Traveling parallel to a steep hill, the Fourth Street Elevator in downtown Dubuque takes you to the top for magnificent views of the city and beyond. Enjoy the evolving view as you ascend in the small car on what is described by the operator as the world’s shortest and steepest scenic railway.
At the top are panoramic views of the Mississippi River as it flows past three visible states: Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. However, the 3-foot (1-meter) narrow-gauge railway that began operation in 1882 was not constructed just for the view. Imagine the difficulty before the elevator existed for someone who lived at the top of the hill and needed to get to the city below.
A banker and former mayor of Dubuque was such an individual, who disliked having to spend considerable time traveling by horse and buggy. J.K. Graves had 1.5 hours at noon for lunch, but the trip to his hilltop home took 30 minutes each way and he liked to include a nap. As a solution he commissioned the 296-foot-long (90-meter) railway, modeled after those in the Swiss Alps.
The original cable car was a small house on wheels that went up and down the hill with Graves’ gardener pulling on a hemp rope. Think how citizens of that time must have viewed this mode of transportation and desired taking a ride. A fire destroyed the original elevator but Graves had it rebuilt and charged other riders five cents.
After another fire and economic recession, Graves did not rebuild. However, a group of citizens formed the Fenelon Place Elevator Company and built an improved motorized service, which was last modernized in 1977. Experience this National Register of Historic Places attraction as you ride the rails by ringing a bell to signal the operator at the top that you want to come up.
Find the Fourth Street Elevator in downtown Dubuque. Inexpensive rides run from April to November. Stay seated during the trip as the operator may suddenly stop the elevator for safety reasons if they see someone standing.
