Cedar Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, United States. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, 20 miles (32 km) north of Iowa City and 128 miles (206 km) northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Iowa. The population of the three-county Cedar Rapids metropolitan area, which includes the nearby cities of Marion and Hiawatha, was 276,520 in 2020. Cedar Rapids is the economic hub of Eastern Iowa, located at the core of the Interstate 380 corridor. The Cedar Rapids metropolitan area is also part of a combined statistical area with the Iowa City metropolitan area.
The Paramount Theatre is a 1,693-seat theater in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In 2015 it was included as a contributing property in the Cedar Rapids Central Business District Commercial Historic District.
The Peoples Savings Bank in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was designed by Louis Sullivan. It was the second of a number of small "jewel box" banks in midwest towns designed by Sullivan during 1907 to 1919. It was built in 1911, and it was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. In 2014 it was included as a contributing property in the West Side Third Avenue SW Commercial Historic District.
The Merchants' National Bank (1914) building is a historic commercial building located in Grinnell, Iowa. It is one of a series of small banks designed by Louis Sullivan in the Midwest between 1909 and 1919. All of the banks are built of brick and for this structure he employed various shades of brick, ranging in color from blue-black to golden brown, giving it an overall reddish brown appearance. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976 for its architecture. In 1991, it was listed as a contributing property in the Grinnell Historic Commercial District.
May's Island is a small island on the Cedar River, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Functioning as a civic center much like the Île de la Cité, it is the site of the Memorial Building, the Linn County Courthouse, and the county jail. The island plus an adjacent block was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The Central Fire Station is located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States and serves as the headquarters of the Davenport Fire Department, as well as the downtown fire station. Built from 1901 to 1902, the original building is the oldest active fire station west of the Mississippi River. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District.
St. Paul's United Methodist Church is located in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. The Louis Sullivan-designed building has been individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985. In 2000 it was included as a contributing property in the Second and Third Avenue Historic District.
The Linn County Courthouse is located on May's Island in the middle of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It, along with the Veterans Memorial Building and two other buildings, is a contributing property to the May's Island Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
The Veteran's Memorial Building is located on May's Island in the middle of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It is a contributing property to the May's Island Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The building served as the Cedar Rapids City Hall until it was damaged in the Flood of 2008. The Building underwent a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark its official re-opening April 15, 2014.
The Hotel Roosevelt is a historic structure located in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. In 2015 it was included as a contributing property in the Cedar Rapids Central Business District Commercial Historic District. The building is now known as the Roosevelt Lofts.
The Iowa Building is a historic structure located in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. In 2015 it was included as a contributing property in the Cedar Rapids Central Business District Commercial Historic District.
The Security Building is a historic structure located in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. The building is eight stories tall and rises 117 feet (36 m) above the ground. It was designed by the Cedar Rapids architectural firm of Josselyn & Taylor, and it was completed in 1908. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. In 2015 it was included as a contributing property in the Cedar Rapids Central Business District Commercial Historic District.
The Cedar Rapids Post Office and Public Building, also known as the Witwer Building, is a historic building located in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In 2015 it was included as a contributing property in the Cedar Rapids Central Business District Commercial Historic District.
The Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Passenger Station-Vinton, also known as Rock Island Depot and the Vinton Depot, is a historic building located in Vinton, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1900, this depot replaced a previous depot of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N) located on the east side of town. It was designed by the railroad's architect and chief engineer, H.F. White, and built by A.H. Connor & Company of Cedar Rapids. The single-story brick structure was constructed on a limestone foundation. Three years after it was built, the BCR&N was acquired by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. It continued to serve as a working depot until 1967. The Benton County Historical Society restored the depot and converted into a railroad museum. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Lesinger Block, also known as Little Bohemia, is a historic building located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. This building was constructed at a time of economic expansion in the city. It is a contemporary of several Italianate commercial blocks that were built downtown. Because of subsequent development in that commercial district those buildings have been replaced with newer structures leaving this building as the best extant example of commercial Italianate in Cedar Rapids. It was constructed by Vaclav Lesinger, an immigrant from Kozlov, Bohemia. He was a tailor by trade and he had this structure built in 1883 to house his tailor shop and a dry goods store. Since 1907 the building has housed a tavern that has served as a social center for the local Bohemian community. Architecturally, the two-story brick structure still retains a good deal of its original wood ornamentation, including the sawtooth frieze above the storefronts and the geometric design in the bracketed cornice.
The Iowa Wind Mill and Pump Company Office and Warehouse, also known as Iowa Pipe and Supply Company, Cedar Rapids Presort, and the Mott Building, is a historic building located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. This is the only extant building of a complex of buildings along the Cedar River used by the Iowa Wind Mill and Pump Company. The three-story structure is a simplified version of Victorian architecture. The thick brick walls were a form of fire protection and insulation, while the heavy timber for the interior support structure created large open space that was required to house industrial equipment, production activities, and warehouse storage. The tall windows allowed for interior lighting and ventilation. The first floor provided finished space used for offices. Iowa Wind Mill and Pump Company began as a branch of the Kendallville, Indiana based Flint & Walling Manufacturing Company around 1890. They began building their complex of buildings along the Cedar River and the tracks of the Chicago and North Western Railroad the following year. This building was completed in 1902. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
Coggon Public School, also known as the Coggon Center, is a historic building located in Coggon, Iowa, United States.
Grant Vocational High School, also known as the Board of Education and the Cedar Rapids School District Central Office, is a historic building located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1915, this is a rare example of a vocational high school in Iowa as only a handful were ever built. While it offered various student activities in athletics and the arts, its curriculum was based on the manual arts instead of humanities or college preparatory courses. A Progressive Era idea, vocational education began in Cedar Rapids in 1904. Within a year there was a call for a dedicated vocational high school. There was much debate as the local school district's regular high school was beyond capacity and there was a need for new elementary schools. Efforts to build the school began with the passage of a bond referendum in 1911. Cedar Rapids architect William J. Brown designed the three-story, brick Prairie School structure and it was built by the F.P. Gould Company of Omaha.
Sokol Gymnasium is a historic building located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. Sokol is a Czech social and gymnastics organization. It had this three-story, brick, Neoclassical structure built in 1908. It was designed by local architect Charles A. Dieman. The organization used the facility as a social hall and gymnasium until it was inundated by 4 feet (1.2 m) of water in a 2008 flood. It was cleared out and Sokol moved to another building in southwest Cedar Rapids. This building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. In 2015 it was included as a contributing property in the Cedar Rapids Central Business District Commercial Historic District.
The Cedar Rapids Central Business District Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 60 resources, which included 46 contributing buildings, one contributing structure, 12 non-contributing buildings, and one non-contributing structure. Cedar Rapids was platted on the east bank of the Cedar River as Rapids City in 1841, and it was incorporated under the same name in 1849. Kingston was established on the west bank of the river in 1852. The two smaller communities consolidated in 1870 as Cedar Rapids. The streets were laid out parallel and perpendicular to the river, which flowed from the northwest to the southeast. The Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad was the first to arrive in the community in 1859 and the tracks were laid on Fourth Street on the eastern edge of the central business district. The first bridge across the river was built at Third Avenue in 1871.
