northern counterpart assumes the general form but likely adds a side hall. Identification
requires floor plan inspection. Actual examples that date from c.1860-70 are rare and are difficult to document. The
most rudimentary temporary narrow lot linear plan shacks assume a shotgun-like form. These are not true shotgun
cottages and the vast majority of shotgun look-alikes are best categorized as gable fronts however. Some three dozen
examples were documented in the city. Many of these house forms were included in the bungalow survey because they
could not be readily distinguished from the bungalow.
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PS Form 10-900'8
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
206
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-
Side Hall Plan (c.1830-1880):
This subtype provides a category for side gable and hiproofhouseslcottages that are not front gables. The plan
is usually two rooms deep and a single room wide and has a side hall. These cottages are mostly a single story or story
and a half in height.
William Newman Log House, Eagle Point Park (pre-1833)
(photo, Tourist Guide of Dubuque, p. 26)
William Newman Log House, Eagle Point Park (pre-1833) was first located at Second and Locust streets until
1915 when it was moved to the park proper. In 1967 it was moved to the Ham House property by the Dubuque
County Historical Society. Needless to say, few Iowa cities retain an example of their very earliest development.
Gebhard terms this the Louis Arriandeau "10 cabin" Sommer, . 33; Gebhard, . 89).
1212 Elm Street (*date) (photo Sommer, p. 78)
Courtvard House: Numerous broad side-gabled fronts provide through-passage into a rear courtyard and this unusual
vernacular feature appears to have distinct European roots. Another example is found at 1989-1915 Central Street.
Kelly House (274 Southern Avenue, c.1855) is described by Gebhard as reflecting Greek Revival (general form) and
Gothic (barge board usage) influences. It has a rectangular plan and a two-story porch. The ground floor is of stone, the
second board and batten. *get photo (Gebhard, p. 90).
PS Form 10.900-.
I Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
207
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State--
2531 Washington Street (photo by Jim Jacobsen, March 7, 2000)
Double House Side Gable:
2523 Central Avenue (photo by Jim Jacobsen, March 7, 2000)
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
208
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State---
Asvmmetrical Side Gable Plan:
304 West Fifth Street (c. 1855) (photo, A Walking Tour.. . South Dubuque)
J. H. Thedinga House (304 West Fifth Street, c.1855) superimposes an asyrnmetical fenestration upon an Adams
style fa9ade. The door has sidelights. Lintels are flat and of stone (A Walking Tour.. . South Dubuque)
"Dubuque German" House Tvoe:
572 West Fourth Street (1860) (photo, A Walking Tour...South Dubuque)
Charles Markle House (572 West Fourth Street, 1860, self built) is one of the best preserved examples of this
once extensive vernacular type (A Walking Tour. . . South Dubuque).
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
209
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State--
2509 Broadway Street (*date) (photo Sommer, p. 80)
1212 Elm Street (*date) shown above has 2/2li hts and semi-elli tical rounded window arches (Sommer, p. 78).
504 22M Street (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 80)
504 22nd Street (*date) represents a more traditional plan orientation to the street front. This example is strongly
influenced by the ltalianate Style in its window treatment and the classical porch is of much later date (Sommer,
p.80).
Storv and a half Side-Gable:
2509 Broadway Street (*date) appears to represent a side-gable cottage set sideways on a narrow Dubuque lot.
While the house has an elaborate Victorian-era porch, it is stin vernacular in its origins (Sommer, p. 80).
Gabled Ell (c.1850-1920):
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
210
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. 10"""3.
County and State-
This subtype requires that its two wing components possess roof ridges of equal height. Commonly a ''T' form
is the result when a shallow bay or wing carries the dominant wing beyond the junction point, but the core structure is an
L- form. The respective wings can vary in their comparative widths but their roof ridge elevations must be even. Porches
commonly infill the reentrant angle and two entrances, one from each wing, open to the porch. The subtype is generally
dated to c.1865-1915. Like many vernacular types it fades with the approach of World War 1. Central to truly
understanding how these houses worked is determining how the subtype effected the room arrangement and flow within
the house. Which interior spaces are shared across the two wings for example?
I-House (c.1850-1890):
"~', .c::~?:/{t5.~t:~jJ~'
.;_::.:::.:'.:..--' .... _. -. . - - ~ - ~~~;,............ -~'~
~- -~..~<;;~...;;..- -il" .-'- ~--
~6:.'1:~."'-
~~~?a __: .. <
~.-..~
~~..
.' ~~'r_:'-:-I'.~:'
;;::,...~_",-~"~."'_ ~.. ._.._..""'l
,t.....r..:.-=::.';,j:::.= --=. = /~
F':~';;~;;';; - -. ~'S"r.J
Off Bluff Street (1850s) (photo, A Walking Tour of South Dubuque)
Dennis Mahoney House (off Bluff Street, 1850s) is a three-bay surviving example of this subtype. The plan has
a central chimney. The property was directly associated with 1862 local military suppression of the
"Copperhead" newspaper the Dubuque Herald (A Walking Tour of South Dubuque).
This two-story type is defined as a side gabled house although it does occur as a story and a half. Associated
particularly with the states ofminois, Indiana and Iowa, the plan is two rooms and a central hall across and a single room
in depth, so it is basically two rooms over two rooms. The type can range from three to five bays, substituting a side
front entry for the central one in the shorter versions.
L-Plan (1850-1900):
This subtype covers L plans that have varied roof heights on their core form and a front ell or wing, or one of the
wings having a roof form that is not a gable. This L-plan type must have this roof form or height difference and the
interior rooms must divide at the junction point of the core and wing. Frequently the cross gable is then balanced with a
dormer on the subordinate main wing. This type lends itself to stylistic applications, particularly Tudor and Colonial.
T-Plan (c.1860-1920):
This type is defined by it's "T" footprint rather than its roof elevations. The roof ridges of its parts can
be uneven. The "T" is sometimes symmetrical with a wrap around porch on the three exposed sides of the stem
of the "T" infill the plan, or it is asymmetrical with a L-shaped porch along the front and one side ofthe
projecting wing. The plan can orient with its projecting wing being set either towards or parallel to the street.
PS Form 10-9oo-s
IRev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
211
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQ1.1e Countv. Iowa
County and State--
Cross Plan (c.1900-1920):
This type adds a fourth wing component to the "T' plan, resulting in a cross plan. The intersecting wings must
be of comparable size. Commonly the rear wing, set away from (and out of sight) the street, is a subordinated service
,,-ing. The purer cross plan form has wings of the same scale and exposure. This type is identified by it's footprint and
not its roof form (four intersecting roof ridges set above wall dormers for example).
Popular Cottage/House Types:
The Bungalow (1910-1930):
Pre-bungalow, described as a "low rambling building, all with wide porches and low windows,"
the Dubuque Golf Club clubhouse (Dubuque Enterprise, June 18, 1904)
The bungalow emerged as a popular house type c.1908 and by 1916 was the house of choice across the country
for the middle and working class. The type however defies ready definition because it includes subtypes with
diametrically conflicting characteristics. There are three generally accepted bungalow subtypes: (1) the single story front
gable; (2) the aeroplane and (3) the side gable. A fourth subtype, (4) the Chicago Bungalow, is defmed in this study.
The aeroplane subtype might be considered a variant of the first one, given that it simply adds an extra room or rooms
onto a single story plan. The side gable subtype can be more than two stories high, but that fact is hidden beneath the
broad roof planes that descend to the street front. Few hard and fast design rules can encompass these three varied
subtypes but it can be generally said that the bungalow form is either a single story small form or if it is higher, the roof
form is used to disguise the presence of additional floors. Ideally it is a single story seasonal retreat, being largely open to
the outside. In the Midwest the bungalow most commonly has a basement, a steeper roof, reduced overhanging eaves,
and a reduced amount of porch and exterior exposure, in contrast with its West Coast precursors. In its tract house form
it occupies a narrow urban lot -wi.th front and rear porch, and a rear lot garage. The majority of bungalows have no
Craftsman affectations to speak of and only rarely employ very exotic building materials such as cobblestones. Even
stucco is rarely employed in the Quad-Cities area. It is the general finding that bungalows as a subtype are for whatever
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
212
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State--
reason fairly under represented in this area. At the same time, the term bungalow endured well into the 1950s and early
1960s here and many a cottage and ranch house was marketed as a bungalow well after W odd War ll. The aeroplane
was simply not found at all. Especially rare is the straightforward front gable subtype. A front gabled cottage is more
likely a bungalow if the porch is not separate from the house core, and forms an extension of the core roof plane. The
bungalow finds expression in the following subtypes:
Subtvoes:
1. Gable Front/Narrow Front Bungalow:
This group of bungalows, primarily consisting of gable front variations, includes bungalow plans that present
their narrow dimension to the street. Hip roofed bungalows are included in this type. Variations include a facade wide
gable front, with separate porch or a recessed porch, and plans that project off-center porches or side porches from a
gable front core.
2. Aeroplane!.AJrplane Bungalow:
This bungalow type is a variant of the gable front/narrow front type. The aeroplane plan simply adds another
room as a second floor. This level is then separately roofed with matching projecting eaves and detailing.
95 South Grandview Avenue (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 139)
95 South Grand"\iew Avenue (*date) is an aeroplane bungalow and an unusual one in that it is placed atop a side gable
bungalow plan. The design is heavily Craftsman influenced and the large solarium gabled bay centered on the second
floor is particularly interesting (photo, Sommer, p. 139).
3. Side Gable Bungalow:
This general type includes side gable plans, most of which present their broader dimension to the street front.
The roof form can have a single roofplane which continues forward to cover a recessed porch, or it can have two roof
pitches, and the lower reduced pitch roofplane projects above the porch. Dormers commonly are set into the front
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
213
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State--
roofplane and these can be very large relative to the volume of the roofplane. This type can be further categorized in
terms of the use of a full width or partial width porch.
1781 Plymouth Street (*date) (photo, Sommer, p. 139)
1781 Plymouth Street (*date) is a complex example of the side gable subtype. The house has matching end chimneys
which is very unusuaL The fayade is a careful balance of a shed roofbay and dormer on the left side with a jerkinhead
roof cross gable and an offset entry porch on the right side. The tile roof features decorative fmials on its peaks and the
front porch roof is wrapped around projecting pilaster tops (photo, Sommer, p. 138).
125 South Grandview Avenue (*date) is a more dimunitive brick bungalow design. It has a tile roof and multiple
chimneys however. The fayade has a centered cross gable and an offset bracketted entry porch. It is probable that the
same designerJbuilder was responsible for this house and 1781 Plymouth Street (Sommer, p. 138-39).
Foursquare (1904-1940):
The foursquare term is a recently crafted one, coined to identify an accepted two-story house with square plan
and hipped roof. The type has an interior floor plan of four rooms on each of the two floors. There is no central halL
The square house was long touted as the most economical house, it being the nearest thing to an a theoretical
frame sphere that could be readily built. It delivered the maximal interior space for the lowest cost per square foot. At
the same time it was derided in the period architectural journals for its resulting boxy look. Despite this element of
disfavor the house type persisted and designers strove to remedy the limitations of its core form. Its origin remains
undetermined. In some manner the near square late Victorian house with its irregular interior plan and assemblage of
bays was, like the bungalow, replaced by an economical eight roomed cube plan, with four rooms per floor. The type is
defined by the near square footprint, an elevated foundation line, the absence of a central entry and hall and the use of a
four room over four room interior plan, and the use of a plain hip roof, with from one to four dormers. This has been
termed the "foursquare" or the "Prairie Cube" and a host of similar other names. It has Midwest regional roots and was
for a generation the farmhouse model of choice along with the bungalow.
This house type appears to have almost instantly appeared on the national building scene in the years 1904-06.
While squarish forms of similar scale preceded the foursquare, it was the simplification of both exterior form and the
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
214
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-
interior layout that resulted in the foursquare. The shell divested itself of bays, side wings, equal height rear extensions,
resulting in the square or very near square footprint. Inside, the floor plan eliminated the central hall and stairway, and
embraced the living room concept. The first floor was divided roughly into four square rooms, as was the second floor.
A side stair, centered on one side wall became the standard feature.
The type adopted the full width single story front porch, employed a raised foundation, and added from one to
four roof dormers to finalize the basic form. The type could still take on stylistic features and found expression in most
of the eclectic house styles.
The foursquare was a very popular house type, particularly during the years 1904-1925. Its rise to popularity
paralleled that of the bungalow. The foursquare persisted in popularity after that of the bungalow waned, but after the
mid-1920s it appears to have been used mostly to add a vertical variety to housing developments. Whole developments
consisting on only foursquare houses are not common but they do occur.
Beginning in the mid-1920s the type was further refmed, losing its signature front porch and finally gaining side
extensions in the forms of solariums, garages and connecting wings, or side wings. The eavesline was sharply cut back
in these later houses and the dormers largely disappeared. Inside, the living room expanded to fully occupy half of the
main floor plan. The raised foundation disappeared along with the front porch. To many, these houses are not
foursquares given these changes. Instead they are categorized as two story Colonial Re"ival house. This author suggests
that there is at least a symbolic link between the square houses of the 1930s and 1940s. The interior floor plan changes,
away from the standard four over four room arrangement, was forced by the reduction of the house size. Further research
of the design origins of these later square houses and their interior plans will help to determine to what extent they can be
called foursquares.
Minimal Traditional Cottage (c.1931-55):
This title, coined by Virginia and Lee McAlester, is thought to represent a dilution of the Tudor Revival cottage.
They date the onset of the subtype to c.1935. The type was produced by minimizing the size, complexity and style of the
then popular eclectic house or cottage. The type is described by McAlester as follows:
With the economic Depression of the 1930s came this compromise style which reflects the form of
traditional Eclectic houses, but lacks their decorative detailing. Roof pitches are low or intermediate,
rather than steep as in the preceding Tudor style. Eaves and rake are close, rather than overhanging as in
the succeeding Ranch style. Usually, but not always, there is a large chimney and at least one front
facing gable, both echoing Tudor features (McAlester, p. 478).
Architectural historian Mary Mix Foley terms the type the "builder's economic house." Foley dates its
emergence with the Great Depression. Foley greatly simplifies the type by presenting a simple and very basic
rectangular plan. The McAlester definition, noted above, allows for a broader and more useful inclusiveness. The
McAlester examples all depict elongated side gabled plans but also allow for a front off-center gabled wing. The
entryway is usually into or adjacent to this short projecting front wing. All of the examples are single story although
some steeper roof pitches hint that some livable attic space is present. The McAlester examples also portray plans \vith
side wings, breezeways and attached garages to one side (Foley, p. 220).
PS Form 1 Q-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
215
-
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuq)1e County. Iowa
County and State-
Following the broader McAlester definition, the minimal traditional type encompasses any single story tract
house that was built betvleen the Great Depression and the mid-1950s that cannot be categorized by either style or
another accepted type. The later date counterpart of this type is the ranch house. The difficulty then is distinguishing the
two forms (refer to ranch house type, defined below).
A very broad range of single story cottage forms fall under the minimal traditional heading in field surveys and
this is no surprise given that the minimal traditional was the dominant cottage form for a 25 year period. This
construction era coincided with historical events and economic cycles that combined to favor the mass construction of
these very small homes. The square minimal traditional, found in association with 1940-44 and 1945-47 housing
developments, was not addressed either by McAlester or Foley. The 24x28 foot standard plan is credited to Robert L.
Davison, research director for the Jolm B. Pierce Foundation. It is the square or near square form which dominates the
large plat developments of the early 1940s (Mason, p. 27).
Three subtypes are defmed for the purpose of this survey project. These are the (1) square, (2) linear, and (3) L-
plan. The (1) square subtype is a squarish single story variant. The gable end can be oriented to the front or side of the
plan and a hip roof can also be used. The linear and L-plan subtypes are of a later date. The linear subtype most
commonly is side gabled and it presents the longer dimension of its rectangular plan to the street front. The L-plan takes
this same form and orientation and adds an off-center front wing or a shallower cross gable to the facade. The cross
gable can project slightly in a shallow pavilion form (most commonly) or it can be room sized and form an L-plan. As
the ranch house period approaches in the late 1940s, the L-plan becomes the most common of the three subtypes. Further
research into floor plans will help distinguish between these subtypes.
One characteristic of the minimal traditional type, unlike the ranch, is that the windows on the facade are of the
double hung sash type, and these tend to retain their full length. This reflects the increased proportion of window glass
that is put into the ever-shrinking small house. More light disguised the small size of the rooms inside. Windows,
particularly picture windows, ran closer to the floor level to maximize interior light. The porch by this time has
atrophied to a covered entryway. and there are no dormers, the roof pitch being too shallow to allow for any upper level
livable space.
The Lustron pre-fabricated all steel house is the preeminent example of the minimal traditional type and there are
at least two of these in Dubuque. The Lustron franchise holders were beset by the refusal of FHA to underwrite the full
cost of the structures and by the initial inability of local crews to achieve the 350 man-hours target promised by the
company to complete a house assemblage. The company ceased production in mid-1950 as growing debt and steel
shortages impeded output ("Problems of Independent Small Business Lustron Dealers," 1950, pp. 20-21, 65).
(*need photo)
Lustron House (Cottage) (887 W. Locust Street, c.1950) is turquoise and cream colored (Gebhard, p. 88).
The Ranch (1938-present):
The ranch type is another California derived house. All call it the "ranch house" but it teclmically is a cottage,
being just one story high. It first manifests itself in the very late 1930s but it took another decade before the type is built
in any numbers and its name has public recognition. Its origins are linked by some to the Spanish Colonial. The ranch
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PS Form 10-9oo.a
IRev. 8.86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMB Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
216
-
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Pro perry
Dubuq,ue Countv. Iowa
County and State-
shares many attributes with its bungalow antecedent. Both types originated in California and both were in their own time
associated with a modem popular lifestyle. The ranch offered an untraditional form and pl~ one disassociated from war
and the Depression.. Both were low profile types and the ranch, originally lacking a raised basement/foundation was
particularly low in profile. Both utilized a broad projecting eavesline although the ranch exhibited no structural supports.
Both types were strongly oriented to the nature and the out-of-doors. Later ranches utilized rear patios and sliding door
access points just as the bungalow used porches, side gardens and terraces accessed by multiple exit points.
To some the ranch is the direct successor to the bungalow and it embodies the same basic principles. John Jakle
states "the ranch movement was rooted in the bungalow craze" and early in its history there was the "ranch bungalow"
that evidenced a direct California derivation. The fundamental difference was that the ranch glorified self-indulgence,
replacing style with convenience, and comfort in lieu of beauty. Previously the family fit itself to the house. Now the
house was planned around the needs and tastes of the family. The ranch, unlike its predecessor types, was a home for the
affluent suburbanite. Consequently it has to be sufficiently large (Jakle says six rooms minimum) (Jakle, Common
Houses. p. 183, 186, Clifford, p. 216).
The term "ranch" was not accepted as the dominant name for this house form until c.1950 according to Jakle. It
was otherwise termed "western," "California bungalow," "contractor modern" or "contemporary" in the interim years
(Jakle, pp. 183-84).
Defining the ranch today is as problematic as tying down the bungalow. Like the bungalow in and after its day,
everything gabled and rectangular is labled a ranch. Realtors love the term. Consequently the minimal traditional
cottage is lumped into the ranch category. John Jakle has developed what appears to be a very useful basic ranch
typology. The "standard ranch" consists of a strict rectangular footprint with an attached or integrated garage. It meets
Jakle's six-room minimal test. On a narrow lot, the plan is commonly turned sideways and joined on the streetface with
an attached garage or carport. Commonly the form is employed on a "rider lot in an effort to differentiate the repeated
use of the same plan. JakIe terms this sub-type the "ranch bungalow." The "minimal ranch" is Jakle's term for the
minimal traditional. While rectangular in plan, the garage is not attached and the plan offers five or fewer rooms. The
"composite ranch" utilizes an irregular plan (L or T variants of the rectangular) and a more complicated roof form. A
garage or carport is integrated into the plan. Jakle treats the split-level as a ranch house subset. Finally he defines the
raised ranch or "split entry" or "bi-level" subtype. JakIe states that it is a variation on the split-level sub-type although he
acknowledges that there are only two living levels in the plan (the split-level has three such levels). This sub-type
centers an entryway between a raised upper level and a raised and exposed basement. Stairs descend and ascend to the
two levels. Jakle terms the sub-type a story and a half (Ibid., pp. 183-94).
The ranch is certainly a single story house with low roof pitch and broad overhanging eaves. Gable roofs tend to
be of earlier date and are more associated with the minimal traditional type. Hip roofs are a signature roof form for the
ranch. One very common feature in early ranch houses is the use of a half-high window in the private portions of the
house. Later designs tend to employ these half-length windows all across the facade. The earlier houses use a composite
picture window, formed by a band (usually three sets) of multi paned lights. JakIe adds a long, wide porch to the ranch
criteria, but many ranch porches use a long but very narrow porch form.
A common early descriptor that was associated with this type was the term "rambler." The word means lacking
plan or system. The earliest ranches had single pile room plans and these rambled off in any direction, frequently
covering several sides of a rear patio area. The earliest ranch examples exhibit this rambling nature. Spanish
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
217
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-
architectural influences and the concept of a full or partially enclosed central patio played a central role in the emergence
of the ranch type.
Some early ranch plans present a series of individually roofed segments, almost a rowhouse-like profile. This
ranch form has a taller roof pitch and more closely approximates traditional Colonial Revival form and style. These
plans can have the profile of a stor:y and a half cottage.
The ranch interior plan consisted of three zones, these being for housework, living activities and private areas.
The housework core combined kitchen, bathrooms and laundry. Multi-fi.mctional rooms were the rage. The hygienic
kitchen was transformed into combination play areas, laundry rooms, and project rooms. The living room family room
and dining room merged. The study or office doubled as a guest bedroom. The emergence of a "teen culture" and
improved television and record playing technologies meant that there were quieter parental activities in the living room
and the need to segregate teens to a separate recreation playroom in the basement. Additional half bathrooms guaranteed
that the private zone of the house could stay private (Clifford, pp. 211-216).
The ranch house was largely employed by wealthier homeowners between its initial emergence in the late 1930s
and its post-1945 gradual rise to dominance by the middle-1950s. Its mass adoption is said to have been in response to a
popular demand for a larger house. The type coincided with the trend towards wider and shallower lots and a growing
public interest in greater privacy from adjoining neighbors. Clifford Clark believes that the ranch house popularity was
rooted more in a public perception of a Southwestern relaxed and comfortable lifestyle as much as it was in the house
type itself. This fashion was directly reflected in the massive westward migration that followed the war but which had its
roots in wartime industrial worker displacement to that region. New heating technologies would allow for transplanting
the type to colder climates (Ibid., pp. 210-213).
The ranch houses were first introduced c.1938-40 but failed to achieve any immediate public acceptance. The
first house plans were noted for their "rambling" designs and many consisted of strings of single rooms. The double pile
ranch plan was less capable of rambling. During the final years of World War n the housing literature focused on future
house building (given that relatively little building was then going on) and the public, with its accumulated savings and
its pent-up demand, anxiously awaited what was promised in postwar house building. Most homebuyers had dreams that
exceeded their means. Public opinion polls taken between 1945 and 1955 still recorded a majority opinion in favor of the
traditional house. Public interest in contemporary design increased as one went west in the country. Potential
homebuyers expressed little interest in style per se but there was a strong interest in "a ranch house or a rambler...which
probably means little else than a one story building." In the North Central and East Central regions about 41 percent of
the potential house buyers favored either the traditional or the contemporary house. The national average was 37 percent
for a Cape Cod (27 percent) or Colonial, and 42 percent for a ranch (24 percent) or contemporary (18 percent). Fully 21
percent favored an unspecified other house type. Potential buyers wanted broader lots although the vast majority of lots
were 40-60 feet wide. A quarter of all lots measured 60 to 80 feet wide. An apparent casualty to fashion was the demise
of the Tudor Revival style. The ranch would take on surviving Colonial Revival manifestations. As early as 1946, it was
reported that the modem contemporary house had "gained in popularity in recent years" ("What People Want When They
Buy A House," 1955).
The Split Level (1938-present):
Most house types had an initial appearance that predated the emergence of a popular mass-appeal variant of the
type. The earliest split-level plans appeared in 1939 and 1940. The first known large scale builder of the type was
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
218
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Count\'. Iowa
County and State--
Leonard W. Besinger & Associates, of Oak Park, illinois. In 1939 that firm. bult 58 "economy three-level" houses in the
Clarendon Hills Addition, a Chicago suburb. Besinger had pre'\liously built only the more expensive class of residences.
While he is not necessarily credited with developing the type, he adapted it to the rolling topography. The ground level
housed a garage and utility room, the main floor dining room, kitchen, and the two bedrooms and bath on the upper level.
The basic house footprint was a near square with a side-gable roof (American Builder, February 1940, pp. 76-77).9
The mass produced split-level was derived from the ''builder's economic house" of the 1950s. It provided more
living space than did the ranch and it was mass marketed once the market demand for economical smaller houses was
satiated. The combination one and two-story form performed the still necessary role of varying the vertical profile of the
streetscape. The form itself was built in Iowa as early as 1940 (see the Davenport example above) but its mass popularity
developed as house buyers sought larger houses during the middle 1950s. John Jakle dates its mass-appearance to
c.1950. The split-level was particularly appropriate for hillside developments and made some uneven land parcels
suddenly attractive for house building. The split-level, like the ranch added more interior space, sectioned off the second
living room (the "family room") from the rest of the house (Jakie, p. 191, Foley, pp. 220-21).
John Jakie considers the split-level to be a ranch subset. The plan reflects the theory that a family required three
distinct areas, quiet living areas, noisy living/service areas and sleeping areas. Thus the split-level combines three levels,
a junction of a two-story component with a raised single story wing. He also suggests that the house is better represented
in the period building literature than it is in actual subdivisions (Jakle, p. 191).
Registration Requirements: Single Family Residential Property Type:
Description:
This property type includes single family houses which are either detached buildings or attached row houses.
Single family residences set above commercial storefronts are excluded here but are subsets of either the commercial or
the multiple family property types. Church parsonages, the Linwood Cemetery house/office, and any individual
residential quarters located in an institutional setting are included under this property type. The many types and styles of
this property type are defined in the stylie/type typology (see above).
Sismificance:
Context #1, Frontier City on the Mississippi River, 1833-1858:
Dubuque appears to retain a record number of this property type and a special effort is recommended to
inventory these properties. Groupings of residences from this period are found in the Jackson Park Historic District but
otherwise they appear to be scattered throughout the city. "True" vernacular properties most likely date to this earliest
period and should be sought out. A property can be nominated under Criterion A, B or D for its historical significance
under this context. Under Criterion A the property has to have a documented effect on the overall development of the
early city. Under Criterion B, the property must have a direct association with a significant individual. Under Criterion
D, the property is significant for its information potential better understanding the development of the city.
Context #2, The Key City, 1859-1893:
9 Fort Dodge gained a five-level split-level in 1940 (Register, December 29, 1940).
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
219
The Architecnnal and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State----
A great many surviving properties represent this period of exponential growth. A property can be nominated
\mder Criterion A, Bor D for its historical significance \mder this context. Under Criterion A the property has to have a
documented effect on the overall development of the city during these years. A house construction might have led the
way to the development of a particular district and many larger properties housed important local religious and
educationalinstitutions. Properties can interpret the story of the several significant ethnic populations in the city. Under
Criterion B, the property must have a direct association with a significant individual. Many houses can interpret and
represent the working careers of significant commercial and industrial leaders for whom work-related properties are no
longer extant. Under Criterion D, the property is significant for its information potential better \mderstanding the
development of the city.
Context #3, Fitful Growth and Maturation, 1893-1910:
Some of Dubuque's largest and most magnificent residential properties date to this final period of substantial city
growth. A property can be nominated under Criterion A, B or D for its historical significance under this context. Under
Criterion A the property has to have a documented effect on the overall development of the city. Under Criterion B, the
property must have a direct association with a significant individual. Under Criterion D, the property is significant for its
information potential better understanding the development of the city.
Context #4, An Era of Stability, 1910-1955:
Dubuque is perhaps unique in that residential construction was severely limited during this time period, in
contrast to other Iowa cities. Consequently there are fewer examples of this property type for each style and there is a
decreased likelihood that these will cluster in any single neighborhood. A property can be nominated under Criterion A,
B or D for its historical significance under this context. Under Criterion A the property has to have a documented effect
on the overall development of the early city. Under Criterion B, the property must have a direct association with a
significant individual. Under Criterion D, the property is significant for its information potential better understanding the
development of the city.
Context #5, The Architecture of Dubuque, 1833-1955
A property can be nominated under Criterion C if it meets the criteria set forth in the style/type typology (see
above) and if it represents a significant example of a particular style or type.
Re2istration Reauirements:
-Individual residential properties must be directly associated with the City of Dubuque, 1833 to present_
-Individual residential properties must have a direct and significant association with one or more of the
established historical contexts which are defined in this document.
-Individual residential properties eligible under Criterion A must retain the integrity aspects of location, design
and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association. The property has to be in its original location, and its
original design must be visually apparent, unobstructed by additions or alterations. The integrity aspects of
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
220
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iovva. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-
setting, materials and worlananship are expected to have changed the most, and their substantial loss does not
disqualify eligibility.
-Individual residential properties eligible under Criterion B are eligible if they retain the same integrity aspects
required fer Criterion A (see above). The aspects ofworlananship and materials must at least be minimally
reflected in the visible fayade.
-Individual residential preperties eligible under Criterion C must represent a significant style, type, period or
method of construction. Rarity of example is a justified reason fer significance if the property represents a once
common type now rarely found. Many Dubuque properties will warrant state or national levels of significance
because they combine architectural significance with rarity. Significance is possessed if the property represents
and interprets the working career of a notable artist, architect, engineer or landscape architect and explains how
that individual contributed to their respective fields. A property is significant if it possesses high artistic qualities
which characterize the architectural heritage of Dubuque. Finally significance is possessed if the property
represents local vernacular architecture er stylistic vernacular adaptations.
-Individual residential properties are eligible under Criterion D if they possess the potential to yield information
through archeological treatment. For subsurface remains of buildings, structures or objects, it is expected that
the integrity aspects of materials, werlananship, and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association are
sufficiently retained so that the property is recognizable and qualifies to yield information. For the subsurface
remains of dumps, sinks, or other cultural debris, it is necessary that the deposits be relatively intact and
undisturbed. The individual nomination form must identify key research questions to be answered and must
explain how the information yielded from the property will shed light on these questions.
Registration Requirements: Multiple-family Residential Property Type:
Descriotion:
The styles/types of this property type are treated in the styles/types section (see above). Targeted research is
required to. sort out the many multiple property forms which are commonplace in the city. Newspaper accounts refer to
frame and brick double houses, tenements, flats, flats above stores (treated under Commercial properties), apartment
buildings, duplexes and so on. Tenements are the hardest of these to define. Individually owned row houses are
excluded despite the fact that many "rews" were constructed by multiple owners using a unified plan/architect. Double
houses were valued as a means by which a hemeowner could use half of his property to support the purchase of a more
substantial housing investment. Some double houses were built one half at a time. Double houses are the most
commonplace in Dubuque and are found in all parts of the city but are principally concentrated in the Phase I and Phase
IT survey areas and in the several flat-land listed residential districts. They are commonly vernacular adaptations of
stylistic and urban forms. Brick appears to dominate in preference until c.1906. The several basic forms are described in
the vernacular portion of the architectural context. Research is recommended to determine the degree to which multiple
family house types were more or less likely to be non-owner occupied. Converted single-family housing is excluded
from this property type.
Si~ificance:
Context #1, Frontier City on the Mississippi River, 1833-1858:
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No_ 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
221
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-
A few double houses are knovvn to exist from this period and these are of particular interest as early examples of
this common Dubuque type. The stone house on *** street, pictured elsewhere in this report is the best example and a
rare all-stone example.
Context #2, The Key City, 1859-1893:
Multiple-family house types were more commonly built during the later years of this period and are significant
because they provided close-in housing for city residents. Other types, flats in particular, began to become more
common place in the later years of this contextual period.
Context #3, Fitful Growth and Maturation, 1893-1910:
The full range of multiple family house types were built during this final period of large-scale growth. Builders
like Chris Voelker promoted duplex purchases as a preferred route to home ovvnership and builders first offered concrete
block built duplexes and flats. The formal apartment building is relatively rare in the city but experienced its first
application in the final years of this context.
Context #4, An Era of Stability, 1910-1955:
Multi-family housing types grew more common as it became more difficult in the post-World War I years to
provide ovvner-owned housing for working class families. Housing supply became scarce and renting was increasingly
the only option or at least a short-term one. Apartment blocks were more commonplace.
Context #5, The Architecture of Dubuque, 1833-1955
Multi-family housing expressed both stylistic and vernacular applications and the two are hard to distinguish.
Later apartment blocks utilized Craftsman style and experimented with rusticated concrete block construction.
Relristration Requirements:
-Individual multi-family residential properties must be directly associated with the City of Dubuque, 1833 to
present.
-Individual multi-family residential properties must have a direct and significant association with one or more of
the established historical contexts which are defined in this document.
-Individual multi-family residential properties eligible under Criterion A must retain the integrity aspects of
location, design and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association. The property has to be in its original
location, and its original design must be visually apparent, unobstructed by additions or alterations. The integrity
aspects of setting, materials and workmanship are expected to have changed the most, and their substantial loss
does not disqualify eligibility.
-Individual multi-family residential properties eligible under Criterion B are eligible if they retain the same
integrity aspects required for Criterion A (see above). The aspects of workmanship and materials must at least be
minimally reflected in the visible fayade.
-Individual multi-family residential properties eligible under Criterion C must represent a significant style, type,
period or method of construction. Rarity of example is a justified reason for significance if the property
represents a once common type now rarely found. Many Dubuque properties will warrant state or national levels
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PS Form 10-900..
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
222
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State---
of significance because they combine architectural significance with rarity. Significance is possessed if the
property represents and interprets the working career of a notable artist, architect, engineer or landscape architect
and explains how that individual contributed to their respective fields. A property is significant if it possesses
high artistic qualities which characterize the architectural heritage of Dubuque. Finally significance is possessed
if the property represents local vernacular architecture or stylistic vernacular adaptations.
-Individual multi-family residential properties are eligible under Criterion D if they possess the potential to yield
information through archeological treatment. For subsurface remains of buildings, structures or objects, it is
expected that the integrity aspects of materials, worlananship, and the cumulative aspects of feeling and
association are sufficiently retained so that the property is recognizable and qualifies to yield information. For
the subsurface remains of dumps, sinks, or other cultural debris, it is necessary that the deposits be relatively
intact and undisturbed. The individual nomination form must identify key research questions to be answered and
must explain how the information yielded from the property win shed light on these questions.
Registration Requirements: Individual Commercial Property Type:
Descrit>tion:
The styles/types of this property type are treated in the style/type section (see above). Survey and research is
required to fully document and distinguish the broad range of commercial property types in the city. The majority of the
commercial downtown area has not been surveyed and findings from the Phase I survey represent mostly corner
storefronts and whatever commercial properties have located along Central Avenue and the lower reaches (above 18th
Street) of Jackson, White and Washington streets.
Commercial buildings in this study comprise two closely related sub-types, the one and two part commercial
subtypes as defmed by architectural historian Richard Longstreth. Longstreth has defined 11 basic commercial building
types and his is the most comprehensive schema for use in Dubuque. His types are all defmed by the fundamental
massing and facade arrangement and each type more or less persists over the years 1800-1950, and each tends to be
influenced by the same styles, popular changes and evolving technologies and the availability of new building materials.
Longstreth does not proceed to further subdivide each of his types. The types that follow represent groups of buildings
that share the same basic structural or ornamental features. Usually these same buildings also share comparable
construction dates. Each type is largely defmed by the elements or treatments found in the upper story (if present) or the
pediment. Storefronts are rarely original and change constantly both in design and materials (Longstreth).
The One-Part Commercial Block (c. 1850-present):
This is the single story version of the two-part type, being essentially only the storefront component, with or
without a false front/parapet and cornice line being set above it. The origin of this type was the frontier and suburb and it
was commonly expressed in frame construction. This type also includes many later bank buildings although it was
overwhelmingly a retailing building type. The same general transitional phases mark the evolution of this type. By the
20th Century detailing was simpler vvith a greater uninterrupted array of display glass being possible. The Modeme
influence resulted in a deeply recessed entrance with a simple wall surface above.
The Two-part Vertical Block (1830's-1930's):
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
223
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuqJ1e. Iowa.. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State--
This type consists of two-story buildings. The facade is divided into two horizontal zones, the public storefront
level (base) and the more private upper floor (shaft). In the earlier examples the upper level ornamentation is additive
and is generally not associated with the facade. This type was well adapted to house a diversified range of commercial
uses including banks, hotels, office buildings and department stores. The vast majority of this subtype is two stories high
but can range upwards to include as many levels as are generally associated with a pre-elevator era.
The type passed through a Victorian period of ornate exaggeration. The High Victorian years, continuing into
the early 1900s was particularly fanciful, employing varied window openings, a broad range of materials, and fancy attics
and turrets. Longstreth credits the Academic Movement (c. 1800s into the 19305) with bringing about a more
proportioned reordering of the decorative elements on the upper floors. That level was more unified, with the decorative
elements being subordinated to the overall facade. The commercial building was to be unobtrusive and less ostentatious.
Multi-colored brick and thin veneer stone was now available. European modernism first influenced the type between the
mid-1920s and mid-1930s. A vertical emphasis was added, tying the floors together. An enriched wall surface resulted.
A second period of influence (1930s-194Os) resulted in a strong emphasis on horizontally with decorative banding,
smooth wall surfaces and the integration of signs into the whole building design. Forty-one surveyed properties fall
under this sub-type.
The Three-part Vertical Block (late 1880's-1930's):
This subtype is counterpart of the taller counterpart of the two-part, with the distinction that the uppermost
grouping of floors (most commonly from one to three stories) is given a distinctive architectural treatment which is
analogous to the capital in the classical column. The American Trust, Banking and Insurance, and the Security buildings
all fall under this subtype. The moderne style tended to reduce the dimensions of the uppermost zone with a recessed cap
and sometimes add a tower.
The Vault (c.1900-1930's:
This subtype is most commonly associated with monumental bank designs. The entire main fayade is enframed
by a wrap-around (sides and top) decorative surround. A large entryway is usually combined with classical elements
such as a temple front with columns. Fayade windows are small. These buildings can be as high as four stories. This
subtype was commonly used by the Prairie School in the early 20th century.
Central Block With Flanking Wings (189O's-1920's):
This subtype is most commonly associated with public and institutional buildings and derived from the Italian
Villa form. A central dominant core is flanked by recessed subordinate matching side wings. Banks and theaters also
used this subtype. This subtype is commonly associated \\rjth commercial expressions of the Second Empire and
Romanesque styles.
Enframed Block (Late 19th centurey-l930's):
Like the central block with flanking wings subtype this elongated subtype has a larger central massing and
sidewings but all three parts in this instance share the same height and the side wings are narrower. The central core
usually employs a row of classical columns. It is also commonly used for public and institutional buildings but banks use
it as well.
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
224
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State---
Three-part Block (1900-1940):
This subtype is elongated and consists of three equal narrow sections, the centermost being more elaborate than the
flanking ones. Usually one to two stories high, examples employ English classical forms and ornamentation.
Arcaded Block (1900-1920):
This elongated subtype features an arcade or loggia which covers its fayade. Examples range from one to three stories in
height.
Si2l1ificance:
Context #1, Frontier City on the Mississippi River, 1833-1858:
Retail trade during this period was overextended and the Financial Panic of 1857 exposed this vulnerability in
Dubuque. The banking sector however the local amassment of capital from mining in particular set the stage for future
city growth. Very few commercial buildings survive from this period and those that do are of considerable historical
interest. A recent regrettable (2000) loss was the Merchant's Hotel, the last surviving pre-Civil War hotel and a part of
the Old Main historic district. It is more likely that private residences survive which can be used to interpret the
commercial theme for this time period.
Context #2, The Key City, 1859-1893:
Small local retail firms in a few instances grew tremendously during this time period and many buildings still
survive. While subordinate to manufacturing and jobbing, commerce and particularly banking and wholesale trade was
of critical importance to the city's growth and success during these years. Capital was amassed and local banks grew and
multiplied. Ethnic defined businesses were plentiful and each major ethnic group established its own shopping and
services district. Many new or refronted buildings survive to interpret this time period.
Context #3, Fitful Growth and Maturation, 1893-1910:
A few firms grew to dominate their respective trading niches during this final era of strong municipal growth.
The weakness of Dubuque's retail sector became increasingly apparent but banking and wholesaling remained strong.
This was the final phase of small-scale downtown rebuilding. A few monumental downtown buildings date to this period
of development (American Trust Building). Broad-scale bank failures in 1932 devastated many families. Increasingly
local capital was invested more generally and in a less conservative and traditional manner.
Context #4, An Era of Stability, 1910-1955:
Monumental commercial buildings, mostly exclusive office building were built in the downtown. Comparatively
short in stature, these were the city "skyscrapers" to the extent that Dubuque ever had any. Surviving examples include
Roshek's, and ***. Local capital bankrolled the recruitment of new industries.
Context #5, The Architecture of Dubuque, 1833-1955
PS Form 10.900-.
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
225
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-
A number of commercial buildings are identified in the style/types section (see above) as having architectural
significance. Surviving Vernacular commercial designs interpret once more common local types and these survive along
Central Avenue in the Phase I survey area. Some of the earliest buildings likely survive on outlying arterials. The
appearance of the first all-cast iron and plate glass fronts, the refronting of earlier buildings with more stylistic architect-
designed fronts, or the use of special building stone are examples of developments which reflect the growth of the
downtown commercial sector as expressed by architecture.
Re2istration Requirements:
-Individual commercial properties must be directly associated with the City of Dubuque, 1833 to present.
-Individual commercial properties must have a direct and significant association with one or more of the
established historical contexts which are defined in this document.
-Individual commercial properties eligible under Criterion A must retain the integrity aspects of location, design
and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association. The property has to be in its original location, and its
original design must be visually apparent, unobstructed by additions or alterations. The integrity aspects of
setting, materials and worlananship are expected to have changed the most, and their substantial loss does not
disqualify eligibility.
-Individual commercial properties eligible under Criterion B are eligible if they retains the same integrity aspects
required for Criterion A (see above). The aspects ofworlananship and materials must at least be minimally
reflected in the visible fayade.
-Individual commercial properties eligible under Criterion C must represent a significant style, type, period or
method of construction. Rarity of example is a justified reason for significance if the property represents a once
common type now rarely found. Many Dubuque properties will warrant state or national levels of significance
because they combine architectural significance with rarity. Significance is possessed if the property represents
and interprets the working career of a notable artist, architect, engineer or landscape architect and explains how
that individual contributed to their respective fields. A property is significant if it possesses high artistic qualities
which characterize the architectural heritage of Dubuque. Finally significance is possessed if the property
represents local vernacular architecture or stylistic vernacular adaptations.
-Individual commercial properties are eligible under Criterion D if they possess the potential to yield information
through archeological treatment. For subsurface remains of buildings, structures or objects, it is expected that
the integrity aspects of materials, workmanship, and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association are
sufficiently retained so that the property is recognizable and qualifies to yield information. For the subsurface
remains of dumps, sinks, or other cultural debris, it is necessary that the deposits be relatively intact and
undisturbed. The individual nomination form must identify key research questions to be answered and must
explain how the information yielded from the property will shed light on these questions.
Registration Requirements: Individual Industrial Property Type:
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
226
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-
Dubuque Casket Company, Washington and 18m streets, view northeast from 17m Street
(photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
DescriDtion:
The surviving industrial properties in Dubuque have not been surveyed. A quick field check indicates that the
major industrial concentration is located in the southeast quadrant of the downtown area between Central Avenue and
Highway 61. Another cluster of smaller and older plants is south of 18m A venue and east of Jackson Street. Finally a
number of notable plants are located in the upper end of the Couler Valley, above the Phase I survey area. These include
the 1894 brewery and possibly the Brunswick plant if extant. A scattering of plants are located closer to the river,
notably the shot tower and brewery and the A1liant Plant. Factories at Eagle Point are not thought to survive in any form.
The earliest plants employed load bearing exterior walls and internal heavy beam and column support systems.
Almost uniformly building fronts are divided vertically into bays with intervening pilaster supports. Lower level
fenestration and ceiling height tends to be higher than are the upper levels. Later designs, c.1890's and after, employ a
more formalized tri-partite system with base, column and cap. Fenestration is reduced in scale with each successive level
and a decorative corbelled brick parapet lines form the cap. Centered pediments with dates and firm names ornament
major buildings. Central bays are highlighted with larger window sets and rounded transom lights. The first structural
concrete beam and column support system dates to 1910 (McFadden factory, Iowa Street).
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
227
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State--
Early l.Ulidentified factory, Elm and 1 t= Street, view northeast, partially demolished
(photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
Carr, Ryder, Adams Millwork, view northeast, note fenestration, fire shutter hinges on windows, parapet
(photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
There is a probability that the principal cluster of industrial buildings are National Register eligible because they
represent the zenith of Dubuque's industrial might. Given the probability of owner opposition to any formal listing,
further research and public education options in the form of tours and publications is recommended in lieu of formal
recognition. The following photographs are representative of these surviving industrial buildings. The breweries have
been treated in the styles/type section (see above).
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
228
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Coumy. Iowa
County and State-
Same building as shown above, continuation to east, view northeast, note elaborate gateway
(photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
Detail, Carr, Ryder, Adams Complex, note signage
(photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
229
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name ofPropeny
Pediment detail, Carr, Ryder, Adams Complex
(photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
Factory district view, view to southwest
(photo by James Jacobsen, April 21, 2000)
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
Dubuq:ue County. Iowa
County and State--
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
230
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa.. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Count\'. Io,,>,ra
County and State----
J
Factory door detail (photo by James Jacobsen, Apri121, 2000)
Context #1, Frontier City on the Mississippi River, 1833-1858:
No industrial properties survive from this time period apart from the largely symbolic Shot Tower. Numerous
underground remnants of the lead mining industry survive and these have not been researched or surveyed. A number of
lead mining related properties have been listed on the National Register as archeological resources. It is likely that other
industrial sites survive as archeological properties. Apart from lead mining, Dubuque's industries at this time were only
at a developmental stage. Still, all of those industries which later dominated and drove city growth had their origins at
this time.
Context #2, The Key City, 1859-1893:
Developing industries, principally woodworking and wagon building, coalesced during this long period of
growth. The Civil War fostered industrial growth in several industries, principally in meat packing, and helped
strengthen the capital base that made future locally-controlled growth possible. By the 1880's and '90's manufacturing
and jobbing drove the municipal economy and were poised to expand into large scale operations_
Context #3, Fitful Growth and Maturation, 1893-1910:
During this fmal growth period several industries assumed unrivaled proportion. Lumber processing enjoyed its
fmal years of prosperity but was crippled by fires and the exhaustion of upriver timber resources. Replacement industries
were secured and some new plants were built. More aggressive industrial recruitment attempted to drive municipal
growth and capital was invested in a broad range of community improvements.
Context #4, An Era of Stability, 1910-1955:
This period was marked by a near total turnover of manufacturing and jobbing finns as old firms disappeared and
new ones were brought to the city. The industrial base responded to manufacturing opportunities during the two world
wars. Most notable was the role played in the building of boats for the navy. Major finns such as the Brunswick
Company (1910-11) resulted in the construction of major plants but the Depression crippled the industrial base and left a
quarter of the working population unemployed. A major period of successful industrial recruitment began during World
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
231
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuq,ue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuq,ue Countv. Iowa
County and State---
War II and continued through the late 1 940s. Most notable was the securing of the John Deere plant in 1946-47. The
first major industrial park was created along the riverfront in 1955 but its real impact postdated the creation of the
floodwallsystem in 1978.
Context #5, The Architecture of Dubuque, 1833-1955
Surviving industrial buildings present their own industrial vernacular with some stylistic pretensions. Many of
these massive and imposing buildings are architecturally significant by virtue of their style, use of materials,
workmanship, and ornamentation. Sheer rarity further enhances their eligibility because the survivors represent and
interpret the former industrial might that made the city great.
Relristration Reauirements:
-Individual industrial properties must be directly associated with the City of Dubuque, 1833 to present.
-Individual residential properties must have a direct and significant association with one or more of the
established historical contexts which are defined in this document.
-Individual industrial properties eligible under Criterion A must retain the integrity aspects of location, design
and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association. The property has to be in its original location, and its
original design must be visually apparent, unobstructed by additions or alterations. The integrity aspects of
setting, materials and workmanship are expected to have changed the most, and their substantial loss does not
disqualify eligibility.
-Individual industrial properties eligible under Criterion B are eligible if they retain the same integrity aspects
required for Criterion A (see above). The aspects of workmanship and materials must at least be minimally
reflected in the 'Visible fa"ade.
-Individual industrial properties eligible under Criterion C must represent a significant style, type, period or
method of construction. Rarity of example is a justified reason for significance if the property represents a once
common type now rarely found. Many Dubuque properties will warrant state or national levels of significance
because they combine architectural significance with rarity. Significance is possessed if the property represents
and interprets the working career of a notable artist, architect, engineer or landscape architect and explains how
that individual contributed to their respective fields. A property is significant if it possesses high artistic qualities
which characterize the architectural heritage of Dubuque. Finally significance is possessed if the property
represents local vernacular architecture or stylistic vernacular adaptations.
-Individual industrial properties are eligible under Criterion D if they possess the potential to yield information
through archeological treatment. For subsurface remains of buildings, structures or objects, it is expected that
the integrity aspects of materials, workmanship, and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association are
sufficiently retained so that the property is recognizable and qualifies to yield information. For the subsurface
remains of dumps, sinks, or other cultural debris, it is necessary that the deposits be relatively intact and
undisturbed. The individual nomination form must identify key research questions to be answered and must
explain how the information yielded from the property will shed light on these questions.
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
232
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuqpe Countv. Iowa
County and State---
Registration Requirements: Residential, Commercial, Industrial District
Property Type:
Description:
A residential district is comprised of a combination of the several residential types and subtypes, associated
outbuildings that were linked with a plat or residential development. While the plat property type emphasizes the overall
physical arrangement of the plat, the district focuses principally on the above ground buildings, structures and objects
that arose from that plat. Districts are commonly associated with a single plat or a sequence of related plattings but this
is not always the case. Original plattings can be replatted or subdivided and a recognizable district emerges as the end
product. The district must be physically distinctive and visually cohesive. For the purposes of this nomination a district
is comprised of single-family houses or cottages to the near exclusion of other land use classes such as commercial,
religious or multiple unit dwellings. Visually cohesive districts are most commonly comprised almost exclusively of
house/cottage designs of a single and unified architectural expression.
One key component of a significant residential district is its plat design. The plat is defined as a parcel having a
formalized division into indh,idual building lots that was offered for public sale at a specific time. Within the Dubuque
historical context a successful plat is one which achieved the stated goals of its developers, that is the development of a
near homogeneous range and class of houses and a particular overall design for the plat as a whole.
The plat includes the overall plat design and spatial organization, including the street layout, the size,
arrangement and location of its lots, any associated natural qualities or features that influence the plat design, original
landscaping and contouring, the siting of properties, the influence of original building restrictions (setback, massing,
outbuildings or other imposed design standards as examples), and the provision of common spaces (walks, playgrounds,
parks).
There are two basic subtypes, these being the standard grid and the relatively uncommon curvilinear forms. The
grid subtype has predominately straight streets and 9O-degree intersection angles. Block layouts in Dubuque are usually
elongated narrow rectangles that orient north/south. Alleyways are generally uncommon in earlier plats. Curvilinear
plats employ mostly curved streets and these usually follow natural contour lines. There are many Dubuque examples of
curvilinear plats being located on flat ground. The former type also tends to retain original ground contours and
landforms as well as groundcoverings.
The curvilinear plat is represented in most National Register nominations that treat the plat as a property type.
The first such plats reflected the naturalistic or picturesque national design movement of the mid-1800s that most
commonly was reflected in public park or cemetery designs. Plats and suburbs were also commonly designed although
most of these were located in or adjacent to the largest urban areas and predominantly in the Eastern states. In cities such
as Dubuque it was more common to find these designs in public spaces, particularly in Linwood Cemetery's layout.
Design elements did appear in residential plat design. These included cul-de-sacs, occasional curved streets and radial
lot arrangements. The more complete early curvilinear plats were upper class in composition and occupied physically
isolated and self-defined rugged settings. Frequently these were as much accidental, being forced by the topography as
by design. The City Beautiful Movement of the pre- W odd War I years and the emergence of urban planning brought
renewed attention to the picturesque residential plat. After the war the California design influence transported the
western curvilinear plat design throughout the country. This final per- World War II phase of curvilinear platting
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
233
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-
coincided with large-scale house building as an integral part of subdivision development. After W odd War II the
curvilinear plat was more common but probably didn't become dominant until the mid-1950s. Grid plat planning didn't
disappear and was more typically utilized to infill within the core city boundaries.
Curvilinear plats in Dubuque are all located on the bluff tops and many of these reflected an effort on the part of
developers to exhaust the ridge tops which separated the many radiating ravines in the western part of the city.
Curvilinear plats are certainly the exception in the city, most of these date to very recent residential developments.
Industrial and commercial districts can be more simply defined as contiguous groupings of each respective
property type. Residential uses frequently occur on the upper levels in commercial areas but the properties are still
deemed to be primarily commercial. Dubuque's downtown was always a multi-use area and witnessed an intermingling
of all types of land uses. The apparent dominance of commercial properties today is more the result of demolition and
the loss of buildings. The vast majority of older industrial properties have been demolished or altered beyond
recognition. Large areas were historically open either due to marshy conditions or to the former dominance of the
lumber industry with its huge drying yards.
Sitplificance:
Context #1, Frontier City on the Mississippi River, 1833-1858:
No commercial or industrial districts survive in Dubuque from this time period.
Residential Districts:
It is doubtful that any clusters of residential properties survive from this time period. Some are included in the
Jackson Park and Cathedral historic districts. The proposed Broadway District is said to represent this period and might
offer some examples of the earliest vernacular houses.
Context #2, The Key City, 1859-1893:
Commercial Districts:
The commercial downto\Vll expanded northward into the Couler Valley during these years. The Old Main
historic district contains some surviving building from this time period but much of the downto\Vll, east of the several
other listed dO\Vllto\Vll residential districts has not been surveyed. The sub-theme of banking is perhaps the most
important historically. Dubuque claimed a self-sufficiency of capital throughout its history and it was during these years
that the basis for greater growth was formed. The rise of the major commercial houses had its roots in this same period.
Industrial Districts:
It was during this contextual period that the city reigned as Iowa's largest manufacturing center. This dominance
was based on many hundreds of small-scale firms. By the 1880's a few firms and certain industrial sectors achieved a
larger scale and importance to the city, setting the stage for the next and final period of industrial growth. The city's
riverfront was formed and defined by this industrial presence.
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PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
234
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State----
Residential Districts:
This period of city growth produced many potential residential districts and most of the listed districts represent
this time period. Most of the "vernacular" properties date to this context and clusters are to found in the Couler Valley
and Rhomberg. Vernacular houses of this same period are scattered throughout the city in every neighborhood but they
are too intermixed with other property types and styles to produce a visually cohesive district
Context #3, Fitful GTowth and Maturation, 1893-1910:
Commercial Districts:
A number of "modem" office buildings arose during this growth period symbolizing the growth of insurance and
other service related businesses and the maturation of the commercial downto\VTl. These precursors of the skyscraper
represented the aspirations of the dO\VTltown interests. Large scale wholesale businesses also were built at this time. The
Old Main District includes some of the latter_ The banking sector enjoyed particular growth and expansion and the city
weathered the 1893 financial do\VTlturn which crippled virtually every other competitor. This v.-as a remarkable
achievement and consequently the city boasts major buildings from the period 1893-96 which are not to be found
elsewhere.
Industrial Districts:
The surviving industrial concentration likely has its origins in this time period. Dubuque's woodworking,
wagon-building, and several jobbing firms grew exponentially during these years and a few were claimed to be the
largest in the world. While the city had lost its statewide leadership in industry, these firms led the state in their
respective sectors. The city's wealth and expansion hinged on these successes and made possible the remarkable era of
growth and the survival virtually unscathed of the 1893 financial panic.
Residential Districts:
These years witnessed the building of some of the city's largest and most ornate homes as wen as an explosion in
the construction of quality moderate priced working class housing. The latter was offered beginning c.I906 by larger
scale "community builders" such as Chris Voelker who left their mark in the form of numerous distinctive single family
houses. Voelker introduced the use of rusticated concrete block in house construction. The building of satellite factory
sites in the upper Couler Valley also produced districts of company housing around the factories. These should be
investigated for their district potential.
Context #4, An Era of Stability, 1910-1955:
Commercial Districts:
This later period of commercial growth has yet to be fully studied and its buildings surveyed. For the most part
commercial buildings represented infill construction dO\VTlto\VTl or arterial development. Districts as such are unlikely
although the survival of these buildings might favor identifying a small district. The significance question is a difficult
one if the assumption proves true that the commercial component of the city's economy was underdeveloped. Banking
interests once again rise to the top given the severe retrenchment that followed a burst of bank formation and growth
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
235
-
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQ)le County. Iowa
County and State-
prior to World War 1. German banks in particular flourished and several "skyscrapers" arose to attest to banking's
strength. The bank crash in 1932 reduced seven to three banks and the attending losses appear to have substantially
crippled the city's economy for many years.
Industrial Districts:
While not yet surveyed, a cursory examination appears to indicate that new industries from this period
established themselves at scattered sites along the river or up the Couler Valley and that most do not survive today in
recognizable form. Significant themes include the massive (25 percent) unemployment brought by the Depression and
wartime construction contracts. A few new firms set the stage for future industrial growth and some facilities like John
Deere's might constitute a district in their own right.
Residential Districts:
Much of the reduced level of house building during this period consisted of infilling of available lots and it is less
likely that visually cohesive residential districts resulted. This building took place on rolling land atop the bluffs.
Flatland house clusters have a better chance of being identified as districts because they are more compact. There is a
probability that a Craftsmanlbungalow district is to be found in the northeastern part ofRhomberg and the Deere's
housing of 1946-47 in Asbury, with its distinctive red brick and Colonial styling, is also worthy of studying. Grandview
Avenue features much of the best residential architecture of this period but no district has yet been identified.
Context #5, The Architecture of Dubuque, 1833-1955
Commercial Districts:
The commercial architecture of the earliest buildings is best expressed in scattered individual buildings if any
exist unaltered, or in a composite commercial district such as Old Main.
Industrial Districts:
The only apparent industrial district as noted is between Old Main District and Highway 61 and represents
industrial construction from c.1880 through 1920. The buildings reflect the evolution of industrial construction from
load-bearing exterior brick walls with heavy timber internal support systems to cast concrete post and beam construction.
Exterior wall design is at first quite ornate with decorative pediments, horizontal design zones, and elaborate panel and
window set detailing. Later buildings are more generic, with metal windows, smooth surfaced brick panel infilling and
the like.
Residential Districts:
Under Criterion C, a significant residential district coincided vvith and represents the peak popularity of a finite
number of cottagelhouse types and styles and its properties individually and collectively reflect the distinctive
architectural design of a cottage style or type. An intermixing of types and styles, associated with a prolonged period of
development or infilling is not deemed to be architecturally significant. An exception might be a sequential series of
formalized designs that represent successive popular architectural styles.
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PS Form 10-900..
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
236
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State---
Registration Requirements, Residential District Property Type:
-Residential/industrial/commercial district properties must be directly associated with the City of Dubuque, 1833
to present.
-Residential/industrial/commercial district properties must have a direct and significant association with one or
more of the established historical contexts which are defmed in this document
-Residential/industrial/commercial district properties eligible under Criterion A must retain the integrity aspects
of location, design and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association. The property has to be in its original
location, and its original design must be visually apparent, unobstructed by additions or alterations. The integrity
aspects of setting, materials and workmanship are expected to have changed the most, and their substantial loss
does not disqualify eligibility.
-Residential/industrial/commercial district properties eligible under Criterion B are eligible if they retains the
same integrity aspects required for Criterion A (see above). The aspects of workmanship and materials must at
least be minimally reflected in the visible fayade.
-Residential/industrial/commercial district properties eligible under Criterion C must represent a significant
style, type, period or method of construction. Rarity of example is a justified reason for significance if the
property represents a once common type now rarely found. Many Dubuque properties will warrant state or
national levels of significance because they combine architectural significance with rarity. Significance is
possessed if the property represents and interprets the working career of a notable artist, architect, engineer or
landscape architect and explains how that individual contributed to their respective fields. A property is
significant if it possesses high artistic qualities which characterize the architectural heritage of Dubuque. Finally
significance is possessed if the property represents local vernacular architecture or stylistic vernacular
adaptations.
-Residential/industrial/commercial district properties are eligible under Criterion D if they possess the potential
to yield information through archeological treatment. For subsurface remains of buildings, structures or objects,
it is expected that the integrity aspects of materials, workmanship, and the cumulative aspects of feeling and
association are sufficiently retained so that the property is recognizable and qualifies to yield information. For
the subsurface remains of dumps, sinks, or other cultural debris, it is necessary that the deposits be relatively
intact and undisturbed. The individual nomination form must identify key research questions to be answered and
must explain how the information yielded from the property will shed light on these questions.
Registration Requirements: Public and Religious Institutional Property Type:
Description:
The term "institutional" is broadly defined here to encompass public governmental, religious, fraternal, medical,
civic and educational properties. Consequently this type includes public buildings, fraternal halls and temples, ethnic
halls, schools, hospitals, charitable organizations, and religious and other colleges, universities and seminaries. Dubuque
has a rich and unparalleled array of most of these property categories. The city is most noted for its late 19th century
churches and its many religious educational institutions. The stylistic aspects of this type are treated in the styles/types
section (see above). A survey is required to exhaustively analyze and compare the many surviving examples of this
property type range.
Significance:
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
237
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-
Context #1, Frontier City on the Mississippi River, 1833-1858:
From the beginning Dubuque's church spires and the towers of its educational institutions dominated its skyline,
the latter tending to occupy prominent bluff top locations. Dubuque is particularly fortunate to retain a number of
buildings from this formative period and they represent the early emergence of an urban center on the frontier as well as
the importance of the church in promoting emigration and in settling the region. Institutional architecture led the way in
symbolizing the city's aspirations. Remarkably three public buildings, City Hall, the Jail and First Ward School, all
designed by noted architect John Rague, survive and represent the emergence of the urban center within the context of a
frontier community. Several educational institutions, religious and secular left their early marks in surviving buildings
and these have significant associations with contemporary movements of the day.
Context #2, The Key City, 1859-1893:
Religious architecture during this time period produced what many claim to be Iowa's best collection of
monumental and formally designed church architecture. Dubuquer's built large and ornate edifices and they remained
loyal to them. The major churches located downtown and remained there. Church growth, particularly the Catholic
parishes, added church after church as the city expanded northward. The vast and complex array of educational
institutions grew and flourished during this period. The remarkable thing is that most of these still survive in some form,
usually at the same location, and have commonly added on to original buildings with a sensitivity to stylistic continuity.
Other Iowa communities lost the majority of these facilities and can claim but a handful as present day survivors but
Dubuque has always enjoyed the reputation of being a college town. A broad array of public and religious social
services, religious order residencies and the like are also represented by surviving buildings. Many buildings houses a
remarkable range of successive tenant institutions.
Context #3, Fitful Growth and Maturation, 1893-1910:
Dubuque failed to acknowledge the financial panic of 1893 and plunged ahead with the construction of enormous
primarily religious institutional buildings. Collectively, these with industrial and commercial buildings of the period,
represent the city's final large-scale period of growth.
Context #4, An Era of Stability, 1910-1955:
Institutional growth outpaced private sector growth through the mid-1920's and \vas represented by projects like
the Tuberculosis Sanitorium (non-extant). The modem parochial school system developed during this same period,
replacing the traditional parish-based school system and rose to compete effectively with the public school system. The
public school system was transformed during these years by the construction of modem junior and high schools, and
during the late 1930's many of the grade schools were replaced by a set ofModeme yellow-buff brick school complexes.
The larger religious educational institutions, University of Dubuque, Clarke College, Loras College, and the Wartburg
Seminary, all underwent major rebuildings, name changes in most cases, and emerged as successful entities.
Context #5, The Architecture of Dubuque, 1833-1955:
The styles associated with these properties is treated in the styles/types section (see above). A great many
institutional properties are recognized for their architectural merit and state of integrity and the city is generally credited
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
238
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuq.ue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuoue County. Iowa
County and State-
with possessing the best 19m century church architecture in Iowa. A targeted survey and inventory is required to make
formal sense of the vast number of properties which fall Wloo this property type and many could be potentially treated as
historic districts.
Registration Requirements:
-Individual institutional properties must be directly associated \\rith the City of Dubuque, 1833 to present.
-Individual institutional properties must have a direct and significant association with one or more of the
established historical contexts which are defined in this document.
-Individual institutional properties eligible Wlder Criterion A must retain the integrity aspects of location, design
and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association. The property has to be in its original location, and its
original design must be visually apparent, Wlobstructed by additions or alterations. The integrity aspects of
setting, materials and worlananship are expected to have changed the most, and their substantial loss does not
disqualify eligibility.
-Individual institutional properties eligible Wlder Criterion B are eligible if they retain the same integrity aspects
required for Criterion A (see above). The aspects of workmanship and materials must at least be minimally
reflected in the visible fayade.
-Individual institutional properties eligible under Criterion C must represent a significant style, type, period or
method of construction. Rarity of example is a justified reason for significance if the property represents a once
common type now rarely found. Many Dubuque properties will warrant state or national levels of significance
because they combine architectural significance with rarity. Significance is possessed if the property represents
and interprets the working career of a notable artist, architect, engineer or landscape architect and explains how
that individual contri!:>uted to their respective fields. A property is significant if it possesses high artistic qualities
which characterize the architectural heritage of Dubuque.
-Individual institutional properties are eligible under Criterion D if they possess the potential to yield
information through archeological treatment. For subsurface remains of buildings, structures or objects, it is
expected that the integrity aspects of materials, workmanship, and the cumulative aspects of feeling and
association are sufficiently retained so that the property is recognizable and qualifies to yield information. For
the subsurface remains of dumps, sinks, or other cultural debris, it is necessary that the deposits be relatively
intact and undisturbed. The individual nomination form must identify key research questions to be answered and
must explain how the information yielded from the property will shed light on these questions.
Registration Requirements: Transportation Related Property Type:
Description:
This general property type includes those resources which relate to railroads, streetcars, the Mississippi River,
and engineering related to surmoWlting the famous bluffs of Dubuque. A fairly finite property list covers the gamut of
these subtypes. The Illinois Central Railroad bridge (and one surviving span of the original bridge!) and the freight
house on the Ice Harbor exhaust surviving railroad buildings. The much-altered streetcar barn on Central A venue nicely
interprets the history of streetcar transportation in the city. A number of right-of-way features survive, often linked with
landmark corners and buildings which interpret the several carlines. Strings of houses, particularly those built by Chris
Voelker, also cluster directly on those lines. Three properties, the Zebulon Pike Lock and Dam #11 and the Federal
Barge Terminal and the Ice Harbor all speak to the role of the Mississippi River and particularly to federal river
improvements which impacted the city. Finally, the famous 4th Street Elevator and the several surviving sets of public
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
239
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-
stairs attest to solutions to help bluff top homeowners to get home. There is a probability that some archeological
properties survive given the vast infilling of the riverfront area. The foundations of wharfs, warehouses, sunken barges
and steamboats, remnants of the Eagle Point boat building works are likely buried. The preeminent boat building site on
the south side of Ice the Harbor is gone save for a landmark tree. No portions of the several early airports survive and
Union Park, the long-time streetcar amusement park, is also non-extant. Eagle Point Park, a later-date streetcar
destination point, is well preserved but it is best treated under the sites property type or under institutional architecture.
Sienificance:
Context #1, Frontier City on the Mississippi River, 1833-1858:
Individual residential properties might survive that have links to transportation and these would be significant
under Criteria A or B. More likely, archeological resources which possess the potential to yield information about this
early period of primarily river transportation would be significant under Criterion D.
Context #2, The Key City, 1859-1893:
The original railroad bridge span, the streetcar barn, the 4th Street Elevator, and the Ice Harbor are all significant
under Criterion A for their association with major transportation contexts. Many residences having significant
associations with leading transportation promoters and owners are eligible under Criteria A or B. The Criterion B
qualification requires that the property have a substantial association with the working career of the individual under
consideration.
Context #3, Fitful Growth and Maturation, 1893-1910:
The replacement Illinois Central Railroad bridge, the bluff pedestrian steps and the streetscapes which are
associated with the matured streetcar system all represent this time period and context and are eligible under Criterion A.
Many residences having significant associations with leading transportation promoters and owners are eligible under
Criteria A or B. The Criterion B qualification requires that the property have a substantial association with the working
career of the individual under consideration.
Context #4, An Era of Stability, 1910-1955:
The Zebulon Pike Lock and Dam #11 (1937) and possibly the Julien Dubuque Bridge (1940-42) interpret the
growing federal role in river transportation improvement and are potentially eligible under Criterion A.
Context #5, The Architecture of Dubuque, 1833-1955
The lock and dam appears to have employed Modern design lines as did the Julien Dubuque Bridge and might be
significant under criterion.
Registration Requirements:
eIndividual transportation properties must be directly associated with the City of Dubuque, 1833 to present.
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
240
The Architectural and Historical Resources of DubuQue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-
-Individual transportation properties must have a direct and significant association with one or more of the
established historical contexts which are defined in this document.
-Individual transportation properties eligible under Criterion A must retain the integrity aspects of location,
design and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association. The property has to be in its original location, and
its original design must be visually apparent, unobstructed by additions or alterations. The integrity aspects of
setting, materials and workmanship are expected to have changed the most, and their substantial loss does not
disqualify eligibility.
-Individual transportation properties eligible under Criterion B is eligible if it retains the same integrity aspects
required for Criterion A (see above). The aspects of workmanship and materials must at least be minimally
reflected in the visible fa~de.
-Individual transportation properties eligible under Criterion C must represent a significant style, type, period or
method of construction. Rarity of example is a justified reason for significance if the property represents a once
common type now rarely found. Many Dubuque properties will warrant state or national levels of significance
because they combine architectural significance with rarity. Significance is possessed if the property represents
and interprets the working career of a notable artist, architect, engineer or landscape architect and explains how
that individual contributed to their respective fields. A property is significant if it possesses high artistic qualities
which characterize the architectural heritage of Dubuque.
-Individual transportation properties are eligible under Criterion D if they possess the potential to yield
information through archeological treatment. For subsurface remains of buildings, structures or objects, it is
expected that the integrity aspects of materials, workmanship, and the cumulative aspects of feeling and
association are sufficiently retained so that the property is recognizable and qualifies to yield information. For
the subsurface remains of dumps, sinks, or other cultural debris, it is necessary that the deposits be relatively
intact and undisturbed. The individual nomination form must identify key research questions to be answered and
must explain how the information yielded from the property will shed light on these questions.
Registration Requirements: Historic Sites Property Type:
Description:
This range of properties includes the several former city/religious cemeteries, the Civil War Camp
UnionIFranklin, Union Park, the Shooting Club Park, Nutwood Race Track, and the many German beer garden sites.
Numerous baseball fields served the city and most had some substantial bleachers and related infrastructure. Athletic
Park, located at 4th Street north of the Shot Tower, was established on filled land which later became an industrial area.
The intention is to address all social and institutional gathering sites which were not linked with permanent buildings and
which are not otherwise addressed in the other property types in this document. The landscaping and architecture of
public parks such as Eagle Point or commemorative sites such as the Julien Dubuque monument is covered under the
institututional property type because these retain a permanent architecture or landscaping. Recent archeological work
related to the Northwest arterial yielded artifacts which appear to document the pre-l 833 U.s. military presence in the
Dubuque area. These troops prevented lead miners from pre-empting legal occupation of the region. These campsites
and other early mining, smelting and milling sites, and their related occupation sites and Native American sites merit the
creation of an early settlement context that would encompass pre-l 83 7 property types.
Significance:
PS Form 10-900-8
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
241
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State-
Context #1, Frontier City on the Mississippi River, 1833-1858:
The earliest cemeteries possess the potential to yield information about mortality rates, causes of death, and the
social history of early Dubuque under Criterion D (archeology)_ Neither the Jackson Park or the earliest Catholic
cemeteries were properly vacated and many burials remain. No registry exists for the catholic cemetery.
Context #2, The Key City, 1859-1893:
Camp UnionIFranklin served as the rendezvous camp for a substantial number of Iowa infantry regiments during
1861-62. It is probable that the site, located south of Eagle Point, has been completely lost with the lowering of that area
for use as barrow to infill the marshes to the south. Investigation and testing is recommended however in hopes that the
site does survive. If it does survive the site has a probable capacity to yield important information about Iowa's wartime
homefront military mobilization under Criterion D. Union Park and the Shooting park emerged during these years as a
key amusement park and German social club respectively. Both sites retain some structures and the latter is still
functioning in its original use. The present established cemeteries were opened during this period. Nutwood Park
Context #3, Fitful Growth and Maturation, 1893-1910:
Union Park's popularity continued to grow as did the beer gardens and other social use sites. Union Park in
particular was directly linked to the emerging streetcar service and helped fund its growth and development. The
majority of social site usage was stretched along northern Central (then Couler ) Avenue.
Context #4, An Era of Stability, 1910-1955:
Floods crippled Union Park and it faded from use during the 1930's. The Athletic Park was built during this time
and long served the city.
Context #5, The Architecture of Dubuque, 1833-1955
Not applicable for this property type given the expected loss of all above ground features and
buildings/structures.
Registration Requirements:
-Historic sites properties must be directly associated with the City of Dubuque, 1833 to present.
-Historic sites properties must have a direct and significant association with one or more of the established
historical contexts which are defmed in this document.
-Historic sites properties eligible under Criterion A must retain the integrity aspects oflocation, design and the
cumulative aspects of feeling and association. The property has to be in its original location, and its original
design must be visually apparent, unobstructed by additions or alterations. The integrity aspects of setting,
materials and workmanship are expected to have changed the most, and their substantial loss does not disqualify
eligibility .
-Historic sites properties eligible under Criterion B are eligible if they retain the same integrity aspects required
for Criterion A (see above). The aspects of workmanship and materials must at least be minimally reflected in
the visible fayade.
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
IRev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number F
Page
242
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-
.Historic sites properties eligible under Criterion C must represent a significant style, type, period or method of
construction. Rarity of example is a justified reason for significance if the property represents a once common
type now rarely found. Many Dubuque properties will warrant state or national levels of significance because
they combine architectural significance with rarity. Significance is possessed if the property represents and
interprets the working career of a notable artist, architect, engineer or landscape architect and explains how that
individual contributed to their respective fields. A property is significant if it possesses high artistic qualities
which characterize the architectural heritage of Dubuque.
.Historic sites properties are eligible under Criterion D if they possess the potential to yield information through
archeological treatment. For subsurface remains of buildings, structures or objects, it is expected that the
integrity aspects of materials, workmanship, and the cumulative aspects of feeling and association are
sufficiently retained so that the property is recognizable and qualifies to yield information. For the subsurface
remains of dumps, sinks, or other cultural debris, it is necessary that the deposits be relatively intact and
undisturbed. The individual nomination form must identify key research questions to be answered and must
explain how the information yielded from the property will shed light on these questions.
PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number G
Page
243
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-
Geographical Area:
1H
Five Proposed Survey Phases (Telegraph Herald, March 30, 2000)
This multiple property document encompasses the entirety of the the city of Dubuque. The survey report
component covers only the Phase I survey area which is defmed by Central Avenue (west boundary), East 2()lh Street
(north boundary), Elm Street (east boundary) and East 18th Street (south boundary).
At least one identified resource, the railroad bridge, crosses the Mississippi River and connects to the TIIinois
shore. In many ways the proper historical and architectural context is not Iowa but rather southwestern Wisconsin and
northwestern TIIinois. All of these share the same river valley culture and history.
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
I
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
I
Section number G
Page
244
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The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuoue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubuQue County. Iowa
County and State---
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In addition to these listed districts, three others were recommended for listing by Bruce Kriviskey in 1979:
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Broadway/Traut District: Broadway, 24th and Central, 51 mid-19th century residential properties.
Fenelon Place District: Located atop the bluff opposite the 4th Street Elevator, 61 contributing residential properties_
Prospect Street District: Located between the bluffs and Prospect Street with 15 contributing properties.
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number H
Page
245
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State--
Methodology:
The present survey and multiple property development project represents a renewed municipal.effort on the part
of the City of Dubuque to update its historic building inventory and to organize that inventory within the context of a
multiple property documentation form. The multiple property document format puts the architectural heritage of
Dubuque into more codified order and the document for the first time attempts to identify the salient historical contexts
which best describe and explain the city's historical development.
The staff of the Dubuque Community Development Department developed a five-phase historical survey plan to
complete the city's historical/architectural inventory and the first two phases of this plan were accepted for completion
by the City Council in 1999. Phase I, the survey of the lower portion of the Couler Valley, funded with a Certified Local
Government grant, was awarded to historic preservation consultant Jim Jacobsen (d/b/a History Pays!). Phase II, the
survey of the Rhomberg or North Dubuque residential district, was funded using Housing and Urban Development
Funds, and the contract was awarded to consultants Jim Jacobsen and Molly Myers Naumann. This second phase will
begin work once the multiple property document is sufficiently well developed. Additional refinement of the multiple
property document is envisioned for the second contract.
The Phase I survey effort had the stated goal of documenting only those properties or districts which appeared to
merit National Register of Historic Places eligIbility recommendations. Completed individual historical inventory forms
and photographs documented individually eligible properties or district groupings.
Bruce Kriviskey's (see below) 1978 mapped survey findings necessarily guided the present survey. Kriviskey
prepared no site forms and did no historical research for the Phase I survey area but he did prepare key-coded survey
maps which identified a range of significance levels, all of which were architecturally based. Planning staff prepared a
baseline survey map that was derived from the Geographic Information System. This map depicted individual building
outlines as well as street names and building addresses. Kriviskey's findings were copied onto this base map and the
resulting map guided the present survey.
The consultant made a preliminary visit to Dubuque in early January 2000. The Phase I survey area and the city
in general was generally inspected and the consultant otherwise focused on identifying useful historical sources and
becoming familiar with the several research facilities. The actual field survey work was completed during a second visit
in early March. The consultant walked each north/south main street in methodical order, evaluating each property and
taking photographs as he proceeded. Each photograph VV"a5 entered in a photographic log and each documented address
was entered on a copy of the first page of the state historic inventory form. Key descriptive notes were taken,
particularly of those features which might be missed in evaluating just the photograph. Any historical information was
also recorded (building dates or names on pediments, historical advertising on sidewalls, information gleaned from
conversations with owners).
Several patterns became quickly apparent. First and most important, Kriviskey was forced even in 1978 to focus
his attention on any building that was not hidden beneath replacement siding, that is to say brick or concrete block
buildings. Second, the passage of 20 years had worsened the situation and many buildings which Kriviskey favored were
either lost or had been sided. Third, most of the buildings were collectively of historical interest but very few warranted
individual National Register consideration. District clusters consisted of sizable fragments, mostly being focused on
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PS Form 10.900-a
{Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number H
Page
246
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-
commercial nodes which occurred at street comers or in the southern third of the survey area. There were a number of
impressive commercial blocks however.
The field approach be default turned to updating Kriviskey's good efforts rather than sticking to searching for
eligIole properties. The latter course would have produced but a handful of inventory forms and no justice would have
been done to the neighborhood's still impressive vernacular properties. Kriviskey had an excellent eye for significance
and the findings of this survey very much mirror his recommendations. Still the documented properties focus unduly on
brick commercial and residential properties and many anomalies, particularly concrete block houses, are over
emphasized perhaps. Rare examples of stylized home designs, particularly Queen Anne and Craftsman, are also strongly
represented.
The many hundreds of vernacular residences which were not documented are still collectively of historical merit.
Given the city's topography, only the Phase I and Phase n residential areas offer examples of Dubuque's vernacular
houses in a flat land setting. Similar houses are found throughout the city above the bluffs, but these are scattered and
intermixed with houses from later periods. The best chance for vernacular districts is found on these flat valley floors.
Replacement siding has transformed these into look-alike boxes devoid of any detailing or uniqueness. To document one
was to document alL What remains impressive is the density, juxtaposition, and occasionally the orientation of these
houses. Surviving examples of once typical detailing, house orientation, and original appearance were documented, but
much has been lost or obscured. Virtually every frame house still retaining its original clapboard exterior was
documented. Exceptions were due to the loss of integrity due to porch removal, window reduction, or other alterations.
Following the completion of the field survey work attention was focused on documenting the survey area in
general and the key individual properties. Project resources hardly allowed for preparing over a hundred survey forms,
let alone documenting each and every building exhaustively. Resources were consequently targeted to individually
eligible or district clusters.
Historical research first focused upon identifying a means of accurately dating the surveyed properties. Clearly
many of the Phase I survey area properties are of a later date than might be generally assumed. This is to say building
dates after the 1 880s with construction continuing up through the First World War. If anything can knowingly be said
about the evolution and derivation of vernacular house designs then accurate building dates are the starting point. The
earlier vernacular survivors can be sorted out through this dating process. Early historical photographs offered some
hope and a number of these were found, mostly taken from Seminary Hill to the west. Unfortunately most of the Couler
Avenue/Central Avenue buildings shown in the foreground of these images have been lost. The images compress the
depth and it is detective's work to figure out which house is on which street and which house still survives. The 1872
Birds Eye view is the earliest depiction of the survey area. The same problem of matching buildings is encountered and
the question of accuracy is a major one. The drawing is useful in that it shows the extent of development in the survey
area as of that date. City Assessor cards were made available by courthouse staff and these provide estimated building
dates for each property. These are more accurate for the later buildings but the dates at least offer minimal (no later than)
building dates. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are ideal for dating buildings within ten-year age ranges but the earliest
map is dated 1884 and the subsequent map 1891, reflective of a high rate of city growth. The next map however, is dated
1909 and is too late to be of use in dating vernacular properties. City directories survive from the late l850s but street
address guides appear only by 1907.
A number of buildings, both commercial and residential are referenced in the broad array of secondary Dubuque
historical sources. These references describe and confirm the heavily German ethnic background of the survey area.
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86l
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number H
Page
247
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue CountY". Iowa
County and State-
The Multiple Property Document:
Intimidation is the word that best describes the challenge of summarizing Dubuque's amazing story in a standard
multiple property document. The sheer mass of most excellent written and visual history alone makes the task a daunting
one. The real challenge is to dare to rank or distinguish one context over another. Fortunately the answer is found in the
same historical cornucopia-many others possessing more talent, have largely done the analytical work and their
guidance made the task a doable one. Dubuquers know and live their history and any historical summary is guaranteed to
undergo close and exacting scrutiny as it should.
The same historical literature search identified the key secondary historical references and these formed the
outline for the document. A multiple property document, in order to be truly useful, has to be tailored to the historical
personality of a community. It has to fit. Dubuque very much still embodies the historical personality that made it such
a special place so local input will test the developing document.
A first draft was hurriedly prepared in mid-January 2000 given the fact that the project had been so delayed in
getting started. Eighty percent of the first draft comprised an architectural typology of Dubuque's best historical
properties. This section was quickly prepared only because Lawrence Sommer and David Gebhard and others had
already largely and capably done the work. The remainder of the draft offered four time-defined basic contexts and a
range of sub-contexts. An initial review of the city's historiography indicated that the years 1857-58, 1893, and 1910
best marked transitions in the city's development.
A more substantial draft was developed in March-April following the completion of the second field visit and the
completion of most of the preliminary historical research. Two sources, William Wilkie's Dubuque On The Mississipoi
and Randolph Lyon's singularly outstanding Dubuque: The Encvclooedia, provided the backbone of both guidance and
documentation for the developing document.
The Historic Preservation Movement in Dubuque:
Dubuque in its totality has always been its own self conscious historic preservation movement. Dubuqers are
extremely loyal to their community, and are particularly loyal to their neighborhoods and fmally their family homes.
Nowhere else are houses so commonly retained in the same family generation after generation. This strong association
with the special qualities of place is the very essence of historic preservation. A real measure of this collective loyalty to
the past is found in the reuse of properties by successive religious and public institutions as well as in retention of early
downtown church edifices by the main line churches.
Dubuque's sense of history was naturally reflected in a broad range of commemorative preservation efforts
which dated to the late 19th century. The Julien Dubuque monument (*date) is the premier example, as is the removal of
the 1833 log house to Eagle Point Park (*date). The Dubuque County Historical Society embodied the movement in its
preservation of the Ham House (*date of acquisition).
The virtual rebuilding of downtown Dubuque challenged historic preservationists. The Gruen Report, adopted in
early 1966, was largely implemented by 1970. The plan guided urban renewal and laid the groundwork for a new
Mississippi River bridge and a new airport. The same plan, citing a Dubuque tendency to use, discard and abandon older
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number H
Page
248
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-
housing, recommended the rehabilitation of older neighborhoods and the creation of new downtown housing (Lyon, p.
186).
Urban Renewal during the late 1960s focused community attention on both the reality of change and the
threatened loss of noted downtown landmarks. The same might be said of the record 1965 flood and the devastation
\VTought by the Dutch Elm disease. Efforts to preserve particular buildings and landmarks commonly reflected the
efforts of concerned individuals rather than a formally organized pro-preservation movement. An early example was the
retention of the second Town Clock and its incorporation into Town Clock Plaza in 1971 (the state's first open-air tree
lined pedestrian mall) (Lyon, pp. 130, 139,451).
Wayne Andrew Norman is called the "godfather of historic preservation" in Dubuque. An ISU-trained engineer,
Norman saw economic potential in underused or 'vacant properties. His efforts saved the Orpheum Theater and the Ryan
House and he formed a corporation that purchased and then resold 18 buildings in what was to become the Cable Car
Square historic district. Norman was also an excellent fundraiser and his efforts financed the Five Flags Center. He
played a leading role in establishing the Fred W. Woodward River Boat Museum and successfully restored the clock
tower to the City Hall (Lyon, p. 331).
Dubuque's more formalized historic preservation movement or program had its roots in the developing tourism
market. Robert Kehl's many riverfront developments are said to have prompted the development of the tourism industry
in Eastern Iowa beginning in the early 1980s. Increasing river recreation led to the more fundamental redevelopment of
the Ice Harbor and the donation of the Burlington and Northern Railroad Freight House to the Dubuque County
Historical Society. The riverboat gambling industry was another byproduct of Kehl' s efforts. Tourism naturally was
also a factor in the continuing loss of downtown buildings as new motels arose in anticipation of ever-increasing numbers
of visitors. A welcome center was established in 1991 and the county historical society played a partnering role in its
establishment and operation. By 1991, the tourism industry in Dubuque was at its highpoint. The city was the site of
numerous motion picture projects. The Five Flags Greyhound Park opened on Schmitt Island and there were two bed and
breakfast operations in operation (Ibid., pp. 237,448-49).
J. Bruce Meriwether is credited by Randolph Lyon with pulling the city out of its economic slump in the 1970s.
Meriwether also raised the funds to pay for the Welton-Becket economic study of Dubuque and that report recommended
both economic diversification and the development of a strong tourism industry. Ham House Director Jerry Enzler
contributed to this emerging tourism movement by successfully securing grant funds to establish the Fred W. Woodward
River Front Museum and the National Rivers Hall of Fame (Ibid., pp. 140,305).
Dubuque's many landmarks were featured in innumerable tourism brochures and newspaper articles. The
establishment of the National Register of Historic Places (Historic Preservation Act of 1966) initiated the formal
nomination and listing of many of these properties beginning in the early 1970s. Helen Mercer, president of the Dubuque
County Historical Society and Director of the Ham House Museum, single handed1y began to nominate Dubuque
candidates. In June 1991 she was honored by the State Historical Society of Iowa for successfully placing a record
number of properties on the National Register. Public landmarks including the courthouse, jail and city hall, the public
library and Washington Park, along with numerous private residences (Ham House, Hollenfelz House, Langworthy
House, McMahon House, were all listed during the 1970s (Lyon, pp. 302-03).
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number H
Page
249
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State-
Bruce M. Kriviskey, AlCP, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was contracted in 1978 to survey the architecture of the
older portions of the city. He identified nine potential historic districts, sixlO of which (Cathedral, Langworthy, West 1111>
Street, Jackson Park, and Old Main) were listed on the National Register between 1983 and 1986. Kriviskey's
assignment was to complete a comprehensive architectural survey and then to evaluate his findings. He first conducted a
"windshield" survey of over 20,000 properties. This literally meant looking at properties with the trained eye of an
architectural historian. The properties were classified into four categories. The highest was individual significance and
eligibility for listing on the National Register. A "neighborhood" rating indicated that the property contributed to a
grouping of properties which merited National Register listing as a historic district. "Supportive" properties served as a
supportive backgdrop to districts. They shared the same materials and massing and time period as did the supportive
properties. Finally ''non-supportive'' actually detracted from a historic district's strength due to irreversible alterations or
a recent date of construction. Kriviskey presented his windshield survey in 1979 in the form of the "Atlas of City-Wide
and District Survey Map." Properties in each of 18 districts were coded according to their respective ratings (Kriviskey,
p.p. 2-3).
The consultant then evaluated the "clusters" of significant properties and identified nine potential historic
districts as noted. He documented each property within these districts with photography and the preparation of a survey
sheet. Kriviskey credits Lawrence Sommer's Heritaee ofDubuaue as a source but he otherwise made no pretense of
conducting general or property-specific historical research. This was appropriate for an architectural survey of that time.
He estimated construction dates and documented the condition of each property. Kriviskey noted that the nine proposed
districts were not exhaustive but represented the most significant architectural treasures in the best state of integrity and
preservation. The quality ofhis work is attested by the successful listing of most ofhis proposed districts. His
evaluations were utilized as a baseline evaluation for the Phase I survey effort. Kriviskey was challenged in his work by
the already prevalent use of replacement metal or synthetic siding and in general he was unable to evaluate these in any
positive manner. He consequently favored brick and concrete block properties (Ibid., pp. 4, 7-8).
Kriviskey's work was followed with the establishment of a historic preservation commission in Dubuque.
George Biasi, a local realtor, penned the city's historic preservation ordinance (Lyon, p. 38).
National Register activities during the 1980s focused on nominating the districts identified by Kriviskey' s
survey. Considerable effort was made to nominate and list the Catfish Creek and South Dubuque historic lead mining
and prehistoric sites and four archeological districts were listed in 1988. Consultant and Archeologist Dr. Joyce McKay
prepared the nominations and conducted the necessary archeological surveys.
Dubuque's belated receipt of arterial and interstate highways and new bridge approaches spawned a series of
historical and archeological corridor surveys. These surveys were necessitated by the use of federal fimding. Little
Dublin was the focal point of Consultant Clayton Fraser's documentation of 14 Little Dublin houses along Bluff and
Locust streets in 1986. The widening of Dodge Street and the construction of the Northwest Arterial similarly fostered
studies in north and northwest Dubuque (Lyon, p. 267).
A ten-year hiatus settled upon the local historic preservation movement after 1988, the date for the most recent
National Register listings. Major landmark buildings disappeared and many preservationists were disheartened. The
10 His Third! Alpine District was listed as Langworthy Historic District and his BluffiLocust District was combined into Jackson Park
Historic District. The other three were Broadwayffraut, Fenelon Place, and Prospect Street.
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number H
Page
250
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubu'Vle County. Iowa
County and State-
current survey and multiple property document project represents a resurgence in the program and a goal to better
preserve and utilize the vast array of surviving historical properties in the city.
Master Listing of Documented Properties, Phase I Dubuque Survey
Each district or cluster is assigned a site number as is each property. Evaluations are based on visual examination of
photos (second roll of film yet undeveloped so had no evaluations yet for roughly one-fourth of the properties. Distruct
properties appear in first column while individual properties appear in the second column.
242
243
?
Yes
Yes
?
1944
2095
2130-34
2129
2133
246
1247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
1259
260
261
262
263
264
1265
266
267
Yes
I Yes
I
I
j
j
1800's Central Avenue
1812
1824
1826/28
1838
1842
1850
1856
j 1876
1800's Central Avenue
1879
1889-95
1913-15
1919
1959
1991
Yes
I
i
1
Being demolished?
?
Yes
No
I No
PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number H
Page
251
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State--
2180 268 Yes
2222 269 Yes
2243 270 I?
225~57 271 ?
2327 272 Yes
23<>6 273 Yes?
2310-12 274 ?
2400 275 Yes?
23?? (Key Line) 276 ? Historical Significance
2461 277 ?
2499 278 I Yes?
2540 (Fulton School) 279 Yes?
2535 (old Fulton 280 Yes
School)
2555 (Stone Ridge 281 ?
Apts)
Concrete Block Houses, 282 ?
2500's Central
2578 283
2562 284 I
2586 285
2590 286
2600 287 I?
.:.'rH' ."',.,
1843 288 I
1855 289 I
2055 290
:j':'I.....'..t:
1815 291 Yes?
1856-66 292 ?
1846-48 293 !
1800s-1900s Jackson 294 Yes
1885-89 295 I Individually eligible, best smaI1
1 commercial orooertv in survey area
1903 296 1
1905 297
1913 298
1920 299
1930-32 300
1946 I 301
1949 302
2005 (St. Pauls) 1303 ?
2006 304 Yes
2024-26 305 1
2044 306 I? f
(
I 2045 307
, 2062 308 1
I 2070 309 I ?
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PS Form 10-9oo-s
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number H
Page
252
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuoue Countv. Iowa
County and State-
2100$ Jackson 310 ?
2102 311
2108 312 I
I 2109 313
2111 314 I
2119 315
2113 316
2123 317
2131 318
2135 319
2137 I 320
2139 I 321
2163 1322
2214 1323
2226 324
2255-57 325 I
2265-67 326 I
2266 425
2304 327 I
2310 328 I
2319 329
2339-43 330
2349 331 I
I I 2350-52 332
Concrete Block Houses, I 333 ?
2400's Jackson-'\Vhite I
2401 ! 334
2409 335
2413 1336
2415 1337
2404 White (list twice) 338 I
2421 (garage) 339 I
2501 (I" Evang. Ch_) 340 I?
2525 341
2539 342
2545 343 Yes
! 2561 344 Yes
12568 345 Yes
2600 1346 Yes? I
2601 1347 Yes
....cece.,' ..""
2268 348 I
· vueen::>neet
2272 349
I ! 2401 1350 I
,
I ...-,
.:>)-
: y~?
\w~n
12412
1866
I 351
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number H
Page
253
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State-
1890 353
1896 354
1938 355 No
20005 Washin2ton 356 ?
2003 357
2005 I 358
2015 359
2027 1360
2033 361
2043 362
2049 1363
2051 364
2055 1365
2057 1366
2061 367
2010 1368 ?
2061-65 369
2076-78 370 ?
Washington and East 371
22acl streets
(East nlld Street) I
209 372
213 373 I
217? 374
301? 375 I
305 376 I
306 377 i
308 378 I
310 379 I
311 380 I
312 381 I
317 382 I
321-23 238 I Yes
400 239 '?
I .
(could extend east into
Phase II, 500-504)
Washington Street
2130 383
2136 I 384
2144 , 385
2152 1386
2162 ! 387 I
2172 388 I
2201-03 389 I
2203 390 j
I 2209 391
2219 392
I 2222 I 393 !
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number H
Page
254
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue Count'!. Iowa
County and State---
2226 394
2227 395
2234-36 396 ?
2238 1 397
2241 1 398
2255 423
2257 424
2319 1426
2329 427
2510 399 ?
<}:,) ,"
Brick Grouoiruz, 1900s 400 Yes
1902 401 1
I
1908 402
1922 403 I
I 1938 404 1
I 2002 (Fred Rub, 405 ?
I 1890)
2018 406
2050 407
2058-62 408
2082 409 Yes?
2227 410
2244 411 Yes?
12281 412
2307 *2301-5? 1413
2326-30 414
2345 415
2411-17 417 I No
2421 (garage onlY) 422
2429 418
2485 419
2515 420
12517 i 421
PS Form 10-9oo.a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
255
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
County and State--
Bibliography:
Dubuque Sources:
Dubuque's history is better documented than any other city in the state. The very best historians, on a state or
local level, have labored in the historical vineyards of Dubuque and the result has been both plentiful and impressive.
Dubuque from its inception has been collectively historically minded and virtually every step forward was taken with an
appreciative nod to the historical Muse. Even today the past continues to enliven, guide and help explain the present in
Dubuque.
What is perhaps most remarkable of the secondary history of the city is the attention given to state and regional
context and to historical analysis. Virtually every important historical context has been researched and developed to
some extent.
This wealth of sources is matched by a richness in libraries and research centers. Three principal archives, the
Carnegie-Stout Public Library, the Dubuque County Historical Library, and the Loras College Center for Dubuque
History, were accessed for this project.
American Trust and Savings Bank., Dubuaue Folklore, Dubuque; n.p., 1980 (two volumes)
Annual Report of the Chief of Encineers U.S. Armv To The Secretary of War For The Year 1876, Washington; U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1876.
Annual Report of the Chief of Enspneers U.S. Armv To The SecretarY of War For The Year 1885, Washington; U.s.
Government Printing Office, 1885.
Annual Report of the Chief of Encineers U.S. ArmvTo The SecretarY of War For The Year 1886. Washington; U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1886.
Attitudes And Opinions Toward Dubuque, Iowa, Cedar Rapids; Frank N. Magid Associates, February 1966.
Auge, Dr. Thomas, "Comparison of 1850 & 1860 Census, Dubuque County, Iowa," Dubuque; typed manuscript, Loras
College, History Department, c.1980
Blanchard, B. W., Dubuaue-Its Manufacturin~ And Commercial Facilities Together With Its Railroads. Public
Buildings. Business Growth and Future PrOSDects, Dubuque; The Times Company Publishers and Printers, 1886
Bulkow, Helen, Dubuque In The Civil War Period, Evanston; M.A. Thesis, Department of History, Northwestern
University, May 1941 (Center for Dubuque History, Civil War, F-2)
Burns, William, "Dubuque Doorways," Dubuque; typed manuscript, April 4, 1959 (Center for Dubuque History,
Architecture F-2)
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
256
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State--
Callahan, Thomas J., "A History of St. Raphael's Church," B.A. Thesis, Loras College, 1965.
Carey, Sister Helen, The Irish Element In Iowa Up To 1865, Washington; Catholic University of America, Masters of
Arts Thesis, 1944 (Center for Dubuque History)
Chamber of CommercelDubuque Industrial Bureau, "Business In Dubuque, Iowa: A Profile of Trends In.. .," Dubuque;
n.p., 1971
Chamber of Commerce, Dubuque Businesses, VoL 2, Nos. 1-12, February 1930-January 1931 (Carnegie-Stout Library)
Chamber of Commerce, Dubuaue.Iowa: Descriptive Survevof Dubuque, Dubuque; Chamber of Commerce, 1911.
Chamber of Commerce, "168 Projects Started, Furthered, Accomplished, " Dubuque; Chamber of Commerce, February 1,
1923 (Center for Dubuque History, Chamber of Commerce, F-l)
Chamber of Commerce, The Dubuquer, Dubuque; np., June 1923 and December 1924
Childs, _, The Historv ofDubuaue Countv.lowa. Chicago; Western Historical Company, 1880.
"City of Dubuque, Iowa," Ballou's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, VoL 13 (31 October 1857) pp. 260-62
"City of Dubuque [Showing the Spirit] Comprehensive Plan Phase I," Dubuque, n.p., Adopted March 21, 1994
Commercial Club, Dubuque Iowa On The Mississippi, Dubuque; n.p., 1913 (photocopy, gray box series, Center for
Dubuque History, original in possession of Leslie Sawvel, 1253 Washington Street)
"Commercial Report of the Business Transactions At The City of Dubuque, Iowa In 1854 & 1855," (printed excerpt from
unidentified source, Dubuque County Historical Society).
Comprehensive Citv Plan Prepared for Citv ofDubuaue. Iowa. Dubuque; n.p., 1936
Datisman, Elsie, Dubuque, Its History and Background, Dubuque: Dubuque Historical Society, 1969.
Descriptive Survey of Dubuque, 1911. Need complete citation.
Dubuque And Dubuque County Directory 1902-1903, Keokuk; W. H. McCoy Compiler, The Telegraph-Herald
Publishers, 1902.
Dubuque And Dubuque County Directory 1911-1912, Dubuque; Boardman Cooley, Compiler, The Telegraph-Herald
Publishers, 1902.
Dubuque And Dubuque County Directory 1915, Dubuque; The Telegraph-Herald Publishers, 1915
Dubuque And East Dubuque City Directory 1925, Dubuque; The Telegraph-Herald Publishers, 1915
PS Form 10-9oo.a
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
257
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name ofPropeIty
Dubuaue Countv. Iowa
County and State-
Dubuque And Its Neighborhood, Souvenir Gems of Dubuque, Dubuque; Harger and Blish Booksellers, 1897 (reprinted
May 1999 by The Old House Enthusiasts of Dubuque) (County Historical Society)
Dubuque. the Birthplace ofIowa: A Photo History, Marceline, Missouri: Heritage Press Publications, 1955 (Vol. 1),
Dubuque; Quebec<> Books, 1998 (Volume 2).
Dubuque Business, A Magazine of Civic Progress, Dubuque; Dubuque Chamber of Commerce, 1929-31 (Volumes 1-3
published, August 1929 through final issue July 1931).
Dubuque City Directory (Including East Dubuque, Dlinois) 1934, Dubuque; McCoy Directory Company, Compilers, The
Telegraph-Herald Publishers, 1934
Dubuque, City of, The City of Dubuque-Showing the Spirit, Comprehensive Plan, Phase L March 21, 1994.
Dubuque, City of, Creating The Future-A Guide to the Dubuque Comprehensive Plan, Dubuque, n.p., n.d.
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of the Telegraph Job Printing Company, 1897.
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
258
-
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State--
Dubuque Trade Journal-Devoted To The Interests of Commerce, Manufacturers, Transportation in the Northwest,
Dubuque, 1882-1897, issues survive February 20, March 20,1882; March 27, May 23, August 21, November 20,1883;
April 20, August 10, 18, 1884; November 20, December 20, 1887, and May 1897 (Center for Dubuque History).
Elstner, J. M., & Company, The Industries ofDubuaue: Historical. Descriptive and Statistical, Dubuque; J. M. Elstner &
Company, Publishers, 1887
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Archives, Des Moines.
Flint, Jerry, "True Grit In The Heartland," Forbes Magazine, March 28, 1983, pp. 130-137.
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Dubuque History, Civil War, F-2).
Geroux, Charles, The Historv of Theaters and Related Theatrical Activitv in Dubuque. Iowa 1837-1877, Detroit; Wayne
State University, Ph.D. Dissertation, 1973.
Greenstein, Mrs. Saul, The Flavor of Dubuque, Dubuque; Women's Auxiliary of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra,
1971.
Gruen, Victor, Associates and Larry Smith Company, Dubuque Develot>ment Pro~, Prepared For The City of
Dubuque Iowa And The Dubuque Chamber of Commerce, Dubuque; n.p., 1965.
Haefner, Marie, "Rivalry Among The River Towns," Palimpsest, Vol. 18 (May 1937),pp. 160-74.
Hennagir, Richard, "Dubuque Chamber of Commerce," Dubuque; Loras College, typed manuscript, March23, 1955.
"History of Banking in Dubuque," Dubuque; typed manuscript (County Historical Society).
Hoffman, Mathias M., Antique Dubuque. 1673-1933, Dubuque, n.p., 1933 (Carnegie-Stout Library).
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for Dubuque History, Architecture, F-l).
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Horton, Loren, "The Urbanization Process in Early Iowa: Town Planning And Grov.-th in Dubuque, 1833-1861," Iowa
City; Research Paper, Fall Semester 1972.
PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8.861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
259
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa.. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuaue County. Iowa
County and State--
The Inter-State Trace, Special Convention Edition, February 24-26, 1891, Marshalltown; State Business Mens
Association ofIowa (County Historical Society).
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A Northern City. Iowa City; Ph.D. thesis, University ofIowa, May 1996 (two volumes, Center for Dubuque History).
Kane, Thomas H., "History of the German Savings Bank: 1864-1927, And The History of the American Trust And
Savings Bank: 1912-1927," Dubuque; typed manuscript, December 27, 1979 (County Historical Society).
Klein, Robert F., Dubuque: Frontier River City. *need citation.
Koch, Augustus, ''Birds Eye View of the City of Dubuque, Iowa, 1872"
Kriviskey, Bruce M., Historic Preservation Planning and Design Study In Dubuque, Iowa, Dubuque: Ben Miehe and
Associates, August 1981.
Kriviskey, Bruce M., Dubuque, Iowa-Architectural Survey 1978/1979, Atlas of City Wide and District Survey Maps,
Dubuque; n.p., c.1979.
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1978-1979, Dubuque; Bruce M. Krivisky, April 1, 1980.
Kwasky, Albert, The Old Ladv in DubUQue, New York: Vantage Press, 1979.
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Langworthy, Lucius Hart, DubUQue. Its Historv. Mines. Indian Legends. etc., Dubuque; n.p., 1855 (Carnegie-Stout
Library).
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PS Form 1 0-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
260
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa.. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubu<v1e Countv. Iowa
County and State----
''The Langworthys of Early Dubuque and Their Contributions to Local History," Iowa Journal of History and Politics,
19l0,pp.3l5-464
Lyon, Randolph W., Dubuaue: The Encvclopedia.. Dubuque; First National Bank of Dubuque, 1991.
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The Middle and Upper MississiDDi River. Ohio River to Minneaoolis, St. Louis; The Division Engineer Upper
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O'Brien, William Patrick, Mary Yeater Rathbun, Patrick O'Bannon, Gatewavs To Commerce: The U.S. Armv Corns of
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PS Form 10-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
261
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
DubUQUe County. Iowa
County and State-
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
262
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque Countv. Iowa
County and State--
State Historical Society ofIowa, Architects In Iowa, Frank D. Hyde File
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Uebersicht ueber die Gruendung und den Verlauf des Geschiiftes der Dubuque Cabinetmakers' Association 25 Jahrestag, 15
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
263
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuoue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubu<V1e County. Iowa
County and State-
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PS Form 10-9oo-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
264
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuoue County. Iowa
County and State-
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PS Form 1 D-900-a
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OM8 Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
265
The Architectural and Historical Resources ofDubuaue. Iowa. 1837-1955
Name of Property
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-86)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 1024-0018
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
266
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuaue. Iowa.. 1837-1955
Name of Property
Dubuque County. Iowa
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PS Form 10-900-.
(Rev. 8-861
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
OMS Approval No. 7024-0078
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number I
Page
267
The Architectural and Historical Resources of Dubuque. Iowa. 1837-1955
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