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Visit
the Busted Lift online
@
www.bustedlift.com
The new stage!
The Magic Door to Ireland!
Days before the fire!
Water and smoke damage the Lift,
but not fire.
Jack greets us at the door the
day after the fire to assess the damage.
"The new 3rd floor picture
window "
And the Guinness still works...not that we ever doubted.
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Why
do a photo feature on the Lift? After all it's not
a multi-million-dollar hotel or museum. It's just
a bar, right? Well, for us it symbolized a number
of relevant issues in Dubuque. Now with the fire tragedy
added to the mix, it seems a fitting tribute to follow
the story full circle until one day soon, the Lift
again opens its welcoming doors.
First
off, the Lift is one of Dubuque's most popular nightspots
and along with longtime residents, the Main Street
Caboose and the Riverboat Lounge, it lays the groundwork
for the establishment of Old Main as one of Dubuque's
premier locations for finding a good time after dark.
Since the loss of the Silver Dollar to fire two years
ago, some people wondered about the enduring draw
of Old Main. The Bricktown Brewery Complex opened
last year to add another strong nightlife feature
to the Main Street skyline filling in the gap left
by the Silver Dollar. Now with the fate of the Lift
in the balance, we must wonder once again, can Old
Main catch a break. This was the third devastating
fire on Old Main in five years.
The
Busted Lift also opened before the promise of the
America's River Project gave them a safety cushion
for expected future business. They thrived on Old
Main without the tourist traffic yet present. It is
also one of the few, if not the only place in town
to regularly bring in great musical talent from across
the country and the globe by featuring many well-known
Irish acts. They are the driving force behind Little
Dublin's Irish Festival in Murphy Park as well as
many street festivals behind their building throughout
the year (even when it's cold). It is also a culturally
unique atmosphere matched nowhere else in Dubuque.
We
have been following the effects of America's River
on Old Main for some time and this is a good example
of an established business gearing up even further
to prepare for the additional traffic. Now, it appears,
they will need to gear up all over again to rise from
the ashes. But they seem resilient and if it is physically
possible, rest assured you will see the Busted Lift
shine again, unlike the Silver Dollar which never
recovered from it's fire.
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Below
we follow photo archives of the progress
on the expanded Busted Lift, the tragic fire
of March 8th, and the difficult process of
moving forward. Click the hotlinks under
each title as they are added for photos and
details on the construction progress.
Gallery
One
The
Before Shots (Click Here!)
(December 5, 2002)
Gallery
Two
Construction
Underway (Click Here!)
(January 6, 2003)
Gallery
Three
Same
Atmosphere...
Just More of It (Click Here!)
(January 16, 2003)
Gallery
Four
Coming
Together (Click Here!)
(January 27, 2003)
Gallery
Five
Don't
It Look
Positively Cozy (Click Here!)
(February 11, 2003)
Breaking
News (March
8th)
Read 365's
First Article on the Tragedy, posted shortly
after the flames were extinguished.
Gallery
Six ("The
Bad Pictures")
Tragedy
Strikes the Busted Lift
Including an in-deph
personal account of
the tragedy from 365.
(March 8th, 2003)
Gallery
Seven
Miracles
Never Cease
With a full
update on the damage...
or lack thereof.
(March 9th, 2003)
Gallery
Eight
The
Last Images
Before the Fire
(March 7th, 2003)
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Pretending there's a bar, 12/02
A very bad day.
...says a thousand words.
Fighting fire and freezing water.
Not so busted after all.
Floodlight?
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