The Golden Spike Monument represents the eastern terminus [starting point] of the Union Pacific…read moreRailroad which then extended westward to form the transcontinental railroad. Abraham Lincoln visited this area in 1859 and later chose Council Bluffs to begin the rail line. The Union Pacific met the Central Pacific Railroad (which began from the western terminus in Sacramento, CA) at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869 where a golden spike ceremony took place. Coincidentally, I lived in Sacramento for many years and visited the excellent California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento several times. In addition, in my youth, my family visited Promontory Point and I made another visit several years ago. I can now state that I have seen all sides of the transcontinental railroad story. This site needs some care -- small gravel parking lot has potholes, monument needs some touch-up paint, and some informational markers would be helpful. Meanwhile, I highly recommend that anyone who wants historical information about the Golden Spike should visit the Union Pacific Railroad Museum which is located next to Bayliss Park in downtown Council Bluffs!

This attraction is one of those oddities that I just had to see. It is located in a little park…read morearea with benches, and a picnic table nearby. There is free street parking within a reasonable walking distance. The monument is located in the center of a plot of green space that is well maintained. The monument is enclosed by a fence and and has a paved walkway around it. The monument marks Milepost 0.0 of the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad and sits where a transfer and passenger station sat. It also, to a minor extent, is meant to address the controversy between Council Bluff and neighboring Omaha over where the railroad actually begin. Apparently, the dispute was bad enough that it had to be taken to court. The monument soars to 59 feet and weighs 243,200 pounds. It took 10 days to construct and was completed on April 26, 1939, which coincided with the premiere of the film "Union Pacific." The spike appears to be in great shape, especially considering its age. It is definitely worth a peak if you are in the area. Well, as with most monuments and memorials that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 10 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. You will find the Lincoln Monument nearby.

This is a very simple statement of one family and specifically 2 people Granville Dodge and his…read morewife. The description above does a very good job of telling you what to see. During the summer it is a fountain, although the city has been having problems with the piping and it seems to off frequently. If you take the time to stand or sit by the edge of the fountain there is a quiet presence. That it is even here is a story because when the next generations of the Dodge family left Council Bluffs the stature was dismantled and stored in their basement. Many years later when the property was bought with the intent of restoring it to its original look the statue was found. Eventually, a suitable location was found to place it. A personal side note because I live only a few houses from the angel. While they deny it now the Angel goes through stages of legends being told by the kids nearby. She is said to talk or move possibly even cry at certain times of the year. Full moons and Halloween are considered prime times. None of us can verify if any of the legends are true but I know of several 'now adults' who visited the Angel when they were kids usually without their parent's knowledge or approval.

Yes I'm reviewing another cemetery. My friend has a thing for these black angels scattered through…read moreIowa so we found another one (I previously reviewed one in Iowa City). Locally known in Council Bluffs as the "Black Angel," this statue was inspired by visions experienced by Ruth Anne Dodge, the wife of General Dodge, in 1916 on the three nights preceding her death. This memorial sculpture, dedicated in 1920, represents a dream experienced by Ruth Anne Dodge. The angel, on the prow of a boat, extends her hand and offers the water of life. The solid bronze statue, commissioned by the Dodges' two daughters, was created by Daniel Chester French who call the Black Angel one of his finest works. French is known nationally for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. According to the legend, Mrs. Dodge related to family members that she had a vision of being on a rocky shore and, through a mist, seeing a boat approach. In the prow was a beautiful young woman whom Mrs. Dodge thought to be an angel. The woman carried a small bowl under one arm and extended the other arm toward Mrs. Dodge in an invitation to partake of the water flowing from the vessel. Then, according to accounts later published by Mrs. Dodge's daughter, Anne, the angel spoke twice, saying: "Drink, I bring you both a promise and a blessing." The daughter wrote that the vision came three times to her mother and, on the third visit, Mrs. Dodge took the drink as offered and felt "transformed into a new and glorious spiritual being." Mrs. Dodge died immediately after her supposed third vision, on September 5, 1916. She had died in her sleep at her home in New York. Her body was brought back to Council Bluffs where she was buried in a mausoleum in Walnut Hill Cemetery. The memorial was commissioned in 1917 to Daniel Chester French, the same man who sculpted the statue of the Minute Man in Concord, Massachusetts and the Lincoln Memorial Statue in Washington DC. The ten foot tall angel statue is made of solid bronze. The construction of the statue took approximately two years, and the cost of the statue was reported at around $40,000. Council Bluffs began its fine military record during the Civil War when, in 1861, the attack on Fort Sumter brought four companies of the town's volunteers to the famed Fourth Iowa Infantry. In command was Captain Grenville M. Dodge, later promoted to Colonel, then General. As the War ended, Dodge returned to the Bluffs, built an impressive home on Third Street for his wife, Ruth Anne, and family, and took a job as surveyor and chief engineer for the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. Four years prior to the War, Abraham Lincoln, in a personal visit, had designated Council Bluffs as the eastern terminus for this first transcontinental line. Dodge later built railroads all over the world and was president of seven of them before he died. Grenville's daughters, Anne Dodge and Eleanor Dodge Pusey, commissioned and contributed this city's most valuable work of art in memory of their mother, Ruth Anne Dodge. Located very near to the cemetery where The Black Angel is located, is a monument marking the spot where Abe Lincoln selected this as the terminus of The Union Pacific Railroad. This impressive pylon was erected in July, 1911 and commemorates Abraham Lincoln's visit to the site in 1859. From this site, Lincoln viewed and selected the Eatern Terminus of the first transcontinental railroad built on the United States.

This bridge connects the River Front with the downtown area, more specifically Lewis and Clark…read moreLanding and CHI Health Center. It is well light and has informational placards about MLK along the way. You will find a fenced covered walkway along your route. This is a very nice bridge that not only saves you a lot of time, but provides you with some MLK highlights along the way. The bridge is popular with people heading to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, people attending an event at the Center, pedestrians, runners and bicyclists. Some people park on the Riverfront side and walk over the bridge to the Center. Especially for large events. I do not know if it is cheaper, but I saw a lot of people doing it for the Dave Chappell show at the Center. The bridge was recent closed for repairs and renovations in 2022 and is in decent shape. I know that it saved me a lot of time going across the bridge. It takes you over train tracks. I know that this bridge saved me a lot of time getting where I needed to go versus going all the way around.

You will find this sculpture just outside of the Gene Leahy Mall. It is the work of Herb Mignery,…read morewho is depicting an American family, mother, father, and child as they are working on the land. The child is on his knees digging. The father is holding a shovel with a proud and determined look on his face, while the mother is washing clothes in a bucket. It sits on a cement and tile platform that has a plaque that lists its donors and another that has it title on it. The sculpture is a gift from the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America, who gave the piece to the city in 1984. It is a very nice piece and is in marvelous condition, especially considering its age. For those driving and wishing to park and get a closer look, there is metered street parking and commercial garages available within a reasonable walking distance. . As with most sculptures that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 10 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

The "Little People's House," which is the politically correct term for what is technically, a…read more"Midget House," is also known as the "Bregant House." Whew! Built in Council Bluffs, Iowa for a tiny Coney Island, N.Y. vaudeville couple in 1912, the house was custom designed to fit the needs of Jean Bregant, who was 42 inches tall and Inez Lewis Bregant who was a robust 39 inches tall. The small home is termed a simple Craftsman Bungalow, which was a popular architectural style in the early part of the 20th Century. "Ceilings and doorways were built to normal height for when normal sized friends came to visit the Bregants, but the fireplace, bathroom fixtures and kitchen appliances were scaled to fit the small couple," said a story on www.nonpareilonline.com I love the 40-inch-high fireplace, small kitchen appliances and mini claw foot bathtub. The home sits amidst several larger homes that now surround it. Best of all, this very quaint home was designated in 2013, as a local landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to www.frontporchnationcom, " A preservation group called Preserve Council Bluffs is raising money to restore the house. One of the most recent projects was restoring the front porch. That included shoring up the foundation and bricks, as well as restoring the original latticework in front." There is a gofundme page set up to solicit donations for Bregant House upkeep. https://www.gofundme.com/5ovym0 4 YELP STARS for this most unusual but fascinating historical home.

National Parks historical site commemorating the childhood home of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, born…read moreMalcolm Little, on May 19 1925. The home was torn down prior to 1970, but the site has a commemorative landmark sign, a short paved walking path, and an ample parking lot. The site is on a hill and offers a sweeping view to the east.

1. Very small library. 2. Multiple seating areas for reading…read moreand writing. 3. Pickle ball and disk golf kits to rent out are available. 4. Baking pans also available for renting. 5. Parking was minimal, but easy to find. 6. Lady at the front counter was very nice and explained to me the process of getting a library card. 7. She also helped me with a printing job that I needed and it was super easy to navigate. 8. Would come back in the near future. 9. Was not busy at all when I went. (Wednesday early afternoon.)

We absolutely love the Gretna Public Library. As relatively new Gretna residents moving from…read moreMidtown Omaha we were pleasantly surprised with this Library. Not only do we receive books much more quickly that often required weeks or months of holds at the Omaha library, the staff is incredibly friendly. As they transition to being in a larger facility the main library and children's library are open at two different locations walking distance from each other, and due to staffing are open at alternating times, as long as you know that and check the schedule before heading out it is never a problem. They do all kinds of events at each one of the locations geared towards kids and adults alike.

I'm really amazed at just how easy it is to get in and out of the Cass County Courthouse. Most of…read morethe urban court buildings I've been to, you have to pass through a metal detector and have your stuff x-rayed, and God help you if you have a pocket knife. But not here. There are no metal detectors anywhere. You just walk in, conduct your business and walk out, easy as pie. This building contains the county courts as well as most of the other county functions, such as treasurer, clerk, register of deeds, surveyor and commissioners. It also houses the county probation offices and the local DMV.

As Troy said, it's one of the few courthouses that you can just walk right in and get your business…read moretaken care of. Only gripe I have is that the DMV is still like every other DMV. Prepare to wait. And wait some more.