An exhibit from The Alexander Levi Heritage Project

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Welcome to the virtual exhibit site for "From Distant Places to Dubuque's Shores: 175 Years of Jewish Life."

The installation is about to end its run at The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquuarium in Dubuque. (To see if the exhibit is still up and running, call the museum at 1.800.226 3369.)

Plans are in the works for a 2009  installation in Des Moines of an expanded version of the exhibit containing artifacts, additional archival materials and new filmed interviews. And there is also talk of the exhibit finding a permanent home in Dubuque at the end of this year! Stay tuned!

In the meantime, this online exhibit will continue to grow! Spend some time learning about how and why the exhibit was created. Enjoy the films, multimedia pieces, music clips, exhibit graphics, study guides, lecture presentations, and a slideshow of historic images and documents created by Alexander Levi's great-great-grandson! Check out the Pressroom to see some of our great local press coverage! And please contact us if you have historical items and information to share!

The Genesis of the Exhibit

The 175th Anniversary of the city of Dubuque, Iowa is inextricably connected to the 175th anniversary of the arrival of Alexander Levi, a French Jew of Spanish origin. Levi, who began his American career as a fur trader, later became a merchant, land-owner and miner whose success helped spark the city's growth. 

To celebrate the contributions of Jewish Dubuquers from Levi's day to the present, The Alexander Levi Heritage Project created an interactive museum exhibit, "From Distant Places to Dubuque's Shores: 175 Years of Jewish Life." 

Funded in part by a competitive award from the City of Dubuque, with additional funding provided by Humanities Iowa/The National Endowment for the Humanities, this exhibit will run until December 31, 2008 at The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium (an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution) at The Port of Dubuque.

Learn about the city of Dubuque and it's 175th celebration

The Alexander Levi Heritage Project

Alexander Levi Heritage Project is a volunteer initiative affiliated with Temple Beth El, in Dubuque, Iowa - a tiny reform congregation with 27 families who hail from a 90 mile radius in the Tri-State region encompassing Northwest Illinois, Southwest Wisconsin and Northeast Iowa. Project Director/Exhibit Developer is Karin Pritikin, Vice President of Temple Beth El.

Photo/Illustration Credits:  Early view of Dubuque, courtesy The Captain William Bowell Sr. River Library, National Mississippi River Museum, Dubuque