Cedar Rapids is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, 20 miles (32 km) north of Iowa City and 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. It is a part of the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City region of Eastern Iowa, which includes Linn, Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Jones, Johnson, and Washington counties.
The Okeechobee hurricane of 1928, also known as the San Felipe Segundo hurricane, was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the recorded history of the North Atlantic basin, and the third deadliest hurricane in the United States, only behind the 1900 Galveston hurricane and Hurricane Maria. The hurricane killed an estimated 2,500 people in the United States; most of the fatalities occurred in the state of Florida, particularly in Lake Okeechobee. It was the fourth tropical cyclone, third hurricane, and only major hurricane of the year's hurricane season. It developed off the west coast of Africa on September 6 as a tropical depression, but it strengthened into a tropical storm later that day, shortly before passing south of the Cape Verde islands. Further intensification was slow and halted late on September 7. About 48 hours later, the storm strengthened and became a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Still moving westward, the system reached Category 4 intensity before striking Guadeloupe on September 12, where it brought great destruction and resulted in 1,200 deaths. The islands of Martinique, Montserrat, and Nevis also reported damage and fatalities, but not nearly as severe as in Guadeloupe.
Hurricane Katrina's winds and storm surge reached the Mississippi coastline on the morning of August 29, 2005. beginning a two-day path of destruction through central Mississippi; by 10 a.m. CDT on August 29, 2005, the eye of Katrina began traveling up the entire state, only slowing from hurricane-force winds at Meridian near 7 p.m. and entering Tennessee as a tropical storm. Many coastal towns of Mississippi had already been obliterated, in a single night. Hurricane-force winds reached coastal Mississippi by 2 a.m. and lasted over 17 hours, spawning 11 tornadoes and a 28-foot storm surge flooding 6–12 miles (10–19 km) inland. Many, unable to evacuate, survived by climbing to attics or rooftops, or swimming to higher buildings and trees. The worst property damage from Katrina occurred in coastal Mississippi, where all towns flooded over 90% in hours, and waves destroyed many historic buildings, with others gutted to the 3rd story. Afterward, 238 people died in Mississippi, and all counties in Mississippi were declared disaster areas, 49 for full federal assistance. Regulations were changed later for emergency centers and casinos. The emergency command centers were moved higher because all 3 coastal centers flooded at 30 ft (9 m) above sea level. Casinos were allowed on land rather than limited to floating casino barges as in 2005.
Hurricane Kate was the final in a series of tropical cyclones to impact the United States during 1985, and the latest in any calendar year to strike the country at hurricane intensity on record. The eleventh named storm, seventh hurricane, and third major hurricane of the annual hurricane season, Kate originated from the interaction of an upper-level trough and tropical wave northeast of Puerto Rico on November 15. Though the system tracked erratically during the first hours of its existence, the intensification of a region of high pressure to the cyclone's north caused Kate to turn westward. A favorable atmospheric pattern allowed the newly developed system to intensify to hurricane intensity on November 16, and further to Category 2 intensity three days later.
The 1929 Bahamas hurricane was a high-end Category 4 tropical cyclone whose intensity and slow forward speed led to catastrophic damage in the Bahamas in September 1929, particularly on Andros and New Providence islands. Its erratic path and a lack of nearby weather observations made the hurricane difficult to locate and forecast. The storm later made two landfalls in Florida, killing eleven but causing comparatively light damage. Moisture from the storm led to extensive flooding over the Southeastern United States, particularly along the Savannah River. Across its path from the Bahamas to the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, the hurricane killed 155 people.
The Tampa Bay hurricane of 1921 was the most recent major hurricane to strike the Tampa Bay Area and the second latest major hurricane to strike the continental United States in the calendar year on record, behind Hurricane Zeta in 2020. The eleventh tropical cyclone, sixth tropical storm, and fifth hurricane of the season, the storm developed from a trough in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 20. Initially a tropical storm, the system moved northwestward and intensified into a hurricane on October 22 and a major hurricane by October 23. Later that day, the hurricane peaked as a Category 4 on the modern day Saffir–Simpson scale with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h). After entering the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane gradually curved northeastward and weakened to a Category 3 before making landfall near Tarpon Springs, Florida, late on October 25, becoming the first major hurricane to hit the area since a hurricane in 1848. The storm quickly weakened to a Category 1 hurricane while crossing Central Florida, before reaching the Atlantic Ocean early on the following day. Thereafter, system moved east-southeastward and remained fairly steady in intensity before weakening to a tropical storm late on October 29. The storm was then absorbed by a larger extratropical cyclone early the next day, with the remnants of the hurricane soon becoming indistinguishable.
The Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a 6-story brick building located in downtown 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 tornado outbreak sequence of May 2003 was a prolonged and destructive series of tornado outbreaks that affected much of the Great Plains and Eastern United States in early May 2003. Most of the severe activity was concentrated between May 4 and May 10, which saw more tornadoes than any other week-long span in recorded history; 338 tornadoes occurred during this period, concentrated in the Ozarks and central Mississippi River Valley. Additional tornadoes were produced by the same storm systems from May 3 to May 11, producing 401 tornadoes overall, of which 65 were significant. Six of the tornadoes were rated F4, and of these four occurred on May 4, the most prolific day of the tornado outbreak sequence; these were the outbreak's strongest tornadoes. Damage caused by the severe weather and associated flooding amounted to US$4.1 billion, making it the costliest U.S. tornado outbreak of the 2000s. A total of 50 deaths and 713 injuries were caused by the severe weather, with a majority caused by tornadoes; the deadliest tornado was an F4 that struck Madison and Henderson counties in Tennessee, killing 11.
The Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N) was a railroad that operated in the United States from 1876 to 1903. It was formed to take over the operations of the bankrupt Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway, which was, in turn, the result of merging several predecessor lines, the construction of which began in 1869. The corporate headquarters were in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it had operations in Iowa and in Minnesota. It was succeeded by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway.
The C.S.P.S. Hall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA was built during 1890-91 and expanded twice in the next two decades. It was a social and cultural center of the local Czech-Slovak Protective Society (C.S.P.S.). The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. In 2002 it was included as a contributing property in the Bohemian Commercial Historic District.
The Burtis–Kimball House Hotel and the Burtis Opera House were located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It has since been torn down and it was delisted from the National Register in 2008. The theatre building has been significantly altered since a fire in the 1920s. Both, however, remain important to the history of the city of Davenport.
The Des Moines Saddlery Company Building is an historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1881 by J. Rubelman of Muscatine, Iowa. He choose to move his operation to Des Moines because of its location on two rivers and the 13 railroads that served the city. It was one of four saddlery firms in a two block area. Rubelman's company made saddles, harnesses and leather works for 20 years. In the years since it has housed a shoe maker, rubber company, stove manufacturer, glove company, the Krispy Kone Company and the Kaplan Hat Company. The later was also the name of the restaurant that was located on the first floor.
A destructive derecho event struck the states of Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio on July 11, 2011 and was the most damaging portion of a much larger derecho event known as The Cross Country Derecho of July 2011. It started on the morning of July 11, 2011 when a powerful long-lasting straight-line windstorm, known as a derecho, developed over central Iowa and carved a path of extensive damage across east central Iowa. The storms first took shape as a cluster of low end severe storms over Southern Nebraska during the late afternoon of July 10. The system continued northeastward and entered western Iowa at 1:00 a.m, still only as a marginal line of severe storms. As the system passed through the Northern Des Moines metro area at 3:30 a.m., it interacted with an outflow boundary from the storms to the north and rapidly intensified as it accelerated eastward. Over the next hour and a half the storm plowed eastward through Story, Marshall, and Tama Counties, blasting the area with winds of up to 105 miles per hour (169 km/h). The storm continued to track eastward, plowing through eastern Iowa and the Southern Great Lakes region before dissipating in West Virginia in the mid-afternoon. Thousands of trees were downed in western Iowa alone, and numerous structures were either damaged or destroyed. The peak winds were estimated to be in the range of 130 miles per hour (210 km/h), equal to a Category 4 hurricane. One man was killed in Grand Rapids, Michigan due to a falling tree.
Motor is an unincorporated community in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The townsite is also a nationally recognized historic district listed as a historic site on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
The Spaulding Manufacturing Company is a complex of historic buildings located in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. Vermont native H.W. Spaulding settled in Grinnell in 1876 to open a blacksmith and wagon repair shop. Not long after, he started to manufacture wagons. Because of his modest success he entered into a series of partnerships over the years. The oldest building in the complex was completed around 1880, and the company grew to a complex of five buildings. The last building was completed in 1910, and has a masonry chimney that originally rose to 110 feet (34 m) high. All the buildings are brick construction, and they range in height from two floors to three floors. As modes of transportation began to change, so did Spaulding. The company began manufacturing automobiles. They were one of several early automobile manufacturers that had existing operations that manufactured bicycles, wagons, and carriages. They went out of business in 1929. Since that time the facility has housed a variety of small-scale manufactures, and even a veterinary clinic. Part of the plant was renovated and now houses the administration offices for the City of Grinnell and displays for the Iowa Transportation Museum. The largest buildings of the manufacturing complex were renovated and converted into the Spaulding Lofts apartments. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The Frank G. Ray House & Carriage House, also known as Ray Towers, is a historic residence located in Vinton, Iowa, United States. Ray was a local businessman who was associated with the Iowa Canning Company, the largest corporation in Benton County and a major employer in the region. His 2½-story frame Queen Anne house features a complex composition that includes a wraparound front porch, three decorative chimneys, a three-story round tower, porte-cochère, and small porches at various places on all stories. The carriage house features decorative shingles and an irregular roofline that is capped with a cupola and weather vane. They were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
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.
Decorah Woolen Mill, also known as the Meritol Building or Decorah Tire Service, is a historic building located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. The mill was originally constructed in 1867, and was operated by various owners in the years to come. They included the Decorah Glove and Mitten Works who operated in the building the same year, 1908, that it was struct by a tornado. The third floor sustained damage, and they continued operations here. By 1919 they were no longer in business here and the American Drug and Press Association, the Meritol Company, bought the building and expanded it. They made pharmaceuticals and patent medicines, and went bankrupt in 1932. Various other companies operated from here until 1955 when Decorah Tire Service took over. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The property was developed into a 15-unit apartment building, which opened in 2002. In 2017 it was included as a contributing property in the Decorah Commercial Historic District.
The March 2019 North American blizzard was a powerful Colorado Low that produced up to two feet of snow in the plains and Midwest. Rapid snowmelt following the storm caused historic flooding, and some areas received hurricane-force wind gusts. Comparable to the 1993 Storm of the Century, the storm was labeled a bomb cyclone after barometric pressure readings dropped in excess of 24 mbar (0.71 inHg) over a 24-hour period. After the storm entered Colorado from its origination in Arizona, the pressure dropped more than 30 mbar (0.89 inHg) and rapidly intensified over the western High Plains. The severe storm set new all-time record low barometric pressure readings in Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico. The storm itself killed only one person in Colorado, but flooding caused by the storm killed at least 3, one in Iowa and at least two in Nebraska and left ~140,000 without power in Texas.
Albertson and Company-Rocklin Manufacturing Company is a historic building located in Sioux City, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1912, the building initially housed Automatic Valve Seating Mach Co. They reorganized in 1914 and became the Sioux City Machine and Tool Company, which produced spark plugs and tire valves. The company failed four months later and the shop foreman, Frans Oscar Albertson, formed Albertson & Co. and took over the plant. During World War I they supplied 6,000 piston rings and repair tools for munition plants for Canada. Albertson never owned the building and moved his operations to another Sioux City building in 1920. The company went on to become the largest manufacturer of portable electronic and air tools in the world. They changed their name to Sioux Tools Inc., and in 1993 they became a division of Snap-On Tools. Their manufacturing facility moved to North Carolina in 2001.
