WEST 11TH STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT

WEST 11TH STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT. The West Eleventh Street District has its eastern boundary on and along the bluff line. When the district was first being built up, the area around the city was entirely cleared of trees due to the need for wood fuel for the LEAD smelters. Prior to reforestation at the turn-of-the century, the earliest houses on or behind the bluffs therefore enjoyed an unobstructed view eastward of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER and the Wisconsin hills prior to reforestation. The southward view was generally abandoned in later years.

The West Eleventh Street Historic District gains its name from its historical association with the ELEVENTH STREET ELEVATED RAILROAD. The district occupies high ground that includes the bluff front to the east. Two ridges or bluff fronts form a right angle at the southeast corner of the district. The first, fronting east, is comprised of Grove Terrace and Highland Place. The second, fronting south, is comprised of West Eleventh, Jefferson and finally Wilbur streets. These step down successively to the south. This area boasts some of the most substantial and striking stone retaining walls at Alice and Wilbur.

People living on the hill were subject to the problems of erosion made worse by the lack of trees and groundcover. Stone retaining walls used to terrace the vineyards often failed because, as observed by the editors of Die Iowa(April 22, 1875), they were commonly constructed "in the American fashion without regard for the burden to be carried."