Dubuque, Iowa

USA / Iowa / Dubuque /
 city, county seat
City with a population of 57,250 in 2008; eighth largest city in Iowa. County seat of Dubuque County. Originally settled by the Fox Native Americans, it was first explored by Europeans in 1673, by Marquette and Joliet's expedition. First permanently settled in 1785 by Julien Dubuque, after whom the city is named. Attracted settlement as a lead mining town. The city was chartered in 1833, and grew as a center for the timber industry and boat building, and received large influxes of German and Irish immigrants. During the 20th century it grew as an industrial city. It was the site of Klan activity in the 1920s, including a "Konklave" in 1925 that the KKK claimed attracted 50,000 people. In 1965 a major flood damaged much of downtown Dubuque. Tony Danza attended the University of Dubuque. The decline of industry in the latter 20th century lead to a diversification of the local economy into riverboat casinos and tourism.

Site of Loras College, Clarke College and the University of Dubuque. Hosts one of the few operational funiculars in the United States. Because its geography prevents good broadcast signal reception, Dubuque was one of the first cities to be outfitted with a cable television system. The Sylvester Stallone movie F.I.S.T. was filmed here partly because there were no TV antennas in the city and provided a more convincing 1930s urban setting.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubuque,_Iowa
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   42°30'20"N   90°43'48"W

Comments

  • Sounds delightful, I am considering to move to the midwest, and you just made up my mind...
  • Dubuque is a very progressive city. It really gets overlooked. Most of Iowa is really doing well, but Dubuque had the 22nd fastest growing economy in the U.S. back in 2006. Competing with larger cities like Austin, and Phoenix, Arizona. Dubuque is growing, with a great looking rivefront, new casinos, a booming hotel industry, and the Kennedy Mall is under huge renovations. Dubuque is really a city that you should consider a move to.
  • I agree with the original poster and the commenter above, as someone who's been to Dubuque before. Love the scenic views of the Mississippi River from the city's local parks, too.
This article was last modified 16 years ago