Victorian mansions and Mississippi River history. Riverboat cruises and the world’s shortest, steepest scenic railway. Antiques and art galleries. Iowa’s oldest city offers a little something for everyone.
Named for Julien Dubuque, a French-Canadian who operated lead mines here when the region was still part of territory held by Spain, Dubuque was born a rough and tumble mining town in the 1830s.
Lead drew the first settlers, but the Mississippi River gave Dubuque its heart and soul. The city is rich with the lore and history of the Big Muddy, and for much of the year the waterfront cracks to the throaty bark of diesel engines, as square, squat towboats push long strings of barges past its doorstep.
A good place to begin a visit is the Port of Dubuque Iowa Welcome Center, at historic Ice Harbor, which has become the city’s tourism center. Built as a 19th Century winter harbor of refuge for riverboats, the Ice Harbor is home to the Mississippi River Museum, a complex that includes the Woodward Riverboat Museum, the 277-foot William M. Black (one of the last side paddle wheel vessels on the Mississippi) and the National Rivers Hall of Fame. Here, among the boats, treasures and stories representing 300 years of river history, you can walk the streets of Old Dubuque, crawl through a lead mine, see fur trade artifacts, visit a steamboat galley, meet famous rivermen and learn about Dubuque’s special relationship with the Mississippi. A 15-minute orientation film, “River of Dreams,” helps bring the Mississippi to life.
Ice Harbor is also home port to the Spirit of Dubuque, a two-deck, paddle-wheel excursion boat that offers sightseeing cruises on the Mississippi. A variety of luncheon and dinner cruises are also available.
Also located at Ice Harbor is the Dubuque Diamond Jo Casino. The vessel offers dock-side riverboat gambling, including slots, video machines and Las Vegas-style gaming. The boat makes one early morning cruise Monday through Friday (May-October).
Close by, at the U.S. Highways 61-151 bridge to Wisconsin, the Dubuque Greyhound Park & Casino features live greyhound racing Wednesday through Sunday from May through October. The casino has more than 500 slot machines.
For a close look at today’s hardworking riverboats, visit Lock & Dam No. 11, located a short distance north of Ice Harbor above the Highway 61-151 bridge.
Although they’re called towboats, these stubby beasts of burden push their cargo-laden barges. The lock’s parklike setting provides a fine vantage point to watch the fascinating locking procedure, which raises or lowers boats and barges to the river level above or below the dam. Free guided tours are available Sunday afternoons from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Like many 19th Century communities that outlived the boomtown days, Dubuque has a splendid array of Victorian homes and buildings. Downtown, the fortresslike old Dubuque County Jail (1858) is one of the nation’s few surviving examples of Egyptian Revival architecture. A National Historic Landmark, it now houses the Dubuque Museum of Art and offers changing exhibits of national and regional artists throughout the year. Beginning May 27, the museum mounts an exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the John Deere Dubuque Works.
Other downtown architectural gems include the gold-domed Dubuque County Courthouse (1893), which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Five Flags Theater, built in 1910, was modeled on theaters in Paris and offers entertainment ranging from concerts by the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra to local ballet performances and traveling theater troupes. The Grand Opera House (1889) features summer repertory productions and a variety of programs.
Enhancing Dubuque’s performing and fine arts scene are Clarke College, Loras College and the University of Dubuque, offering exhibitions of artworks and programs of music, drama and dance.
To glimpse the splendor of pre-Civil War life along the river, visit the Dubuque Historical Society’s Mathias Ham House, a 23-room Italianate mansion built in 1856 and filled with elegant Victorian furnishings. Costumed interpreters lead guided tours. A miners’ double log cabin with exhibits is also on the grounds.
Close by is Eagle Point Park, perched atop a towering river bluff that provides spectacular views of the river and three states–Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. The 164-acre park has picnic areas, tennis courts, viewing towers and playground equipment.
You won’t want to miss the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, in Marshall Park. Guided tours are offered in summer.
But if you do only one thing in Dubuque, ride on the Fenelon Place Elevator. Built in 1892, and also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the funicular lift is billed as the world’s steepest, shortest scenic railway, lifting passengers 189 feet from 4th Street to Fenelon Place along a track 296 feet long. Board at the bottom, at 4th and Bluff Streets, and pay the modest fair at the top, where there’s a spectacular view of the river and the Tri-State area. It’s the best buck and a half you’ll spend this year.
Dubuque’s 19th annual Dubuquefest, a Heartland Celebration scheduled for May 17 and 18, features live entertainment, a juried art fair and an Old Home Enthusiasts Tour.
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For additional information, contact the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 705, Dubuque, Iowa 52004-0705; 319-556-4372.
DETAILS ON DUBUQUE
– Mississippi River Museum, 3rd Street, Ice Harbor; 800-226-3369. Open 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. Admission: $6 adults, $3 ages 7-15, family pass $18.
– Spirit of Dubuque, 3rd Street, Ice Harbor; 800-747-8093. Sightseeing cruises at 2 and 4 p.m. daily May 1-Sept. 1, 3 p.m. Sept. 2-Oct. 26. Fare: $9 adults, $5.50 ages 12 and under. Luncheon/dinner cruise times and prices vary.
– Dubuque Diamond Jo Casino, 3rd Street, Ice Harbor, 800-LUCKY-JO. Open year-round, 24-hour gaming Friday and Saturday; admission free.
– Dubuque Greyhound Park & Casino, 1855 Greyhound Park Dr.; 800-373-3647. Open 9 a.m.-2 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, 24 hours Friday and Saturday. Call for racing schedule; admission free.
– Lock & Dam No. 11, Lock & Dam Road; 319-582-0881. Open 24 hours daily during the navigation season (approximately April 1-mid-November). Admission free.
– Dubuque Museum of Art, 8th and Central Avenue; 319-557-1851. Open Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 1-5 p.m. Admission free.
– Five Flags Theater, 4th and Main Streets; 319-589-4254.
– Grand Opera House, 135 W. 8th St.; 319-588-1305 or 588-4356.
– Clarke College, 1550 Clarke Dr.; 319-588-6316.
– Loras College, 1540 Alta Vista St.; 319-588-7100.
– University of Dubuque, 200 University Ave.; 319-589-3000.
– Mathias Ham House, 2241 Lincoln Ave.; 319-557-9545. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, Memorial Day-Labor Day, Saturday and Sunday only in May, September and October (last tour at 4:30 p.m.). Admission $3.50 adults, $1.50 ages 6-15, under age 6 free.
– Eagle Point Park, Shiras Avenue; 319-589-4263. Open May 3-Oct. 26. Admission free.
– Fenelon Place Elevator, 512 Fenelon Pl.; 319-582-6496. Open 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily, April 1-Nov. 30. Round-trip fare: adults $1.50, ages 5-12 50 cents, under age 5 free.
