Union Park Now: The Entrance 1

This is almost the same view as in the previous post. Picture yourself walking down the Promenade have just disembarked from the trolley. Up ahead on the right is the Triangle Garden, which indicates where the Pavilion once stood. Continue walking and you would have been passing the ice cream stand and the bowling alley. To the left would have been the Waiting Area, which is now overgrown with weeds and trees, and the Bandstand.

Entrance to Union Park

Entitled "Entrance Union Park, Dubuque, Iowa," this image depicts The Promenade in its early years. Although this postcard was used in 1907, it depicts a scene prior to 1904 as there is a Miner's Hut left over from Stewart Park days. The electrical poles are crude. While there is no picnic pavilion to the right yet, the cement does look new. The Bandstand to the left is the original and looks newly built as well. As the Promenade curves to the left, there is a railing indicated that the path goes over the creek. Further back there is a little bridge where the path branches off.

Union Park Now: The Waiting Area

The stairs in the Waiting Area are very well preserved. The cement is in excellent condition. The grounds in this area include Bleeding Hearts that bloom every Spring.

The View from the Pavilion, Union Park

This is one of my favorite postcards; I ended up with 2 of them both postmarked 1909. The photographer would have had to have been standing at the entrance (perhaps on the stairs) of The Pavilion and facing The Promenade & Waiting Area. By this time the ugly wooden electric poles had been replaced with elegant light posts and light fixtures.

People gathered on the benches to wait for their friends and family to arrive. The young girl on the right is eating an ice cream cone. Note the straw hats for men and decorated, large hats for women that were all the rage in the early 1900s. Everyone looks so happy. Perhaps they were waiting for a dance to start.

Union Park Now: The Pavilion 2

This photo was taken from the same vantage point as the one in the previous post. The triangle garden is in the foreground. Behind the park bench is the creek. The Pavilion was built to actually straddle the creek at some point just like the original Mammoth Theatre.

Union Park Now: The Pavilion 1

This photo from 2003 was taken standing on the Promenade directly in front of where the Pavilion once stood. The tree with 3 trunks is in the background to the far left. The triangle garden is directly front and center. If you get permission to visit in May you will see that purple irises still bloom in the garden. Later in the summer the garden gets overgrown with weeds. Restoring this garden would be a great project for a gardening or a scouting group.

Union Park Now: The Tree with 3 Trunks

This tree can be seen in several postcards of The Pavilion. It stood to the left of the building. Even today it's a very distinctive structure. This photo was taken in September, 2008. In previous photos the tree was marred with different colored paint. Local kids like to use Union Park for paintball practice and this tree seems to be a favorite target. What a shame.