"Belvedere Point Lookout"

bel•ve•dere

Pronunciation: (bel'vi-dEr", bel"vi-dEr'; for 3 also It. bel"ve-de're), [key]
-n.
1. a building, or architectural feature of a building, designed and situated to look out upon a pleasing scene.
2. a cigar, shorter and with thinner ends than a corona.
3. (cap.) a palace in Vatican City, Rome, used as an art gallery.

Highest point in Florence.  The lookout is 1/4 block north of Nebraska Circle (between the 6200 block and the 6300 block).  Go north on 34th St from Belvedere, turn right onto Nebraska Circle (an extension of Nebraska Ave that forms a cul-de-sac), ()

It has been questioned whether Lewis and Clark ever stopped in the Florence area.  If they did and spent any time in the area, they surely would have wanted to get a great view of the surrounding area, and no better place than the highest point.  That point is Belvedere Point Lookout.  Today, there is a small park, complete with a bench.  You can get a great view of the river and the bluffs.

Currently, we do not have a photograph of the lookout area.  Here are two aerial views; one has a Topographic overlay(bottom view) and you can see the same topo view when you move the mouse pointer over the top image.  The grid lines of the topo map look like crayon width lines so it is difficult to see that this is the highest point in Florence.  The quality is not great but the only thing that the government offers for free.  The top image has a red dot where I originally thought Belvedere Point was supposed to be located.  When you move the mouse pointer over the bottom image, it highlights the peak that is higher than the location at the red dot.  For both images, you can click to visit the Terraserver website.  From there, you can choose the "Topo" view (at the left side of the page).