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STEEPLE SQUARE NEWSLETTER
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6 Dubuque Groups Land $210,000 in ‘Employer Innovation’ Awards
The final phase of the Steeple Square project in Dubuque has been completed, and officials look forward to using the renovated space to serve the community.
Steeple Square Puts Finishing Touches on Exemplary Project
The final phase of the Steeple Square project in Dubuque has been completed, and officials look forward to using the renovated space to serve the community.
Final Phase of Steeple Square Project Complete For Future Vocational Training
The lower level of the former St. Mary’s Catholic Parish property at the corner of White and East 15th streets now is home to a new multi-use community center and culinary kitchen.
Dubuque Project Garners ‘Best of Show’ Development Award from Statewide Nonprofit
Steeple Square has been awarded the first-ever award in the Best of Show category by 1000 Friends of Iowa.
Dubuque Child Care Center Launches Free Program for 4-Year-Olds
A state program will enable Marita Theisen Childcare Center to offer free preschool for 4-year-old children.
Steeple Square Receives Matching Grant
The grant funding from the Jeffris Family Foundation will support restoration of Honkamp Hall at Steeple Square.
Steeple at Steeple Square Named for Devout Donor
The steeple structure at Steeple Square was renamed the R.D. McDonald Steeple, in honor of the McDonald family after their donation.
In Dubuque, Stained Glass Opens Window to Past and Future
In the vision of Steeple Square, a community restored the old church’s stained-glass windows and trained a new generation of local artisans.
Steeple Square Shows Off Progress During 4th Annual Community Event
Organizers of the Steeple Square project had a chance to show off their accomplishments at the fourth annual Steeple Square Community Fest.
Durable Restoration Wins IFD Award for Steeple Square
Durable Restoration’s work on Steeple Square in Dubuque, Iowa, won the award for metal roofing from the International Federation for the Roofing Trade (IFD).
Marita Theisen Childcare Center Opens in Dubuque, Helping to Fill Childcare Need
It’s tough for parents to find childcare for their kids due to fewer programs available across the state of Iowa, but one center opening in Dubuque is filling some of the need.
Steeple Square Daycare Opens to Public
As many schools were welcoming their students back to class, the Marita Thesien Child Care Center opened its doors for the first time.
Former Rectory Finds New Purpose as Childcare Center
A former Dubuque church rectory has found new life as a child care facility, reflecting community efforts to adapt historic structures to satisfy current demands.
Steeple Square Daycare Prepares to Open
The Marita Theisen Childcare Center will soon be opening its doors on the Steeple Square Campus.
Steeple Square Names Hall After Founding Board Member, “Visionary”
Officials with Steeple Square recently named the campus’ community event center for one of its “founding board members and visionaries.”
Steeple Square Receives Copper Architecture Award
Steeple Square is one of 15 buildings from the United States and Canada that recently won a 2019 North American Copper in Architecture (NACIA) award for its extraordinary use of copper.
New Dubuque Child Care Center to Serve up to 72 Children, Create 15 to 17 Jobs
A new child care center will open at Steeple Square in Dubuque later this year, creating more than a dozen jobs. The Marita Theisen Childcare Center will open Aug. 26 and will serve as many as 72 children in the tri-state area, according to a press release. The care...
Gilligan: Building ‘A Steeple Story’ — 1 click at a time
When you work with talented and creative people, sometimes you get to do a project just for the fun of it. Such is the case with a video project we call, “A Steeple Story.” You can check it out on YouTube, here. TH Publisher Steve Fisher is a member of the Steeple...
Steeple Square’s Copper Restoration Complete
Encompassing more than 100 feet of new copper, Steeple Square’s upper steeple has been restored through the craftsmanship of Durable Restoration. Read the full story here.
VIDEO: The Inspiring Steeple Restoration at Steeple Square
This is Steeple Square's unique story of the 225-foot steeple's historic restoration, located on the former St. Mary's Church campus in Dubuque, Iowa. Learn how the restoration supports our mission, neighborhood, partnerships and community while respecting the history...
TH Photojournalist Gets Bird’s-Eye View of 1 of Dubuque’s Most Iconic Structures
Today’s print edition includes a premium magazine highlighting tri-state architecture. Recently, Telegraph Herald photographer Nicki Kohl had an opportunity to get a unique vantage point on one of the area’s most iconic architectural structures: the steeple atop the...
Dubuque’s Steeple Square Project Receives Major Support
High in the sky, the steeple restoration project on former St. Mary's parish in Dubuque is taking shape. Two years after receiving a $600,000 capital campaign challenge grant from the Jeffris Family Foundation, Steeple Square has raised the two-for-one match...
Steeple Square’s Titular Steeple to Resume Ticking, Ringing
The bells at the former St. Mary Catholic Church might soon start ringing again. Steeple Square officials this month began work on restoring the campus’ titular steeple. The church, located at 15th and White streets, has been home to a massive revitalization effort in...
Dubuque County Historical Society Announces Historic Preservation Awards
The Dubuque County Historical Society’s Historic Preservation Awards will be presented as part of Dubuque Main Street’s annual Architecture Days celebration from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, at Millwork Marketplace, 333 E. 10th St. The evening will feature a...
Stained Glass Given New Life While Restorers Gain A New Skill
This video can be viewed on KCRG-TV9’s website. Inside Key City Creative Center, a small group of people are dedicated to restoring stained glass from the former St. Mary's Church to its original beauty. It takes a delicate touch to scrape a piece of glass that's more...
Stained-Glass Windows Getting Touched Up at Former Dubuque Church
A group of experts is revitalizing stained-glass depictions of holy figures at a former Dubuque church. With brushes and chisels, workers at Steeple Square have labored to give new life to Mary, mother of Jesus, and other saints adorning the windows of the former St....
Steeple Square to Open Marita Theisen Childcare Center
This video can be viewed on KCRG-TV9’s website. A new childcare center is coming to downtown Dubuque. It's called Marita Theisen Childcare Center and it will be on Steeple Square campus. The center will provide affordable and accessible childcare to about 100 kids. It...
Child Care Center Coming to Steeple Square in Dubuque
The Steeple Square Board of Directors announced that a day care center will be opened in the former St. Mary’s rectory. The facility will be called the Marita Theisen Child Care Center at Steeple Square. It is not expected to be ready for children until late 2018 or...
New Dubuque Apartments To Welcome Maria House Graduates
Amy McFarland’s life was at a low point. It was March 2016 and she had just been arrested on drug charges for the second time in 14 months. That’s when she found Opening Doors’ Maria House through a drug court program. Now, after 490 days of sobriety, a lot of tears,...
Francis Apartments Open in Steeple Square Campus
A new apartment complex is opening in Dubuque, right next to the Maria House. It's called Francis Apartments and it's part of the Steeple Square campus. It'll give women, like Amy McFarland, who have graduated the Maria House program an affordable, quality place to...
New Exhibit, Book Put Focus On Washington Neighborhood
The steeple of the former St. Mary’s Church has towered over Dubuque’s Washington Neighborhood for 150 years. For decades, it served as the physical, social and cultural center of a prominently German-Catholic working-class neighborhood. Dubuque artist Tim Olson on...
DRA Board Approves $250,000 Grant to Steeple Square Project
The Dubuque Racing Association Board of Directors has approved a $250,000 grant to support the Steeple Square renovation project. The decision was approved unanimously Tuesday during the board’s monthly meeting. Typically held at Mystique Casino, this month’s meeting...
St. Mary’s Church Transformed Into Event Center
What does a diocese do with a church after it decides to close? For one Dubuque church, the answer is turn it into an extravagant event center. After declining membership and heavy debt, the old St. Mary's Church closed in 2010. And instead of giving it the wrecking...
Saving St. Mary’s
St. Mary’s Catholic Church was due for the wrecking ball after years of sitting vacant. But, the Friends of St. Mary’s saw the potential as an event space and wanted to preserve it. Now, it is being used for weddings, concerts and arts events. “The building lends...
Organizers: Efforts to Transform Former Dubuque Church Remain On Track
The restoration phase of the Steeple Square project has reached the halfway point, according to organizers who held an open house/informational meeting Sunday. The project will transform the former St. Mary’s Catholic Parish property at 15th and White streets into a...
Steeple Square: Partners in Restoring a Community Treasure
We are excited to share our latest video, Steeple Square: Partners in Restoring a Community Treasure, which walks us through our partnerships with Northeast Iowa Community College, Gronen Properties, Heritage Works Dubuque and Four Mounds Foundation for education and...
Dubuque Church Project Scores $600,000 Grant, But Money Comes With a Catch
Renovation efforts at a historic Dubuque church campus were bolstered this week when the project was awarded $600,000 through the Jeffris Family Foundation. The grant will be used for the Steeple Square project, which will transform the former St. Mary’s Catholic...
Organizers Lay Out Plans for St. Mary’s Campus
Saving the steeple is only part of the plan to transform a former Dubuque church campus. Organizers behind the Steeple Square renovation project laid out their plans for the former St. Mary’s Catholic Parish property at 15th and White streets during a community event...
DRA’s $20,000 Grant Enables Steeple Square to be Accessible to All
St. Mary’s campus is an icon of history and hope. The church has been a distinctive landmark on Dubuque’s skyline since 1863, and is a towering reminder of the heritage and legacy of the downtown community. Now, after 150 years, the downtown Dubuque stronghold is...
Reaching the Heavens Video Highlights History and Passionate Vision
Check out our newly updated video about the former St. Mary's Church, now a part of the Steeple Square Campus. Thanks to the students at Loras College for producing this video. This and other videos can be viewed on our Steeple Square YouTube Channel.
Resurrection for Old Dubuque-Area Churches
As Dubuque business and community leaders prepare to launch the Steeple Square renovation to the historic St. Mary's Church campus in Dubuque, TH Media visited other business owners in neighboring communities who have found new uses for old churches. Holy Mackerel In...
A Glass Act in Former Dubuque Church
Andi Exo watched intently Wednesday as John Clark, of Chicago’s Restoric LLC, removed saddle bars from a stained-glass window panel, flooding light into St. Mary’s Church through a gaping hole where a depiction of the saint once shone. “It’s been amazing,” said Exo, a...
Dubuque Community Introduced to Steeple Square
The first time some former St. Mary’s parishioners were in the church since it closed in May 2010, was Saturday, May 16. They came before the 4 p.m. information session and silently walked around inside. Others who experienced the building for the first time were in...
Aspiring Plan for Steeple Square
An effort to preserve and revitalize a cornerstone of Dubuque history now has a name and firm business plan. A coalition of Dubuque business and community leaders has finalized the name and proposed site plan for a planned update to the St. Mary's Church campus. The...
Steeple Square: A Tradition Reborn
Religious tradition is ingrained in Dubuque like few other cities in America. The many faith-based institutions are as ubiquitous to the locals as the Mississippi River, US. Hwy. 20, the Roshek Building and John Deere Dubuque Works. . . View full article as published...
Assessment Suggests Positive Future for St. Mary’s Church
Early observations from an interior assessment of the abandoned St. Mary's Church suggest a positive future for the building. Though plenty of analyzing and archiving work remains, historic preservation consultant Duane Hagerty said the building appears to be aging...
Friends of St. Mary’s Group Receives $10,000 Grant
The Friends of St. Mary's organization, which is planning for the redevelopment of the St. Mary's Church campus in Dubuque, recently was awarded a $10,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors....
Dubuque Group Sees Future for St. Mary Campus
A once-vigorous block of buildings, mostly now dark and shuttered, could become a lively focal point of community life once again if resources fall into place. Plans are coalescing for the rebirth of the area known as the St. Mary Church Campus, bordered by White and...
Dubuque Group Plans Revival for Crumbling St. Mary’s Campus
A mostly dark block of buildings in Dubuque could again become a focal point of community life if resources fall into place. Plans are coalescing for the rebirth of the area known as the St. Mary’s Church Campus, bordered by White and Jackson streets and 15th and 16th...
St. Mary’s Church in Dubuque Has Bright Future
A long-standing eastern Iowa church is finding new purpose, as a group of visionaries in Dubuque is breathing new life into an historic building and neighborhood. When St. Mary's closed its doors to the public in May of 2010, it ended 157 years of Catholic masses. The...