The Old Jail

Located at East Eighth Street and Central Avenue, next to the Dubuque County Courthouse, this building is yet another example of the work of famed Dubuque architect John Francis Rague. It is a rare example of the Egyptian Revival style, and is modeled after the Tombs in New York City. Completed in 1858, and used as the Dubuque County Jail for more than a century, it is on the National Register of Historic Places. John Francis Rague (1799-1877), who came to Dubuque in 1854, also designed the Dubuque City Hall, the Mathias Ham House, the Octagon House of Edward Langworthy, the Old State Capitol in Iowa City, the Old State Capitol in Illinois, and three buildings on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

This page was updated on April 17, 2002.