Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
ICE HARBOR EMPORIUM
ICE HARBOR EMPORIUM. The Emporium was one of the first efforts during the 1970s to attract development in the ICE HARBOR.
The building was constructed around 1890 and had seen many uses. Originally it was a wholesale grocery warehouse. In 1909 Augustin A. COOPER had used it for storing wagon parts. DUBUQUE SEED COMPANY opened for business there in the 1930s. When the company moved to Key West, Jack Thompson of Dubuque used it as a storehouse.
In 1981 Joe Kucera of Dubuque saw the building as a mini-mall. Thompson who had years of experience franchising convenience stores in Dubuque saw the potential, and the Ice Harbor Emporium was started.
The first and second floors were the first to be opened for business. Each shop owner rented a 10' by 20' space. The rest of the building would remain open. Rent would be about twenty dollars per month with common expenses being shared.
In 1998 the Emporium was evicted by its landlord, the Greater Dubuque Riverboat Entertainment Company which also owned the DIAMOND JO riverboat casino, the Portside building, and 11 acres at the Ice Harbor. The company explained that it intended to raze the building. The Emporium, established in 1978, moved to PLAZA 20 and kept its name.
The Ice Harbor Emporium had operated out of the former site of the DUBUQUE SEED COMPANY. Containing over thirty specialty shops, the Emporium offered country and tole painting, tinware, brass, calligraphy, Iowa Hawkeye items, porcelain dolls, doll clothes, miniatures, and jewelry.
The 1983 through 1987 Dubuque City Directory listed 169 Iowa.
The 1989 through 1993 Dubuque City Directory listed 98 E. 4th.
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Source:
Freund, Bob,"Ice Harbor Mall to Offer Unique Wares," Telegraph Herald, Apr. 21, 1982, p. 6. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HclFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YAUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6733,2567852&dq=ice+harbor+dubuque&hl=en