A steam engine is coming from the left, through a cleft cut in the rock, while a man stands close to the embankment. There is a stream in the flats to the right of the tracks.
Three people stand with a horse and buggy at the base of a hill. One man, unidentified, stands next to the horse. The couple - Albert Hoffmann and Emily - stand slightly off to the right.
A long building with a full-length porch runs across the back of the card. In front of it is a courtyard with fountains, plants in stone pots, and a man sitting on a bench to the right.
A row of buildings runs along the left hand side of a snow-covered street. The buildings are tall, all at least three stories, and toward the back of the card appear to grow taller - it is possibly depicting downtown Dubuque.
A railway line raised on an embankment is to the left side of the card, while there is another, lower one running along the left with a building beyond. A tall electrical pole stands next to the lines.
There is a tunnel cut into a hill of rock with small building next to it; there is a road coming from the left side of the hill and curving in front of the tunnel.
Four smaller photos are incorporated into the larger. The upper left shows a crowd of people on a street; the upper right, a boat on the river with a bridge in the background. The two lower photographs show a building at the end of a circular drive…