Instead of being the main shopping area of the city, it became mostly a business park. After hours and on weekends, the area was deserted. The city has made a number of efforts to increase the importance of the downtown area once again. City redevelopment efforts In recent years, the city of Dubuque has made a concerted effort to redevelop the downtown and riverfront areas. This included a number of controversial decisions. But so far most people seem to have positive opinions of the redevelopment efforts. In the downtown area, the gas station featured in Field of Dreams was torn down to make way for expanded parking spots for downtown businesses. In the years following that decision, the Bricktown Restaurant opened in the building behind the gas station after the owners made major improvements to the building. The local Historic Preservation Commission had recommended that the gas station remain intact, however the city government overrode their decision. The Merchant's Hotel - despite being a National Historic Landmark, was demolished to make way for a new building for the chamber of commerce. This was a very controversial decision. People interested in historic preservation felt that the building was worth saving. However, the Merchants Hotel building was allowed to deteriorate until it was unsafe and structurally unsound. It was also considered an eyesore. The historic preservation interests were not able to put forth an effective plan to save the building, so it was demolished. The chamber of commerce then built a modern building that was designed to blend in with its neighbors. The city placed a new parking ramp behind the chamber of commerce building. Unfortunately, this caused structural damage to several nearby buildings, including the old German National Bank Building. The city worked to encourage the owner to repair the building and reopen the Silver Dollar Cantina - which he had to close when it didn't survive a massive fire. (See Dubuque365.com for info and pictures). The city threatened to cite the owner with demolition by neglect as he had not made repairs, but he started the process of rebuilding. As of March, 2008, the Silver Dollar is open for business once again. A number of redevelopment efforts focused on the riverfront just north of the Ice Harbor. This was part of the America's River project. It included a newly expanded National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Private investors built the