Dubuque, IA: IC Depots, Freight House and Roundhouse

1888 and 1945 Depots: (HABS; Satellite, south of Jones Street. The land is now used by Arby's andUS-61.)

1873 Freight House: (HABS; Satellite, north of Jones Street. The land is now used by US-61.)

Roundhouse: (Satellite, remnants of some of the pits are still visible)

IRM Strahorn Library posted
Illinois Central Pacific number 1177 is at Dubuque, Iowa in 1940 with “The Iowan,” train number 16.  We’re blown away by the size of the Dubuque depot.  However, according to the US Census the 1940 population of Dubuque was 43,000 people (compared to 60,000 in 2020).  The size of the city and its location on the Mississippi River made it an important stopping point for the Illinois Central, thus justifying a significant depot.  The photo comes from the Dillon Collection at the Illinois Railway Museum’s Strahorn Library.

EncyclopediaDubuque, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)
Constructed at Jones and Iowa STREETS, the building was still standing in 1975 without its porches, tower, and upper story dormitory. It had been remodeled into a freight station after WORLD WAR II when passenger service declined. (27) Library of Congress
[I don't believe that it became a freight house. I think it was replaced by the newer depot shown below.]

photolibrarian Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)

This is the depot that the IC downsized to after WWII.

HABS IOWA,31-DUBU,13-A--1
1. EAST FRONT AND NORTH SIDE. VIEW TO SOUTHWEST. - Commercial & Industrial Buildings, Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot, Iowa & Jones Streets, Dubuque, Dubuque County, IA

rrpicturesarchives, Author: Jeff Van Clive, Collection Of: Mike Woodruff
May 15, 1979

The sources are conflicting as to where the 1888 depot was located. But the bridges across the Mississippi River in the background of this photo resolve the conflict. The 1888 depot was located where the 1945 depot was built. It looks like they are building a viaduct for Dodge Street.

EncyclopediaDubuque, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)

The one-story freight handling part was built in 1873. The two story office building was added around 1915. [HABS_freight]

 HABS IOWA,31-DUBU,13-G--1
1. NORTH FRONT AND EAST SIDE. VIEW TO SOUTHWEST. - Commercial & Industrial Buildings, Illinois Central Railroad Freight Depot, First & Iowa Streets, Dubuque, Dubuque County, IA

The freight house was used as a warehouse by a tire retailer by the time it was documented.

HABS IOWA,31-DUBU,13-G--18
18. FREIGHT HOUSE, SHOWING ROOF TRUSS DETAILS. VIEW TO SOUTHEAST. - Commercial & Industrial Buildings, Illinois Central Railroad Freight Depot, First & Iowa Streets, Dubuque, Dubuque County, IA
"Its structure was also typical for the period, featuring Howe trusses with timber compression members and iron tension bars that clear-spanned between brick bearing walls." [HABS_freight]

HABS IOWA,31-DUBU,13-A--11
11. PASSENGER LOBBY. VIEW TO WEST. - Commercial & Industrial Buildings, Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot, Iowa & Jones Streets, Dubuque, Dubuque County, IA

The 1945 depot is the rectangle at the bottom of this aerial and the freight house is the rectangle north of it. The top part of this aerial rules out the location of the 1888 depot being between 3rd and 4th Streets. That location had been considered, but evidently not used. The rectangle between 3rd and 2nd was the CB&Q depot, which is now part of a museum.

EarthExplorrer, I forgot to record the details

From the same photo as the above