oh, the places you'll go

Tonight LeAnn and I took a drive to Balltown, one of my favorite places around Dubuque. There's a fantastic panoramic view of the Mississippi River valley near Breitbach's restaurant. After a few wrong turns, we made it. The sun was starting to set so I had some fantastic light to work with. I took several pics but unfortunately most of them were overexposed in the sky. Here's one of the most successful.

On the way back into town, my photographic senses must've been tingling because I noticed a majestic old red brick building I've never really paid any attention to before. It's at 30th and Jackson. The place is huge - it's hard to believe I've never really noticed it before tonight. It's fallen into disrepair - windows are missing and bats have presumably taken over. While I was taking pictures, LeAnn struck up conversation with a couple that live nearby. They told her the place was originally a brewery, which sounds mistaken to me. The Star Brewery is located near the river. Were there two breweries in town? I need to research this further.