More Photos from Dubuque

Dubuque is Iowa’s oldest city. It was founded in 1833, 13 years before Iowa became a state. The French-Canadian fur trader names Julien Dubuque was instrumental in settling the area, thus its name.

The city has designed a lovely river walk in Port Dubuque, along the Mississippi River. On my recent trip there, my friend and I walked along it several times.

The River Walk along the Mississippi River.

We also sat on benches and watched a lot of river traffic…barges, tugboats, speedboats, etc. I always enjoy watching the “boats go by.”

This recreational boat looks so small next to a long barge and tugboat, on the Mississippi River.
The Shot Tower.

The Shot Tower is located one end of the river walk. It is a national landmark, being one of only a few remaining historic shot towers in the United States. 

A visual of how the shot tower made lead shots.

I recently learned what a shot tower is, and found it interesting. According to the plaque, “The Shot Tower was constructed in 1854 to manufacture lead shot ammunition. Molten lead was poured from the top of the tower and passed through a series of sieves to form the shot into its proper size. The shot then landed in a tank of cold water at the bottom of the tower.” Thus, making the ammunition.

“Solidarity” mural.

There are 30 murals around town, resulting from an event called “Taking it to the Streets”. We noticed several of the murals. I assume there would be a map at the chamber of commerce so one could locate all of them and learn about them. We did not look into this, but there was one mural directly across from our hotel. It was titled Solidarity. It was painted by 75 volunteers, painting side-by-side in one- hour shifts, on this paint-by-number style public art piece; 105’ long X 25” tall. 

The Town Clock.

We walked by the Town Clock. This Town Clock was originally erected in 1873 on top of a building on Main Street, then the clock was moved to the Town Clock Plaza in 1971, where it is today. The clock supposedly maintains accurate time within half second. It stands 110’ tall.

The Grand Opera House, still offering live performances (pre and post Covid of course.)

We also walked by the Grand Opera House which was built in 1890. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Closer look at the Grand Opera House stone design.

A super moon was scheduled to rise on our last night in Dubuque, so we purposely went to find a bench on the river walk to sit and watch the full moon rise over the Mississippi River. It did not disappoint!

The full, super moon rising over the river.

We had a wonderful time in this historic river town…There is so much more this city has to offer. We’ll be back.

Happy to be together.

8 thoughts on “More Photos from Dubuque”

  1. What a great history lesson Valerie! And that moon had to be such a blessing to see!! Thank you for sharing!

    1. Thanks Mary Jane.
      I do like the moon, and am always interested in see it rise over water especially…it is hard to capture a photo of it however (at least with my iPhone camera).

  3. What wonderful sites you found in Dubuque! Your pictures are so
    professional Valerie! Watching the sun set over the Mississippi must have been a highlight. It must have been wonderful being with your friend for this tour!

    1. Thanks Shirley.
      It was a special time with my friend, for our long-standing tradition of an annual trip together. Since 1989.

  4. Wow, Valerie, you know how to do your research. Your history lesson about Dubuque was wonderful. And, to see the photos of the Grand Opera House, where I worked as the office manager for seven years before moving to Minnesota, was a sentimental moment for me. Thanks for sharing all the beautiful photos and your knowledge of the town. You made me smile!

Comments are closed.