(
Satellite)
The
Fenelon Place Elevator still exists.
Barbara Lewra
posted 10 images with the comment:
The 11th street elevator in Dubuque was a funicular cable car system used to navigate the steep hillside along Bluff Street. (See below for a description of a funicular system.) It operated at Eleventh Street from 1887 to 1927 before being dismantled in 1929.
This elevator was very similar in design to the 4th Street Elevator that is open to the public and is still in operation today. However, the 11st elevator was never as popular or as successful as the one at 4th Street. As the automobile gained in popularity, the elevator became much less of a daily necessity for the neighborhood, and it was eventually dismantled.
See the captions included in each photo to see how this elevator has changed over the years.
The primary structure remaining of the elevator is a massive limestone wall and tunnel that the elevator cars originally traveled through so horse traffic could cross the tracks on the street above. Today, the rails have been removed but you can still follow a paved path and lots of stairs to follow its path. There is a small “park“ near the top that has been landscaped and includes a small monument with a brief history lesson. Awaiting you at the park is a bench to sit on and rest from your climb up the steps while enjoying a panoramic view of the city.
Description of funicular street elevator system: This type of elevator, like the 11th and 4th street elevators, consists of two rail cars that always start at opposite ends of a hill and pass each other at the mid-point as they travel up and down the hill. The cars in the cable-driven railway are powered by an electric motor and winch in the station house at the top of the hill. The motor only needs to overcome friction, inertia, and compensate for the varying weight of the passengers in the cars. Because the cars counterbalance each other, the weight of the car going down the hill does much of the work and helps to pull the other car at the bottom up to the top.
 |
| 1, cropped |
 |
| 2 |
 |
| 3 |
 |
| 4 |
 |
| 5 |
 |
| 6 |
 |
7
[I happened to have caught the turret of the blue house in the street view at the top of these notes.] |
 |
| 8 |
 |
| 9 |
 |
| 10 |
Wow, Dubuque has bluffs all over the town.
 |
| 1955 Dubuque South and 1956 Dubuque North Quads @ 24,000 |
No comments:
Post a Comment