Skip to main content

Snake Alley - Burlington, Iowa

Image
By
One of the crookedest streets in the United States of America is in a place that you may not expect. In Burlington, Iowa, a small city located on the banks of the Mississippi River, lies Snake Alley. This is a twisty, curvy street that descends (or ascends) a hill between the residential and commercial parts of the city, named for a snake due to the way the street meanders around the hill. The business district of Burlington is built in a natural amphitheater surrounded by hills. With all the commerce situated in the valley, transportation was extremely difficult for the residents living on the steep hills surrounding the downtown. Therefore, the citizens of Burlington citizens decided to try an experiment for travel between the residential and commercial areas of town.


In 1894, Snake Alley was constructed with an experimental street design, filled with switchbacks. It was planned and implemented by three local residents who were also engineers and paving contractors, Charles Starker, William Steyh and George Kriechbaum. These gentlemen were involved with developing the parks and projects of Burlington during that time period. In designing Snake Alley, they opted to replicate the vineyard paths found in France and Germany, as a nod to their German roots. The brick paving of Snake Alley is still the original brick that Kriechbaum provided in 1894.

Snake Alley is composed of tooled, curved limestone curbing and locally fired bricks. The constantly changing slants from one curve to the next required a complicated construction technique to keep the high grade to the outside. As a result, Snake Alley consists of five half curves and two quarter curves over a total distance of 275 feet, rising 58.3 feet from Washington Street at the bottom to Columbia Street at the top for a 21% grade. The craftsmanship and soundness of materials used in the construction of Snake Alley have made it a durable street. Today, the brick paving is actually still the original that was used in its construction over a hundred years ago.

In 1974, Snake Alley was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. The homes that surround the street were standing before construction began, giving the street the appearance of an alley.  With its many twists and turns, Ripley’s Believe It, Or Not! has named Snake Alley unbelievably crooked and one of the most unbelievable, curious spots in America. Snake Alley rivals the famously crooked Lombard Street in San Francisco for the honor. Visitors are encouraged to travel this landmark and symbol of heritage, in Burlington by foot, bicycle, or motor vehicle. While I did not drive up or down Snake Alley when I visited, I saw one car attempt to drive down, and it looked like a tricky endeavor.

Snake Alley has some events and lore as well. There is a legend that the fire department used this alley to test horses. If a horse could take the curves at a gallop and still be breathing when it reached the top, the horse was deemed fit to haul fire wagons. Unfortunately, many teams of horses would run out of control or stumble over the limestone curbing, resulting in a broken limb. The street is the site of an uphill bike race, the Snake Alley Criterium, held every Memorial Day weekend, and the Snake Alley Art Fair is a Father's Day tradition.








How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Burlington, Iowa - History, Heritage & Snake Alley
Travel Iowa - Snake Alley
Des Moines Register - Photos of Snake Alley in Burlington, the crookedest street in the world
Greater Burlington Partnership - Snake Alley
Labels:
Location: Snake Alley, Burlington, IA 52601, USA

Comments

Anonymous said…
Dang I never knew there was a Lombard Street or a Vermont Street in Iowa.

Note its officially known as Snake Alley.
5:37 PM
Anonymous said…
I guess I should have done some more homework before going to and through Burlington a few times in recent years. I also never knew it was there.
9:10 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more