(UPDATE Sept. 15, 2021: Residents have started a petition drive to urge city commissioners to deny Kwik Star’s conditional use permit and posted an event invitation to the Oct. 7, 2021, City Planning Commission meeting at 3 p.m.) CEDAR RAPIDS – Residents and others concerned about a proposed Kwik Star next to a residential neighborhood […]
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Category: historic architecture
Students face construction zone as new C...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Students at the new West Willow Elementary will start school Monday, Aug. 23, without a cafeteria, gymnasium or even a playground. The school, which replaced the former Coolidge Elementary School, 6225 First Ave. NW, is the first in a series of new buildings the Cedar Rapids Community School District has planned. […]
Resurrecting Sinclair: Derecho-damaged C...
Work is underway to restore windows broken and damaged during Iowa’s 2020 derecho at one of Coe College’s iconic buildings. Sinclair Auditorium, which has hosted theatrical and musical performances for 70 years, has been used by the Coe community in various ways throughout the past school year, Coe spokeswoman Natalie Milke said, “but in accordance […]
Neighborhood pub reopening in Cedar Rapi...
CEDAR RAPIDS — Longtime customers of the Tic Toc are cheering news that the beloved neighborhood restaurant and pub — with a history dating back more than a half-century — is reopening after a lapse of several years. The Tic Toc, 600 17th St. NE, had a soft opening Saturday, March 13, 2021, with a […]
Old calendar factory in Washington, Iowa...
By Cindy Hadish WASHINGTON, Iowa — The former McCleery Calendar Factory building — a company that went from one of the country’s largest manufacturers of religious calendars to becoming exclusive producers of Hugh Hefner’s line of Playboy calendars — could soon see a new chapter. A group of investors has purchased the two-story brick building […]
Cleanup continues at historical site of ...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The Brucemore estate has long been a central feature of family traditions, particularly during the holidays. Tours of the late-1800s Queen Anne mansion, decorated for the season, are a highlight for many families, along with relatives and friends visiting Cedar Rapids. The coronavirus pandemic limited many of those travelers, and the […]
Disturbing the peace: Iowa cemeteries re...
The derecho windstorm that packed up to 140 mph winds Aug. 10 in Iowa — equivalent to a category 4 hurricane — not only destroyed homes, businesses and trees, but wreaked havoc on some of the state’s final resting places. Cemeteries in the Cedar Rapids area were particularly hit hard when the straightline windstorm, which […]
Preservationists pore through the past w...
Scores of musicians, presidential hopefuls, writers and other luminaries have passed through the doors of The Mill in Iowa City during its storied history. Now, advocates hope that legendary past will serve as a lifeline to help carry the restaurant and live music venue into the future. “I love The Mill and I really love […]
Photos: Historic Cherry Building centenn...
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. The building, 329 10th Ave. SE, was constructed in 1919 and celebrated its centennial on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, with […]
Saving a Victorian mansion from fading i...
VINTON — Sharon Happel has long pondered the question: How do you encourage the community to take ownership of a community asset? Such has been the conundrum with the historic Ray House in Vinton, Iowa, one of three properties owned by the Benton County Historical Society, and the most expensive to maintain. Related: Couple leaves […]