History

Skylines from Cedar Rapids

Located in the eastern section of the state of Iowa; Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa. The city is located in Linn County. The city got its name from Cedar Rapids River.

Native American tribes named The Sac and the Fox hunted and trapped along the Cedar River before the arrival of first European settler Osgood Shepherd. A survey in 1841 gave the name Rapids City; the name was later changed to Cedar Rapids in 1848. In the early 1840s a dam was built across the river to provide power for the grist and lumber industries. Cedar Rapids was incorporated as a city in 1849; the town of Kingston was annexed to Cedar Rapids in 1870.The city grew from a small village with few hundred people in 1840 to the second largest city in Iowa. Green’s Opera house of Cedar Rapids was built in 1880. That was the largest theatre at that time including among Chicago and Denver. The rich cultural heritage of Cedar Rapids is also demonstrated in the Czech Village and New Bohemia historic districts which are officially recognized as Arts and Cultural Areas. The development of its Municipal Island in the historic center of the city began in 1908. The city is home to a lovely and varied collection of historic architecture including the Brucemore mansion, Iowa’s only site administered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In addition, the People’s Bank, designed in 1910 by famed American architect Louis Sullivan is a local architectural treasure. Cedar Rapids boasts more than 35 additional local landmarks which are on the National Register of Historic Places including a Methodist church also designed by Louis Sullivan, and the oldest mosque in North America. With railroad connection to the city in mid 1800 made Cedar Rapids a major Midwest industrial center. The T.M. Sinclair Company, started in 1871, was one of the five largest packing houses in the world within its first ten years of operation. The famous cereal mill, Quaker Oats started in Cedar Rapids in 1873.

Cedar Rapids continued on the path of Industrial and technological growth even in the 20th century. 1920’s, Arthur Collins founded Collins Radio Company in 1920. It was a cutting edge technology then. Today Rockwell Collins remains a driving force in the local business community. Cedar Rapids has given several renowned and familiar names to American history. Orville and Wilbur Wright were Cedar Rapids residents from 1878-1881. Mamie Doud who lived in Cedar Rapids early in the 1900’s, later became First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. Cedar Rapids was home of artist Grant Wood who painted his famous work, “American Gothic”. Austin Palmer developed a nationally well known form of penmanship writing in Cedar Rapids. Recent local residents such as golfer Zach Johnson and actors Ashton Kutcher and Elijah Wood continue to attract attention to our community.

Economy

Historically the economy of Cedar Rapids has been similar to Midwest economies which were primarily based upon processing of agriculture and food products and manufacturing. It is home to around 300 food processing related manufacturing plants including Quaker Food and Beverages, Amana Refrigeration Products, General Mills and H.J Heinz company .Steel fabrication, tools, die making, telecommunication (radio) and electronics were added to the list later in 20th century. The city is leading corridors of electronics industries. Telecommunication and telemarketing are growing industries at the moment. Other two areas which is attracting the businesses here are advanced research and development laboratories. Most recently several public and private organizations joined together to help develop the “Technology Corridor” of the city. The city is an economic hub of the state and is at the core of the Interstate 380 Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor of Linn, Benton, Jones, Johnson, and Washington counties. Cedar Rapids has always had a higher percentage of exported products, per capita, than anywhere else in the United States. The recent addition of a wind power industry to Cedar Rapids demonstrates the ongoing commitment to innovation today.

There are several state sponsored and local programs fuelling the economy onto path of its growth. This is led by Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and its divisions which are active in implementing growth plans, helping existing businesses, and help start new businesses. Its economic development division, Priority One, provides businesses with demographics and trade figures, site location assistance, and workforce development. Part of the private-public partnership Cedar Rapids fosters is evident in such state programs as certain property tax exemptions, job training, low-interest loans and forgivable loans for business development, tax abatements on new research and manufacturing facilities, and state tax credits for new job creation. In addition, no sales or use taxes are assessed on equipment or computers and open port warehousing is available.

Attractions

The travelers, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art owns over 5,000 works of art, including the collections of works by Grant Wood, Marvin D. Cone and Mauricio Lasansky. A large collection of sculpture, prints and photographs prints are also featured.

Theatre Cedar Rapids

This theatre is one of the region’s largest and longest-operating community theatres. Theatre Cedar Rapids provides musicals, comedies, dramas and classics from September to July in the refurbished Iowa Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Czech Village

Cedar Rapids has been home to thousands of Czech, Moravian and Slovak immigrants. The Czech Village is a restored section of what was the shopping district for many of those immigrants.

Seminole Valley Farm

It is more of a museum and exhibits. This site consists of the farmhouse, outbuildings, a chicken house, tool shed, barn, an implement shed, a summer kitchen, smokehouse, and the Seminole Valley Farm Theater.

Indian Creek Nature Center

The Indian Creek Nature Center is a private and non-profit organization providing environmental education. The property contains four miles of trails, an interpretive center, which is housed in a remodeled 1932 dairy barn that features exhibits, an auditorium, offices, a gift shop and restrooms; a butterfly garden, Vermont-style maple sugar house, herb garden, frog pond, picnic tables, and the Paul and Sigmund Lynch Wetland site that includes decks, collection sites and interpretation.