City Hall brochure -Edifice RexFantasy turns to facts....
Since 1845 central City offices had been moved there times and the rapidly
growing City needed a permanent building for its offices. the plot of
ground bordered by Iowa, 13th and Clay Streets (later named Central Avenue)
was bought in 1857 for $20,000, and a new structure was designed which was supposed to
cost $32,5000 but due to the "panic" of '57 (1857, that is) the cost to the taxpayers
crept up to nearly $50,000. In 1857, bonds were issued for $100,000 and the building was fully completed
between 1858 and 1859, but not one penny was paid on the principal of the debt until after 1940, and
the final payment on other bonds issued in 1857 was made in 1913.
The
1he man who designed City H~ w~ John
l:. I~ ague, an a rchltefl euti~d to come lc the
City of Dubuque by the fo~er state governor.
Stephen I.Icmpstead. Mt. Ragne desired the
~ounty Jail ~d Octagon House, w~ch are ~o
Imiqu~ to that petind ~d ar~ s~ st~d~g and
in use I~lay. Design for City llaH w~ based on
the Fullon Street Market in New York City
Faneail Ihdl in Boslou. The buildin~ dnsi~od
Ior various nses at the same time, was one of the
few places of ils kind in the couut~.
Dimensions of (be brick b~fild~g were 50'
wide ISZ' long by ~' hi~ ~th a belfu on top
hohffng the bell. (~s same ~ff ~ now pla~d
in u pl~ter on4he Ceatrfl Avenue side of ~o
huild&g; It had hung above City Hall flora 1858
nutil 1954.J
Fi~sl fi~r Cil~ i lull w~ specifically
deslgued lo be ~ed as a market ~th many
smug slails tirol were reuted ~ut lo anyone Io
display ~d sell theb products. Windows of
fi~st fl~r were desired Io I~ eleven ~eet
~lh the b lin]esl(me sills thc heJ~t of ~c
wagons as they backed np to onload theh
pr(~(Ittce an(I
Second Floor became thc main Cily Of-
flees. Court Room and Council Chamber.
agine with the 13,000 people of 1860, only "nan"
floor was suffideot to house the main offices of
the Cily!)
TIdrd Floor was lbo Town Hall, used fi)r
public gn~er:n~ t/md dances. ~o~tra~ lo lbo
design of tho £ust story ceiling, wblcb was sup-
ported by thh~) east hoe columbus, the third
floor was designed without pillar, post or
column, lntcr~fing that in times since, this ~ela-
lively wadlvldcd area has housed evcrylhing
from an archery range, I~tol range, bowling
allay and horSC'sh~ playing area and et course
now Js utilized [or storage wldle about a third
the floor area houses the drafters and engineers
and our constantly-la-use copy ma~:hinc.
Thc bascmcut was the home of the City
Jail, station house (police offices) and two
saloons; (Wonder ff thns~ saloons dJ~'t hos
the most omit-behaved "clients" Iff the entire
Clly?)
As with any diversely used building used at
the discretion of n eoashteatly g~owlng populn-
llon, rnmndeliufl has coost~fly gone on
throughout its blstory. [n 1879, the inside
market was done away with leaving that space
idle, and the market moved ontslde enc~m~pass-
lag 16 city block~ in all. lo the ~960's the Market
seemed reduced to just u small area in hon! of
City Hall, but the hst fewyears has seco an ex-
pansion, a~d lrs a fun area on Saturday mom-
logs ~s tom, ts and eifizel~ mln~ule ~md
over produce, ern~verk and tempting baked
goods.
City hall an'eyesore"? Yes. that's what
newspaper of tho City called it in 1895 ami
urged that it be remodeled as il was structm ally
sound. Fireproof eau!ts warepropo~d to insure
the sa[cO/o! the public: records, I~ut insufficient
funds halted this plan.
In 1920 discu~sloo was neutered on
t:.ity olficcs to the top floor el the Courthouse,
but it was not accomplished. In 1921, $3~ was
appropriated for the installation of elect~ lc
lights -- ga~ llghtieff, at $140 per monlh, wa~
expensive.
After nearly filly years of first floor stand-
ing relatively empty, partitions wcrc built fi)r
rome city offices m~d the old-style long wiadows
were replaced ~th somewi~at smaller ones.
In 1941 petitioning again that somuthing be
done, a spedai clecfiou was held proposing in-
debtedness ~[ $1~.~ Io purchase Ihe Old
Post Offi~ Building al thc corner of Ninth and
IJ~cusl Streets. It was not to be.
1973 saw sefio~ consideration o[ Cily ~1~
renovation. An ~,~ study was undcrlaken
a Dubuque mchitcctaral firm which included
Ibc presentation o[ 250 deluded ~els show-
ing thc po~ible "new majestic I~k" for Cily
tl~. A ~and entrance was sho~ for the 131~
Street side of the b~dlng. Thc greatest a~scl
this proposed overall renovatlou was that Ibc
tire Ilail would ou~ again be fully utilized and
not oily uti~zed, but [~ly ac~ssible lo
cvcuonc, as renovation inclu&d ~ elevator.
Th[ce r~ms and the main UIh ~lrcet
would be carefully resented wilh wains~dn~
drapes, ~U~etlng, chan<h'lk'rs, crc.. ail rcmlnls-
~ut o[ the stately history o[ Ihe buildlag.
limated ~st o[ Ibis overall rcuovutinn was
~low $7~,~), much Iowm than ff underlaken
now. but again, II was ~ut to be.
In Ibc f~rly recent hh~ory, Ihe belfry was
taken do~ ~d ~ t%f the ~ll was positioned
~ ~ attractive planter area on t~e Cemrg
Avenue side of Ci~ Hall Now there are sup-
~[lers for a ~ew 44 f~)t bcd tower on Ibc cast
side of Cily I lull This would be an almnlnum
replica uf thc orJfdnfl wooden Ita~anutc lewes
scmoved in t954. I[ the $1~,~ fund~alsing
suc~ss[ul then the lower could he installed as
early as Ihe end of 198q.
Somewhere tluougl,mt tim yes, rs. II~e
second outside does on 13th Slrccl was closed
and a ~ndow put in its place and thc second
entrance Io Ihe Iowa Stteel skin was clo~ed also.
Repair of the roof and the outside brick etc. has
been done in the last few years. And the
building was placed on the National Register
of Historic Places.
For the last several years, piece-meal remodeling
has been ongoing for various reasons, one being the
inflationary costs.
The basement, formerly used for storage, was renovated
and the Health Department moved from the second floor giving it an outside
accessible entry through the basement.
The old City Council Chambers, second floor, have been remodeled and divided
into offices for Community Development and Planning and Zoning
Staff. The Personnel Department, originally on the second floor and then the west
end of first floor, has been moved to the east end.
Early in 1989 the new first floor restrooms were completed and opened. The restrooms, at the Iowa Street entrance,
can be utilized by Farmer's Market customers because a ceiling chain door bars admission to the rest of
City Hall. The Iowa Street entrance is also handicapped accessible.
So now a wrap-up of what offices are where in the Hall and where are the
Council Meetings held?
The answer to the last question first. Council meetings are held in the auditorium
of the Public Library every first and third Mondays of the month at 7:30 p.m.
The meetings are telecast live and taped for replay several times prior to the
next meeting.
Offices located in City Hall are:
On the first floor, Building Services, Personnel, City Clerk, Finance (Including
Utility Billing and Parking Tickets) and Human Rights. The mail
room and restrooms are also located on first floor.
Located on the second floor is the City Manager's office and staff, Public Works and
Engineer, Planning and Development Services, Economic/Community Development, and
two conference rooms.
The third floor is largely used for storage, but a third of it has been finished to serve
as office areas for the rest of the Engineering division and main copier.
In the basement, the City survey crew has work and office space, and storage
areas have been set aside for various City departments.
The elevator, installed in 1987, allows everyone quick accessibility.
It is doubtful that the third floor will ever have the "dance hall ambiance" that it had in 1858,
but one can dream. Just think, if that third floor was fortified and a bit of dance wax
strew about, perhaps, we could try to "equal" that long ago "gala ball" of 1858!
Along with the revelers' dreams of the future, perhaps a few ghosts of times past would
come by and mingle, contributing their reminiscences of the intervening years
in the life of City Hall.
Ah.... just a City history nut musing!!!
CITY HALL
131h & Central, Dubilque. Iowa 52001
Phone (319] 589-4100
Open 8 tO 5. Monday through ~FRIDAY
(Excluding Holidays)
Another service of the City of Dubuque
EDIFICE REX-
THEN AND NOW
By: Karen M. Chesterman
Deputy City Clerk
January 8, 1858, a date long to remember
for "young" Dubuque. That was the date the
Dubuque City Guard staged a gala ball to officially
open the new three-story City Hall for its
nearly 13,000 citizens..
Over One Hundred Thirty-One Years Ago
what a historical fantasy to delve back in time
and "crash" that joyful event of the pre-Civil War
Era.... a spanking fresh building with three solid
stores, enough space for everything from market
stalls to police offices and jail, regular City offices
and a town hall for dances and meetings! The
crisp winter night, the candlelight, the shadows, the creaking of the new wood,
the scraping of the violins, the ripples of conversation and laughter, and the soft whirring of the full skirts as the
citizens moved gracefully to the ballroom dances....!
Visiting, dancing, imbibing(?), and talking of the
times and the new building and what the future
might hold for it... to have been there then in
that king of structures.