Madison Street Steps Collection

David Dahlquist was a landscape architect for the City of Dubuque. During that time, he prepared the documents in this collection as a proposal for upgrading the Madison Street Steps. The project was not completed.

The original wooden steps were built to allow homeowners and visitors on the bluff to easily visit Madison Park. The wooden steps were replaced in 1918 with an ornate, eight-flight construction that included a spiral staircase. By 1942 the steps had deteriorated once again and were closed. In 1956 portions of the steps were demolished and the rest was allowed to collapse. In 1977 Dahlquist was hired to develop a plan to replace the steps, but the project was never funded. However, the design did win the Special Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Finally, in 1989 new steps were built, but the structure was much simpler, consisting of three concrete landings, 190 square feet of sidewalk, and two flights of wooden steps.