History of Dubuque, Iowa
Encyclopedia
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
stretches back over 200 years, when Julien Dubuque
Julien Dubuque
Julien Dubuque was a French Canadian from the area of Champlain, Quebec who arrived near what now is known as Dubuque, Iowa - which was named after him. He was one of the first men to settle in the area. He initially received permission from the Meskwaki Native American tribe to mine the lead in...
first settled in the area in the late 18th century. A number of forces shaped the city into what it is .
Early years
Dubuque was the first permanent European settlement in what would become the state of Iowa. This area was important in the French-Indian fur trading culture; the earliest record of lead mining dates to 1690 and the French trader, Nicholas Perrot. In 1788, Julien DubuqueJulien Dubuque
Julien Dubuque was a French Canadian from the area of Champlain, Quebec who arrived near what now is known as Dubuque, Iowa - which was named after him. He was one of the first men to settle in the area. He initially received permission from the Meskwaki Native American tribe to mine the lead in...
was granted rights by the Mesquakie Indians to mine their land for lead; he settled near the mouth of Catfish Creek. Dubuque, for whom the city is named, is considered to be the first white man to settle in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. Julien Dubuque's tomb remains a local landmark.
In 1833, the area where Julien Dubuque settled and worked was opened up to settlement by the United States Government. Miners created a settlement, this settlement eventually became the city of Dubuque. A small Catholic parish was established that year, it eventually became the Saint Raphael's Cathedral
St. Raphael's Cathedral (Dubuque)
Saint Raphael's is the Catholic cathedral parish for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, in Iowa. The parish is the oldest church of any Christian denomination in the state of Iowa. It is part of the Cathedral Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.-The first years:The Cathedral...
parish. The parish was the first church of any Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
denomination in what would become the state of Iowa.
A Catholic church council recommended to the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
that three new diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s be created, one of which was at Dubuque. In 1837, the Dubuque Diocese was created, and Mathias Loras
Mathias Loras
Bishop Mathias Loras was an immigrant French priest to the United States who later became the first bishop of the Dubuque Diocese in what would become the state of Iowa.-Early Life & Ministry:...
was appointed as a Bishop. When he arrived in Dubuque, there was only a few priests to cover a large area that consisted of several states.
Immigration
Bishop Loras encouraged large numbers of immigrants to come to the area from the crowded cities in the eastern US. Many immigrants settled in Dubuque and the surrounding area. Also, immigrants tended to gather with other immigrants from the same ethnic background, this often helped with their assimilation into their new nation.Many Irish families came to the area because of their desire for a fresh start from the poor conditions in Ireland, and the crowded conditions in the east. For many years, Irish families mainly settled in the southern parts of the city - that area was often referred to as Little Dublin.
They were followed by a small group of Germans
Ethnic German
Ethnic Germans historically also ), also collectively referred to as the German diaspora, refers to people who are of German ethnicity. Many are not born in Europe or in the modern-day state of Germany or hold German citizenship...
. However, over the years the German population grew until Germans became one of the two main ethnic groups in the city.
While other groups—such as Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
s and African Americans -- have become more prominent over the years, many living in Dubuque are descendants of German and Irish immigrants.
The Civil War
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, and was Speaker
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
at the turn of the century. He was wounded in the war and lost a leg. William Boyd Allison (1829–1908) also served in the war. Afterwards, he later served in both houses of Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. Allison Henderson park on the corners of University Avenue and Grandview Avenue is named for the two men.
A few Dubuque citizens found themselves in trouble with the government during the war. George Wallace Jones (1804–1896) was imprisoned on a charge of disloyalty based upon correspondence with Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
. Newspaper publisher Dennis Mahony
Dennis Mahony
Dennis Augustin Mahony was one of the founders of the Dubuque Herald , a newspaper in Dubuque, Iowa, during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
was also imprisoned for several months in 1862 for editorials that were critical of the government.
Many Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s and immigrants in Dubuque were opposed to the Republican party because parts of the Know Nothings movement who had harassed them had been absorbed in to the Republican party. It caused trouble for both groups when the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and other government officials misinterpreted this opposition as disloyalty. This was responsible, in part, for Dubuque becoming a stronghold for the Democratic party.
After the Civil War
Lead mining no longer played a central role in the city. Now Dubuque was becoming a transportation center due to its position on the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Also, the lumber industry had a large presence in Dubuque.
The Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
was an unwelcome presence at times in the area. In the 1920s, at the height of its power, Klan influence became visible in the area. Several crosses
Cross burning
Cross burning or cross lighting is a practice widely associated with the Ku Klux Klan, although the historical practice long predates the Klan's inception...
were burned in the area over an 18 month time period. One Klan meeting near the Center Grove section of the city degenerated into a huge fight when anti-klan demonstrators attacked Klan members. In 1925, the Klan held a gathering which they called a "Konklave." The Klan claimed over 50,000 people attended the rally. The Klan held another "Konklave" as well as a parade.
Fortunately, the influence of the Klan soon began to weaken. National scandals and power struggles weakened the Klan, which was mirrored locally. The Klan had pretty much disappeared from the public view for a number of years.
Most recently, during the 1990s, there was a brief resurgence of the Klan's presence in Dubuque. Appropriate actions were taken and the Klan's presence has since disappeared.
World War II and Aftermath
One of the first casualties of the Second World War was Father Aloysius SchmittAloysius Schmitt
Father Aloysius H. Schmitt was a Roman Catholic priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque, who served as a chaplain in the United States Navy during World War II. -Early life and ordination:...
. A Roman Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and Chaplain, the Iowa native had been educated at Loras College
Loras College
Loras College is a four-year Catholic college located in Dubuque, Iowa, with a general attendance of approximately 1,700 students. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs...
in Dubuque, and had served as a pastor at St. Mary's Church in Dubuque.
Following the war, Deere and Company built their manufacturing plant on a parcel of land adjoining the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
north of Dubuque. This plant, which today builds construction equipment became one of the major employers in the Dubuque area.
As television gained in popularity, area residents found that the geography of Dubuque made reception of over the air television signals difficult in some parts of the city. In response, a cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
system was developed in Dubuque during the mid 1950s. This made the Dubuque cable system one of the earlier systems to be developed in the country. The development of the Dubuque cable system meant that most homes in the lower lying regions of the city did not have television antennas - which was one of the main reasons why the city was chosen as a location for the movie F.I.S.T.
F.I.S.T.
F.I.S.T. is a 1978 movie directed by Norman Jewison and starring Sylvester Stallone. In this film, Stallone plays a Cleveland warehouse worker named Johnny Kovak who becomes involved in the labor union leadership of the fictional "Federation of Inter State Truckers", and finds that he must...
. Without TV antennas, Dubuque at the time looked more like Cleveland of the 1930s than Cleveland did. Today Mediacom
Mediacom
Mediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
runs the Dubuque cable system.
The Great Depression
Dubuque was also affected by the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
that had affected the rest of the nation. Many people were forced to move into what were called Hooverville
Hooverville
A 'Hooverville' was the popular name for shanty towns built by homeless people during the Great Depression. They were named after the President of the United States at the time, Herbert Hoover, because he allegedly let the nation slide into depression...
s. The one in Dubuque was in the southern part of the city.
The floods
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
went over its banks.
Many older residents of Dubuque remember the Flood of 1965 as one of the worst in the city's history. Many areas of downtown Dubuque were under several feet of water, which resulted in damage or destruction of homes and businesses in the path of the floods. Only sandbagging efforts of local citizens kept the main highways open to keep traffic flowing.
Following the 1965 flood funds were sought from the Federal government for the installation of a floodwall. This floodwall was finally built in the late 1960s. When the entire midwest was prone to widespread floods in 1993 the floodwall helped keep the city from experiencing serious flooding, while other cities - such as Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
- sustained major damage.
Movies
In the late 1970s, the movie F.I.S.T.F.I.S.T.
F.I.S.T. is a 1978 movie directed by Norman Jewison and starring Sylvester Stallone. In this film, Stallone plays a Cleveland warehouse worker named Johnny Kovak who becomes involved in the labor union leadership of the fictional "Federation of Inter State Truckers", and finds that he must...
was filmed in Dubuque. Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
starred in this film as a trucker who compromises his principles as he moves up through the labor union organization. Dubuque was chosen because without TV antennas it looked more like Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
of the 1930s than Cleveland did.
In between came Take This Job and Shove It
Take This Job and Shove It (film)
Take This Job and Shove It is a 1981 film starring Robert Hays, Barbara Hershey, Art Carney, and David Keith, and directed by Gus Trikonis....
, a movie starring Robert Hays
Robert Hays
Robert Hays is an American actor and is arguably most well known for his role in the movie Airplane!-Life and career:...
and Art Carney
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
that was filmed at the old Dubuque Star Brewery
In the late 1980s Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson and is from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella...
was filmed. Parts of the movie were filmed in Dubuque, as well as the nearby towns of Dyersville
Dyersville, Iowa
Dyersville is a city in eastern Delaware and western Dubuque Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is part of the Dubuque, Iowa, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,035 at the 2000 census and was estimated to be 4,167 in 2006....
and Galena, Illinois
Galena, Illinois
Galena is the county seat of, and largest city in, Jo Daviess County, Illinois in the United States, with a population of 3,429 in 2010. The city is a popular tourist destination known for its history, historical architecture, and ski and golf resorts. Galena was the residence of Ulysses S...
. The movie starred Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
, Amy Madigan
Amy Madigan
Amy Marie Madigan is an American actress who is known for her role as Annie Kinsella in the 1989 film Field of Dreams and Iris Crowe in the HBO television series Carnivale...
, Gaby Hoffmann
Gaby Hoffmann
Gabriella Mary "Gaby" Hoffmann is an American actress.-Birth:Hoffmann was born in New York City. Her mother, Viva , is an actress and writer and appeared in many of Andy Warhol's movies during the 1960s...
, James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
, Ray Liotta
Ray Liotta
[File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...
, and Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
. Both well known Hollywood actors, and members of the community were cast as extras.
Racial problems
In the early 1990s the city experienced racial strife that attracted national attention.The problems began when a cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
was burned
Cross burning
Cross burning or cross lighting is a practice widely associated with the Ku Klux Klan, although the historical practice long predates the Klan's inception...
next to the garage of an African-American family which caught fire. In the ruins, parts of the cross were found, with the inscription "KKK
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
Lives." Another cross was burned a few weeks later. This was found to be the work of a group of young men who were well known racists - several members already had criminal records. Those responsible eventually were convicted and sent to prison.
At about the same time, the city embarked on a plan to encourage more minorities to move to the area. Some of the critics tried to stir up fear by telling people that the city was planning on taking a bus to a large city and grab the first 100 African-Americans that they found. In reality, the city was planning on making a recruiting drive to bring African-American professionals to the city.
The city's program, and the cross burning polarized the community. People took up strongly held views. Dubuque police had to be summoned to Dubuque's Senior High School at one point because racial tensions almost boiled over into a large fight at the school. Jim Brady, who was mayor at the time, had even gone to the schools in Dubuque to talk about his experiences with racism over the years. When the Guardian Angels
Guardian Angels
The Guardian Angels is a non-profit international volunteer organization of unarmed citizen crime patrollers. The Guardian Angels organization was founded February 13, 1979 in New York City by Curtis Sliwa and has chapters in 15 countries and 144 cities around the world.Sliwa originally created the...
arrived in Dubuque, it was felt that their presence would only complicate the matter. Brady flat out told them that if they caused problems he'd have them arrested.
The cross burnings and the city's plans had the effect of bringing negative media attention to the city. ABC's
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
20/20 did a news segment on race relations, which many felt was biased against the city and the people living in it in general. An episode of Donahue
Phil Donahue
Phillip John "Phil" Donahue is an American media personality, writer, and film producer best known as the creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show. The television program, also known as Donahue, was the first to use a talk show format. The show had a 26-year run on U.S...
featured some of the major personalities in the controversy.
The problems also attracted the unwelcome attention of hate group
Hate group
A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other designated sector of society...
s. One hate group held a parade through the city, which was attended by only a few hundred people. The Ku Klux Klan held a rally in downtown Dubuque. To counter the Klan rally, the city held a free diversity public gathering at Dubuque's Eagle Point Park.
In 2007 racial tension have heated up once again after the stabbing of a white male in downtown Dubuque by a group of African-Americans at a party.
Traffic improvements
In recent years, government bodies from the Federal to the City level have moved to improve the road and highway systems in Dubuque, which have been plagued by problems that resulted from the original design of the roadways throughout the city.US 61/151
One of the first major traffic improvement projects undertaken was to build a US 61/151 elevated highway through the city. Previously, U.S. Highways 61/151 used several downtown roads from Locust Street up to the Wisconsin border. This resulted in a lot of heavy truck traffic on local streets, and was a cause of major congestion.In several stages from 1988 to 1993, a new four-lane divided highway was built through the city of Dubuque. The sections were built from south to north. Most of this new highway was designed as an elevated highway - except for one section near the riverfront. Highway planners went ahead with this despite opposition over having an elevated highway through the city. Initially the highway was planned as a complete limited access roadway with no at-grade intersections. But after a campaign by local business interests, the design was changed so that there would be two at-grade traffic lights near the riverfront. The approach to the Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge
Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge
The Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge is a steel tied arch bridge connecting Dubuque, Iowa, with still largely rural Grant County, Wisconsin. It is an automobile bridge that traverses the Mississippi River. It is one of two automobile bridges in the Dubuque area. A railroad bridge is between them...
was rebuilt to accommodate the new highway.
In 1993, the new US 61/151 highway was completed. The highway has helped to reduce much of the congestion in downtown Dubuque. Heavy trucks that are merely going through the city are now able to use the highway instead of local roads. Travel from the southern to the northern ends of the route - once at least a 20 minute journey - has been at least cut in half.
Four lane expansion on highways 61 and 151 elsewhere in Iowa has given Dubuque four lane connections to both the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
and Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
. With the completion of this expansion of U.S. 61 in the mid 1990s the city finally had a direct four lane connection to Interstate 80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
.
As part of the U.S. 151 expansion project, the highway was expanded to four lanes between Dubuque and Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. Construction was finally finished in 2005, which resulted in a direct four lane connection between the two cities.
Bypasses
In the 1980s, a new Northwest Arterial project was begun. It was intended to serve as a bypass around Dubuque, going northeast from US 20 at the west end of Dubuque out to US 52 / State Highway 3 north.Initially, a four lane section from US Highway 20 up to JFK Road was graded. However, only two lanes were brought to completion. In the 1990s, the other two lanes were completed, and several stoplights were added to the road. In the late 1990s, Dubuque turned control of the road over to the state, who then named the road as state highway 32. At that point, the Northwest Arterial was expanded from JFK Road out to US 52. As a result, there is now a four lane bypass of Dubuque to the north. With the completion of the Northwest Arterial, more and more businesses are locating their operations along the highway. And the number of houses located near the Arterial has greatly increased over the past 15 years.
For a number of years, a Southwest Arterial, or a bypass from the south to the west ends of Dubuque has been planned. However, the Southwest Arterial has yet to proceed from the design stages. Business leaders have voiced concern about not having such a bypass. They have shown that it has caused the city to miss economic opportunities. One businessman who was considering beginning operations in Dubuque, which would have brought 400 jobs to the city, decided not to proceed when he drove through congested traffic on Dodge Street and found there was no southern bypass for the city. Some people have taken to driving over secondary roads to avoid Dodge Street. As these roads - particularly Kelly Lane and Cedar Cross Road - are mainly residential streets, it has caused concern among residents who see traffic getting heavier all the time on those roads, along with safety problems such traffic brings along.
Westward migration
During the latter half of the 20th century, residents and businesses of Dubuque began migrating out primarily to the western part of the city. This movement has changed the face of many areas of the city, and pushed out the western borders of Dubuque. Many homes and businesses were built on areas that were once farm fields in "the middle of nowhere."Following World War II, the baby boom
Baby boom
A baby boom is any period marked by a greatly increased birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds and when the number of annual births exceeds 2 per 100 women...
impacted Dubuque. A number of these young families settled in the west end. Areas that were once fields were turned into housing for these young families, and Dubuque began pushing westward. Because of this, the Archdiocese of Dubuque opened Walhert High School - a central parochial high school. The Dubuque Community School District opened Hempstead High School - the city's second public high school - in 1970.
Kresge
- People and characters :* Cliff Kresge , an American professional golfer* Geoff Kresge, songwriter, guitarist, bassist with the band AFI* George Joseph Kresge , American mentalist better known as Kreskin or The Amazing Kreskin...
corporation opened a new K-Mart on a parcel of land on what was once the western border of Dubuque. This was the first K-Mart in Iowa. Target Stores opened their own location about a mile west of K-Mart it the late 1970s. In 1970 the first stores at Kennedy Mall
Kennedy Mall
Kennedy Mall is a shopping mall located in Dubuque, Iowa. The mall is located just north of Dodge Street at the intersection of Dodge and Wacker Drive. The street address for the Mall is 555 John F. Kennedy Road. Cafaro Company owns the mall.-History:Kennedy Mall was the first climate controlled...
- the first indoor, climate-controlled mall in Iowa - were opened.
A number of businesses moved to the western part of the city. In 1964, Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
decided to move their store from the downtown out to the west end. Both Wards and Roshek's Department Store moved into Kennedy Mall when it was opened. In the 1980s, both JCPenney and Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
moved their stores from the downtown out to Kennedy Mall
Kennedy Mall
Kennedy Mall is a shopping mall located in Dubuque, Iowa. The mall is located just north of Dodge Street at the intersection of Dodge and Wacker Drive. The street address for the Mall is 555 John F. Kennedy Road. Cafaro Company owns the mall.-History:Kennedy Mall was the first climate controlled...
.
This westward migration had redefined the lower main street area. Instead of being the main shopping area of the city, it became mostly a business park. After hours and on weekends, the area was deserted. The city has made a number of efforts to increase the importance of the downtown area once again.
City redevelopment efforts
In recent years, the city of Dubuque has made a concerted effort to redevelop the downtown and riverfront areas. This included a number of controversial decisions. But so far most people seem to have positive opinions of the redevelopment efforts.In the downtown area, the gas station featured in Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson and is from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella...
was torn down to make way for expanded parking spots for downtown businesses. In the years following that decision, the Bricktown Restaurant opened in the building behind the gas station after the owners made major improvements to the building. The local Historic Preservation Commission had recommended that the gas station remain intact, however the city government overrode their decision.
The city placed a new parking ramp behind the chamber of commerce building. Unfortunately, this caused structural damage to several nearby buildings, including the old German National Bank Building. The city worked to encourage the owner to repair the building and reopen the Silver Dollar Cantina - which he had to close when it didn't survive a massive fire. (See Dubuque365.com for info and pictures). The city threatened to cite the owner with demolition by neglect as he had not made repairs, but he started the process of rebuilding. As of March, 2008, the Silver Dollar is open for business once again.
A number of redevelopment efforts focused on the riverfront just north of the Ice Harbor. This was part of the America's River project. It included a newly expanded National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Private investors built the Grand River Hotel and Waterpark on the riverfront. The Grand River Events Center was built next door as a place to host events for parties ranging from very small to very large parties. The nearby old Dubuque Star Brewery has also been renovated into spaces for businesses.
Developers proposed building a stadium near the Ice Harbor for a minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team, however the plans were abandoned when a tax levy to help fund this stadium was voted down by the residents.
Developers have also recently begun construction efforts on the area at the bottom of the bluffs which the Eagle Point Park is located on. They plan to build condominiums at the base of the bluffs. This has caused controversy in that people feel that having buildings there would take away from the natural beauty of the area. The controversy gained further momentum when it was found that several rockslides had taken place after construction efforts had begun. The rockslides led to concern that construction efforts may be causing geological instability in the bluffs.
The Dubuque Community School District has decided to replace a downtown elementary school building with a new building a short distance away. This plan has run into opposition by historic preservation interests, who claim this would result in the destruction of several historic buildings. After considering the options,the district decided to go ahead with building the new school, and has purchased the properties to be demolished. A section of W. 12th street has been closed off. The street has been taken out to make way for the new school building, named Prescott Elementary.
The development of new hotels has led to what the industry has termed as a surplus in the market - especially with the addition of the Grand Harbor Hotel and a new Hilton hotel at the Dubuque Greyhound Park and Casino. Because of this the Best Western
Best Western
Best Western International, Inc. is the third largest hotel chain, with over 4,195 hotels in nearly 80 countries. The chain, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, operates more than 2,000 hotels in North America alone. Best Western has a marketing program involving placement of free...
Dubuque Inn has been sold. Part of it was torn down, and the remaining portion is being remodeled into a new hotel scheduled to open in the spring of 2006. The Dubuque Inn's owners also own the local Days Inn
Days Inn
Days Inn is a motel chain headquartered in the United States. Founded in 1970, it is now a part of the Wyndham Hotel Group, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, which was formerly a part of Cendant...
, which they have put up for sale as well. The owners of those two properties have said that their occupancy was often less than 50%.
The 2004 Campaign
On May 7, 2004, PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
visited the city. He is the first sitting President to have visited the city since Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
in 1979. While some were excited to have a sitting President in the city, others reacted with mixed feelings - especially when most of those allowed to attend a speech by Bush were only those who planned on voting for him in November. A World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
who was denied tickets by campaign staffers only added to the controversy. Bush returned to Dubuque on October 26, 2004 to attend another campaign rally at the Grand River Event Center
Grand River Event Center
The Grand River Event Center is a convention center located in Dubuque, Iowa. It is on the riverfront of the Mississippi River, and is part of the America's River Campus at the Port of Dubuque. The center is located at 500 Bell Street....
.
Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
also visited the city several times during his campaign. On July 3, 2004, Kerry watched the fireworks celebration that evening from a private boat sitting in the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. On July 4, he attended a Catholic mass at Resurrection Church with Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack
Tom Vilsack
Thomas James "Tom" Vilsack is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and presently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002...
. Despite some speculation to the contrary, he was able to receive communion. He then continued on to visit several other communities in Iowa, including Cascade
Cascade, Iowa
Cascade is a city in Dubuque County and Jones County, Iowa, United States. The Dubuque County portion is part of Dubuque Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Jones County portion is part of Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,958 at the 2000 census, but is now...
, and Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
. On August 3, 2004, Kerry again visited the city, and spoke to a large crowd at the Five Flags Center. From Dubuque, he went to another campaign stop at Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
.
In the days leading up to the election, there was considerable controversy among Catholics on how to vote. Some felt that with Kerry's pro-choice stance that Catholics should not vote for Kerry. Other Catholics - despite the fact that they opposed Kerry's stance on abortion committed to voting for him. These Catholics often pointed to the seamless garment idea espoused by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, and felt that when a person looked at all the issues that Kerry was the better candidate for office. Or people would take an "anyone but Bush" stance. Both parties took out full page advertisements in the Telegraph Herald. appealing to Catholics to vote for either Bush or Kerry. Officially, the Archdiocese maintained the traditional neutrality that it always had regarding election campaigns.
Recent events
From June 27 to the June 29, 2004, Dubuque hosted the Grand ExcursionGrand Excursion
The Grand Excursion was a voyage by train and steamboat into the Upper Mississippi River valley, USA that first took place in June 1854. 150 years later, in 2004 the Grand Excursion route was retraced by both riverboats and a steam locomotive....
. This excursion - which ran from the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
to the Twin Cities made a stop at Dubuque. This brought several riverboats participating in the event, a steam locomotive passenger train, the Budweiser Clydesdales, and a large number of people to the city.
Another festival was held over the memorial day weekend in 2005. However this festival produced mixed feelings, with a number of people expressing feelings of disappointment.
In 2007, Dubuque won an All-America City Award
All-America City Award
The All-America City Award is given by the National Civic League annually to ten cities in the United States.The oldest community recognition program in the nation, the award recognizes communities whose citizens work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve uncommon...
.