The Cherry Building, built in 1919 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, celebrated its centennial on Sept. 14, 2019. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

CEDAR RAPIDS — 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.

Elizabeth Chadima, left, and her mother, Lijun, speak to visitors during the centennial celebration of the Cherry Building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

The building, 329 10th Ave. SE, was constructed in 1919 and celebrated its centennial on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, with an open house, live music by the Deep Dish Divas and presentations by historian Mark Stoffer Hunter.

Stoffer Hunter, who recently penned a book about the 100-year history of the building, noted that Cherry arrived in the United States from the United Kingdom in 1869, making his way to join his brother in Troy Mills, in Linn County, Iowa, at age 31.

He received a patent for a jacketed cream can and started his own company in 1880, moving to what is now known as the New Bohemia district in southeast Cedar Rapids.

Stoffer Hunter said the company was a nice alternative to the Sinclair meatpacking plant, which employed many Bohemian immigrants who lived in the neighborhood in the late 1800s through the 1900s.

Of the company’s complex, built along the railroad tracks on 10th Avenue, only the Cherry Building remains. The rest, including a nearly identical building constructed in 1911, was demolished to make way for other industrial needs.

The Cherry Building itself displaced 12 houses on the site, and was “meant to be their pride and joy,” Stoffer Hunter said.

From the beginning, the J.G. Cherry Co. was family oriented, he said, noting that his own great-grandfather was an employee whose bowling scores were always tops in the company newsletter.

David Chadima, center, greets visitors at the Cherry Building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Iowa artist Grant Wood was hired to paint images of some of the workers inside the factory in 1925. Reproductions can be seen inside the building.

By 1928, the business merged to form Cherry-Burrell, which was encouraged after World War II to move to the Cedar Rapids “suburbs” at Wilson Avenue and Sixth Street SW. The company was later renamed Evergreen Packaging.

The Cherry Building has since housed a variety of businesses, including Collins Radio during the 1950s and 1960s.

Bob Chadima later located a welding business in the building and eventually established it as a place for artists, with a residential floor, as well.

With more than 100,000 square feet, the building features historic loft-style work spaces with 12-foot-high ceilings and exposed joistwork, full-length factory style windows, solid oak flooring and 30 foot skylights on the third floor.

The Chadima family, under the late Bob Chadima’s son, David, and his wife, Lijun Chadima, continue the family legacy, even rebuilding after the 2008 flood that inundated the building. There are now 44 businesses that call the Cherry Building home, including artists, a law office, an engineering company, photographers and many more.

“Bob Chadima had the vision to take an old building like this and make it something new,” Stoffer Hunter said. “This is an anchor for the neighborhood. It always has been.”

Learn about the Robert Chadima Visionary Awards and see more photos from the Cherry Building Centennial, below:

Visitors enter the Cherry Building on Sept. 14, 2019, for the centennial celebration. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Historical photos of the early years of the J.G. Cherry Company were displayed during the centennial celebration. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Solid oak flooring is among the features in the Cherry Building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

A new sculpture by artist Todd Sabin stands next to the Cherry Building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

The Deep Dish Divas perform during the centennial celebration of the Cherry Building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Heavy industrial doors are among original features inside the Cherry Building, which began as a dairy equipment manufacturing plant. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Friends of the Cedar Rapids Public Library offers books for sale in the lower level of the Cherry Building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

The Cherry Sisters, an infamous musical group, were not related to J.G. Cherry, historian Mark Stoffer Hunter noted. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Props for Theatre Cedar Rapids are stored in the upper level of the Cherry Building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Butch, a resident cat, takes a break in a Cherry Building hallway. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

A scale is among early features inside the Cherry Building, built in 1919. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

The giant cherry sculpture is reflected in a window of the Cherry Building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Exposed ceiling joists are among features inside the building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

The Iowa Ceramics Center can be seen behind a sign for the book sale inside the historic Cherry Building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Cupcakes were given away to celebrate 100 years of the Cherry Building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

A freight elevator is among early features of the Cherry Building, constructed in 1919. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Downtown Cedar Rapids can be seen from an apartment in the Cherry Building, located blocks away in New Bohemia. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Artist studios are among more than 40 businesses inside the Cherry Building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

The audience responds to a performance by the Deep Dish Divas during the celebration. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Lijun Chadima listens to a presentation by historian Mark Stoffer Hunter. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Historian Mark Stoffer Hunter speaks during the centennial celebration of the Cherry Building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

An egg case is among artifacts displayed during the centennial celebration. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

An audience listens to one of the presentations by historian Mark Stoffer Hunter. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Mel Andringa talks to visitors at his studio inside the Cherry Building on Sept. 14. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Dawn Stephens, portraying “Cher E. Pitts” offers rides on the freight elevator during the Cherry Building centennial celebration. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

A butter box and other artifacts are seen as the Deep Dish Divas perform during the centennial celebration of the Cherry Building. (photo/Cindy Hadish)