COMMERCIAL CLUB

COMMERCIAL CLUB. The membership of the DUBUQUE CLUB must have been aware of its weak unity. In March, 1916 the Dubuque Club merged with the Dubuque Industrial Corporation to form the Commercial Club. The new organization occupied the same building at the southwest corner of 9th and Locust as its predecessor, the Dubuque Club.

Membership quickly rose from 200 to 900 members. Organizations including the DUBUQUE AUTOMOBILE CLUB, Shipper's Association and the Traveling Men's Club joined to benefit the city.

On February 16, 1920, the members of the Commercial Club voted to approve a change in its name. From then on, the organization was known as the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce. The group later purchased the former Dubuque Club building from the Key City Association. This resulted in the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce being one of the few chambers of commerce in the United States to own a modern building for business, social and recreational activities.

The Chamber remained in the location until May, 1964 when it sold the building to the city for $65,00 and temporarily relocated to the sixth floor of the Fischer Building. The building was demolished. The space was converted to a parking ramp.

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Source:

Gibson, Mike. Yesterday and Today. The Golden View, January, 2012