Most Dubuquers are well acquainted with the city’s 4th Street Elevator, but many aren’t as familiar with the historic 11th Street Elevator, a short rail that was incorporated in 1887 and was in continuous use until 1927.
By the late 1800s, Dubuque’s bluff top living had become popular with many residents who were forced to use an unpopular, steep stairway to get to downtown businesses and back up to their homes. The first reference to wooden steps up the bluffs dates back to 1871, when Capt. West built a 100-step flight of stairs to his house on “West Point.” In 1876, another reference reported the expenditure of $250 for the replacement of “Bluff Stairs.” Bluff top living offered amazing views, but those views came at the price of climbing stairs or taking a long circuitous route down to the city below.
Residents who lived on the Eleventh Street Hill were inspired by Jesse Farley’s private inclined railway service a few blocks away on 4th Street. Farley started his own service in 1883 and charged his neighbors a quarter to ride his elevator. By the mid-1800s, Farley had a booming business that even survived numerous destructive fires.
On May 11, 1887, a group of investors met and pledged a stock subscription of $3,100 at $100 per share to support an elevator at 11th Street. The City Council cooperated and granted them a right of way for the location they selected. On the first of July 1887, the Eleventh Street Elevator Company was incorporated. James Forrester served as the president of the incorporation which counted twenty-five stockholders. Williard H. Torbert, a well-known Dubuque druggist, served as the secretary/treasurer of the newly formed organization.
Not everyone was pleased with the new venture. Residents living near the project compared the noise of construction to a “young Niagara.” The courts finally stepped in and awarded the neighbors monetary settlements totaling $710. Despite objections from the neighbors, the corporation’s board of directors went ahead with the project but decided to use a wooden structure instead of one made of steel, noting that it would be quieter.
Soon contracts were approved. F. H. Spaulding of Pittsburgh’s Shiffer Bridge Co. was selected as the general contractor. F.W. Kringle was chosen to construct the stonework for the foundations that would support the superstructure. Board member James Howie was tapped to build the station houses and platforms. Cost estimates came in at between $3,500 and $4,000.
The 11 Street Elevator didn’t follow the exact same design as the elevator at 4th Street. A raised trestle that supported the track started at 11th and Bluff and rose to Grove Terrace, ascending 43.3 feet over 100 feet. The track was raised to a height of twenty-five feet over Grove Terrace to allow horses and wagons to pass on the street underneath. A midway station was built at the foot of the street. From Grove to the termination at Highland Place the grade decreased to 27.3 feet over 100 feet to the third station.
At one time, the roof over the platform at the top of the elevator was lighted by Chinese lanterns. Similar in design to the cable-operated 4th Street Elevator, as one car moved up the track, another car came down. Difficulty in the original operation of the elevator was overcome by adding an additional cable for support. The engine, boiler, and cistern were located underneath the 11th Street Station. Finally ready for passengers, the 11th Street Elevator opened on May 13, 1888. In the beginning, passengers paid three cents to go up the bluff and two cents to come down.
Again, there were complaints from the residents who lived nearby. George W. Andrew and Charles Thomas Hancock filed an injunction, claiming that passengers riding the elevator would be able to look into their windows, invading their privacy. The case was dismissed.
The residents living near the elevator didn’t give up easily. A second restraining order was attempted in 1889, but that case was also dropped. By 1889, the railway was hailed as “a great convenience to residents on the hill” with a magnificent view that made it “a place of public resort not only by residents but for strangers visiting the city.”
The wealthy residents on Grove Terrace were still unhappy with the rattling noise from the operation of the cars on the tracks, so in mid-1895, the elevator company replaced the noisy tires with tires made of rubber. The local Dubuque newspaper reported, “the noise is hushed, neighbors satisfied, and babies sleep sweetly and undisturbed again.”
In 1890, electricity replaced the steam-powered operation. The elevator was periodically inspected and overhauled to ensure safety and was rebuilt in 1896. The stone retaining wall parallel to Bluff Street was cut in order to allow the track to pass through the wall so cars could travel at one continuous grade.
The elevator company hired Isaac Proctor to construct the present day “Eleventh Street Wall” on “the east side of DeSoto Terrace” after the property at 1090 Grove Terrace was filled in. But the city refused to accept the completed wall since it wasn’t built to municipal specifications. By mid-1898, the elevator company was operating at a loss, mainly due to costs associated with the unacceptable wall. Finally, the board voted to give the wall to Proctor.
Despite several upgrades to the elevator, the number of passengers using the railway continued to decline with the coming of the automobile age. During World War I, even fewer passengers found their way to the 11th Street Elevator. Hours of operation had to be cut. Finally, in 1927, the elevator was abandoned. Two years later in 1929, the elevator and the stations were demolished.
Today, a concrete staircase passes through the wall where the 11th Street Elevator once ran, carrying residents to and from downtown businesses and tourists up the bluff to enjoy the city view and the fresh air.
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