Eagle Point Park is a public park located in the northeast corner of the city of

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

, United States. Eagle Point is mostly situated on a bluff that overlooks the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

and the Lock and Dam No. 11. The park is owned and operated by the city of Dubuque. It was listed as a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2017. At the time of its nomination it contained 34 resources, which included 14

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, seven

contributing sites In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, five

structures A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

, five

objects Object may refer to: General meanings * Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept ** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place ** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter * Goal, an ...

, two non-contributing buildings, and two non-contributing structures.

History

The Eagle Point site was selected by

Charles Mulford Robinson Charles Mulford Robinson (1869–1917) was a journalist and a writer who became famous as a pioneering urban planning theorist. He has the greatest influence as a missionary for urban beautification. He was the first Professor for Civic Design at U ...

, who wrote a report, "Report on the Improvement of the City of Dubuque, Iowa". A committee, led by Judge

Oliver Perry Shiras Oliver Perry Shiras (October 22, 1833 – January 7, 1916) was the first United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. Education and career Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Shiras received ...

, was formed and the property was acquired by the city in 1908. The park was opened in 1909. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, as part of the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

program the park was expanded and renovated. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

viewed the park and said, "This is my idea of a worthwhile boondoggle". Architect

Alfred Caldwell Alfred Caldwell (May 26, 1903 – July 3, 1998) was an American architect best known for his landscape architecture in and around Chicago, Illinois. Family and education Caldwell and his wife Virginia had a daughter, Carol Caldwell Dooley, born ...

directed the building of many of the structures at the park, which made use of the limestone found in the area. These include the pavilions, the fish pond, the areas around the fish pond, and a bandshell for public concerts. A large statue of an eagle was placed near the entrance to the park. At one time the city offered regular bus service to and from the park, and a shelter was built for bus passengers. Today, that shelter is used as an information center. The Riverwalk, situated along the edge of the bluff, has views of the Mississippi, the Lock and Dam, the city of Dubuque, and

Grant County, Wisconsin Grant County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 51,938. Its county seat is Lancaster, Wisconsin, Lancaster. The county is named after t ...

. The park offers

tennis courts A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

, horseshoe pits, playground equipment, a band shell with free music concerts, and a small wading pool for young children. The park charges a one dollar admission fee for automobiles, and a five dollar fee for buses to enter the park. There is no fee for pedestrians. The park's season runs from May 1 to October 31. During the off season the park is closed to vehicle traffic, but people can park near Eagle Point's rear entrance and walk into the park. Below the park was the site of the

Eagle Point Bridge The Eagle Point Bridge was a very narrow two-lane automobile bridge that connected urban Dubuque, Iowa, and rural Grant County, Wisconsin. It was part of the US 61/US 151 route, and was a toll bridge. After the new Dubuque–Wisconsin Bridge was bu ...

, which was torn down in the 1980s.

References

{{NRHP in Dubuque, Iowa Protected areas established in 1909 1909 establishments in Iowa Parks in Dubuque, Iowa Protected areas on the Mississippi River Works Progress Administration in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Dubuque, Iowa Historic districts in Dubuque, Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa

History

See also

References