PLAZA 20

Graded ground facing south. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding

PLAZA 20. On January 17, 1961 Dubuque residents reading the Telegraph Herald were made aware of an offering to sell 5,840 shares of $100 par Class A Common Stock in Plaza 20 Shopping Center. Directors of Plaza "20" Inc. included Howard Geisler, Eugene Geisler, Leonard Timmerman, James B. McDonough, William J. Reilly and David Kintzinger. (1)

Construction was planned for the spring of 1961. Included in the vital statistics of the plaza were that 70 acres of the George Jecklin farm had been purchased and that 27.3 acres was completed graded. The approximate cost of the shopping center including buildings, land and improvements was estimated to be $2.6 million. The center was to include approximately thirty stores with a parking area three times the size of the building area. The announcement anticipated that the center would employ 600 people, comparable to a "major industry" moving into the city. (2)

Sketch of proposed center with the top of the drawing showing Highway 20.

The announcement stated that the directors planned a mall-type center with a combination of malls, plazas, lanes, and arcades "that will offer the shopper ever changing and ever interesting environmental qualities." (3)

In January 1962 an announcement was made that a discount department store would be the first business to begin construction in Plaza 20. S. S. Kresge Company of Detroit, Michigan would build Iowa's first K-Mart discount discount department store. (4) The company would also keep its store in the downtown area. With K-Mart as the anchor store, Plaza 20 which offered the slogan "Shop where you can park at the door "offered RANDALL'S FOODARAMA, Olson's Toy & Hobby, and the Happy House gift shop by the end of the year. (5)

Plaza 20 in 2016 received clearance from the Dubuque Zoning Advisory Commission to create a new strip mall. Located on the eastern side of the mall, the land to be redeveloped was occupied by DUBUQUE APPLIANCE CENTER PLAZA 20 at the tie covered 67 acres of land and two dozen tenants including K-MART, Save-a-Lot grocery store and Dunkin'Donuts. (6)

In what at the time seemed an economic blow to the community, Kmart closed its doors at Plaza 20 in March 2017. While the store had been an important contributor to Dubuque, HARBOR FREIGHT, a mecca for professional builders and hobbyists, moved in a new building. Kmart's move allowed the expansion of the Dubuque Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic from its previous location into the former Kmart building with an estimated four times more space. Crafters and clothing makers thrilled to the relocation of Joann into a space 30% larger, and in between the Clinic and Joann was the new location for Slumberland Furniture near Joann. (7)

By 2023 ALBI'S grocery chain had been constructed along with A SONIC DRIVE-IN and Dunkin' Donuts are been given a large remodeling.

See:CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR A BETTER DUBUQUE

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Source:

1. Investment Opportunity Offered Dubuquers in First Issue of Plaza "20" Shopping Center Stock.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Holl, Ken. "Kresge's Store Will Go Up 1st," Telegraph Herald, January 23, 1962, p. 1

5. Montgomery, Jeff, "Zoning OKs Plaza 20 Inc. Strip Mall Plan," Telegraph Herald, April 8, 2016, p. 1

6. "Plaza 20 Opens," Dubuque By the Decades, Telegraph Herald, July 2020, p. 28

7. "Plaza 20 Shows Evolution of Development," (editorial), September 9, 2020, p. 4