The downtown area of Dubuque is large, reflecting its historically large economy and importance in the lumber and woodworking business. Central Avenue is one of several north-south arteries that run between the Mississippi River and the bluffs, making the downtown area long and slender.

South of the Dubuque County Courthouse, there are some amazing buildings, and some interesting neon signs. The storefronts are occupied with different historic businesses.

Looking below, I’m intrigued by the first building; it looks like houses that are common in Chicago; obviously, while St. Louis received much of the finished goods from Dubuque, the city was much more oriented to the east over the railroad bridges across the Mississippi River.

As you can see, as well below, this house was probably always built as a two-family flat, with the second floor accessed via a staircase on the side in the two-story bay window.

While there are certainly areas demolished for superfluous parking lots, I was impressed by how much of the downtown area has not been ruined.

There are amazing commercial buildings of two or three stories in Dubuque, which sadly have mostly been demolished in St. Louis, such as the one below.

The buildings below are very old, looking much like some of the earliest stores and houses in Soulard; I suspect they may be from around the Civil War. Dubque is sometimes claimed to be the oldest city in Iowa.

The Second Empire storefront below with apartments below could come straight out of Benton Park West, if not for slightly different window lintels. I like how there are still buildings around the courthouse, and not acres of parking.

Moving north of the courthouse, the new jail is on the left, and the historic urban fabric breaks down a bit.