Second and Third Avenue Historic District

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Second and Third Avenue
Historic District
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Location1400 to 1800 blocks of 2nd Ave., SE, and 3rd Ave., SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Coordinates 41°59′10″N91°39′12″W / 41.98611°N 91.65333°W / 41.98611; -91.65333 Coordinates: 41°59′10″N91°39′12″W / 41.98611°N 91.65333°W / 41.98611; -91.65333
Area54 acres (22 ha)
Architect Josselyn & Taylor
Architectural style Queen Anne
Colonial Revival
MPS Cedar Rapids, Iowa MPS
NRHP reference No. 00000926 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 10, 2000

The Second and Third Avenue Historic District is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. [1] At the time of its nomination it consisted of 186 resources, which included 176 contributing buildings, and 10 non-contributing buildings. [2] This area was developed as a streetcar suburb at the turn of the 20th century. It includes single-family dwellings, apartment buildings, and two churches. The upper part of the district is called the Sampson Heights Addition. It was developed by Ellen Bever Blake and realtor/developer Malcolm Bolton. Blake's brothers James and George Bever developed the lower part of the district that they called the Bever Park Addition. The family members were in litigation for four years over the development as the two Bever sisters maintained that the three brothers received a disproportionate share of the property in their father's estate, and that they never paid for their stock in the Bever Land Company. In the end, their father's will was set aside and the five children agreed to divide the estate equally. [2]

The buildings are representative of various architectural styles and vernacular building forms popular from the 1890s through the 1930s. Several prominent architects and architectural firms have buildings here, including Charles W. Bolton of Philadelphia, Louis Sullivan of Chicago, Clausen & Kruse of Davenport, and Charles Dieman and Josselyn & Taylor of Cedar Rapids. St. Paul United Methodist Church (1914) and the William and Sue Damour House (1917) are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Marlys A. Svendsen. "Second and Third Avenue Historic District". National Park Service . Retrieved 2017-08-21. With 21 photos (see photo captions page 48 of text document).