CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Fire crews were at the scene Friday, Dec. 6, responding to an alarm inside the annex of the historic Cherry Building in New Bohemia.
Co-owner Lijun Chadima said the building, 329 10th Ave. SE, was evacuated and no one was injured when the sprinkler system and alarms were tripped in the area of the Iowa Ceramic Center’s kiln, to which firefighters responded.
“There is no damage to the building,” Chadima said, “only the kiln area because of the sprinkler in the room.”
Firefighters responded at 8:44 a.m. with hoses and ventilated smoke out of the south end of the building, near where the kiln is located in the Cherry Building annex. Crews used a ladder truck to check the roof and no fire or heat damage was located outside of the kiln, according to the fire department.
“The kiln was in normal operation, and it is presumed that the chimney of the kiln released
enough heat to activate the sprinkler system,” the fire department reported.
Chadima noted that the annual Very Cherry Holiday will continue as planned this Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Cherry Building is shown during its centennial celebration in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
The event, a holiday tradition since 2000, includes studio and gallery tours, refreshments, a book sale, Christmas music, photos with Santa and more.
“Very Cherry Holiday celebration is a must,” Chadima said.
The Iowa Ceramics Center posted on Facebook that damage is being assessed, but the organization plans to participate in Saturday’s event.
John George Cherry founded the J.G. Cherry Company as a dairy equipment manufacturing company, but its most permanent physical legacy, the Cherry Building, has evolved into an arts and small business center.
The building, constructed in 1919, celebrated its centennial in 2019.
See photos from the Cherry Building’s centennial celebration.
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