Cedar Rapids on a cool spring day

Ex-Ithacan · #1 Posted **May 15, 2013, 11:29 PM**

I stopped by Cedar Rapids and was pleasantly surprised. I arrived on a Tuesday evening and stumbled on a great little sub shop downtown. The next morning I started the tour. It was a cool, cloudy day, and I was still full from the sub. But I knew I had to take some pics for my SSP brethren.

Cedar Rapids has a population of about 128,000 and a metro of about 255,000. It is the county seat for Linn County. For more info check out the wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Rapids,_Iowa

On to the downtown (mostly):

1. Next to the freeway in downtown.

Cedar Rapids, IA 01 by exithacan, on Flickr

2.

Cedar Rapids, IA 02 by exithacan, on Flickr

3.

Cedar Rapids, IA 04 by exithacan, on Flickr

4.

Cedar Rapids, IA 05 by exithacan, on Flickr

5. In a hurry to get to the theatre.

Cedar Rapids, IA 07 by exithacan, on Flickr

6.

Cedar Rapids, IA 06 by exithacan, on Flickr

7.

Cedar Rapids, IA 08 by exithacan, on Flickr

8. I did notice a lot of overhead walkways in Iowa. Guess it gets kinda chilly there.

Cedar Rapids, IA 09 by exithacan, on Flickr

9.

Cedar Rapids, IA 11 by exithacan, on Flickr

10.

Cedar Rapids, IA 12 by exithacan, on Flickr

11.

Cedar Rapids, IA 13 by exithacan, on Flickr

12.

Cedar Rapids, IA 14 by exithacan, on Flickr

13.

Cedar Rapids, IA 15 by exithacan, on Flickr

14. Train running through downtown.

Cedar Rapids, IA 16 by exithacan, on Flickr

15.

Cedar Rapids, IA 17 by exithacan, on Flickr

16. The Liquid Lounge

Cedar Rapids, IA 18 by exithacan, on Flickr

17. Must have been a partying night at Liquid, lots of candy out front.

Cedar Rapids, IA 23 by exithacan, on Flickr

18. Cubs Fans???

Cedar Rapids, IA 20 by exithacan, on Flickr

19.

Cedar Rapids, IA 38 by exithacan, on Flickr

20.

Cedar Rapids, IA 25 by exithacan, on Flickr

21.

Cedar Rapids, IA 26 by exithacan, on Flickr

22.

Cedar Rapids, IA 27 by exithacan, on Flickr

23.

Cedar Rapids, IA 28 by exithacan, on Flickr

24.

Cedar Rapids, IA 29 by exithacan, on Flickr

25. The Art Museum.

Cedar Rapids, IA 30 by exithacan, on Flickr

26. Across the street from the art museum. btw, the train runs next to the parking garage in the background.

Cedar Rapids, IA 31 by exithacan, on Flickr

27.

Cedar Rapids, IA 32 by exithacan, on Flickr

28.

Cedar Rapids, IA 35 by exithacan, on Flickr

29.

Cedar Rapids, IA 33 by exithacan, on Flickr

30.

Cedar Rapids, IA 34 by exithacan, on Flickr

31.

Cedar Rapids, IA 37 by exithacan, on Flickr

32.

Cedar Rapids, IA 39 by exithacan, on Flickr

33.

Cedar Rapids, IA 40 by exithacan, on Flickr

34. A little side trip across the river from downtown to visit Czech Village

Cedar Rapids, IA 63 by exithacan, on Flickr

35.

Cedar Rapids, IA 62 by exithacan, on Flickr

36.

Cedar Rapids, IA 59 by exithacan, on Flickr

37.

Cedar Rapids, IA 58 by exithacan, on Flickr

38.

Cedar Rapids, IA 60 by exithacan, on Flickr

39.

Cedar Rapids, IA 61 by exithacan, on Flickr

40.

Cedar Rapids, IA 57 by exithacan, on Flickr

41. The National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library

Cedar Rapids, IA 64 by exithacan, on Flickr

42. On the Municipal Island in the Cedar River. The Linn County Courthouse.

Cedar Rapids, IA 46 by exithacan, on Flickr

43. The Veterans Memorial Building which served as City Hall until a mjor flood in 2008.

Cedar Rapids, IA 48 by exithacan, on Flickr

44.

Cedar Rapids, IA 44 by exithacan, on Flickr

45. The old location of the Czech & Slovak Museum until the 2008 flood.

Cedar Rapids, IA 47 by exithacan, on Flickr

46. Back into the downtown.

Cedar Rapids, IA 50 by exithacan, on Flickr

47. US District Courthouse

Cedar Rapids, IA 51 by exithacan, on Flickr

48.

Cedar Rapids, IA 54 by exithacan, on Flickr

49.

Cedar Rapids, IA 55 by exithacan, on Flickr

50.

Cedar Rapids, IA 56 by exithacan, on Flickr

51.

Cedar Rapids, IA 40 by exithacan, on Flickr

52.

Cedar Rapids, IA 53 by exithacan, on Flickr

53.

Cedar Rapids, IA 49 by exithacan, on Flickr

54.

Cedar Rapids, IA 41 by exithacan, on Flickr

55.

Cedar Rapids, IA 21 by exithacan, on Flickr

56.

Cedar Rapids, IA 42 by exithacan, on Flickr

57.

Cedar Rapids, IA 36 by exithacan, on Flickr

58.

Cedar Rapids, IA 03 by exithacan, on Flickr

59.

Cedar Rapids, IA 10 by exithacan, on Flickr

60.

Cedar Rapids, IA 45 by exithacan, on Flickr

61. Bonus shot, along I-80. I ate at the Wendy's

Cedar Rapids, IA 65 by exithacan, on Flickr

Hope you enjoyed.

fflint · #2 Posted **May 16, 2013, 12:33 AM**

I had no idea Cedar Rapids was so urban and urbane! I especially like the former city hall building on the island.

Ex-Ithacan · #3 Posted **May 16, 2013, 12:40 AM**

^ Yep, it surprised me too.

rockyi · #4 Posted **May 16, 2013, 1:02 AM**

Great tour!. I like almost everything about Cedar Rapids.....just not the smell. That Quaker Plant near downtown is a pungent bastard.

ColDayMan · #5 Posted **May 16, 2013, 1:56 AM**

The Veterans Memorial Building rocks!

DetroitSky · #6 Posted **May 16, 2013, 4:27 AM**

Wow, great tour! I had no idea Cedar Rapids was so interesting.

Thundertubs · #7 Posted **May 16, 2013, 12:15 PM**

Well done. Cedar Rapids has some great building stock. The flood there was a real tragedy that didn't get much media play.

I found the "World's Largest Truck Stop" to be a bit of a misnomer. It was more like a giant knick-knack store with a regular-sized truck stop attached.

Danny · #8 Posted **May 16, 2013, 2:21 PM**

Thanks for your pics! Cedar Rapids is nice, I like it. It has some interesting buildings and the Czech Village. Great job!

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain!

Jeff · #9 Posted **May 18, 2013, 5:38 AM**

great tour! very pleasantly surprised. thanks for sharing

llamaorama · #10 Posted **May 19, 2013, 1:30 AM**

That place looks humongous for 250k people.

Where I live is about that big, and it's an overgrown small town with some suburbia attached.

KevinFromTexas · #11 Posted **May 19, 2013, 4:43 AM**

Cool pics. Am I right in thinking that flame atop the old city hall is a replica of the Statue of Liberty flame? It sure looks like it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

I ate at the Wendy's

Still better than the other options up there.

Ex-Ithacan · #12 Posted **May 19, 2013, 1:15 PM**

Thanks for the replies, they're appreciated.

@ Kevin - Not exactly sure if the flame is a replica, but here's some more info about the building:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veteran...r_Rapids,_Iowa)

george · #13 Posted **May 22, 2013, 5:39 PM**

Cool, I appreciate the old buildings. Like the Downtown Wrigley B&G.

kcexpress69 · #14 Posted **May 23, 2013, 3:34 PM**

Nice medium sized city with a solid downtown!! Thanks!!

Wheelingman04 · #15 Posted **May 29, 2013, 8:56 PM**

I really like those photos. That would be a great smaller city to visit. Very dense, urban and historic. I really like Iowa. I could see myself living in Des Moines, but Cedar Rapids would be a little small for me especially coming from the awesome Pittsburgh, PA area.

Buck · #16 Posted **Jun 1, 2013, 3:48 PM**

Great pictures! Reminds me a lot of Macon, Georgia... perhaps with a larger core and a bit better preserved.

ChiSoxRox · #17 Posted **Jun 2, 2013, 2:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by fflint

I had no idea Cedar Rapids was so urban and urbane! I especially like the former city hall building on the island.

Iowa cities tend to punch far above their weight, since our boom days were 1910 through 1940, and then we didn't really have the suburban rush that took businesses out of downtowns, meaning we tended to keep our downtowns mostly intact without waves of new buildings to replace the old ones, but we also didn't have the population losses that vacated downtown businesses.

Iowa City has the highest population density between Chicago and central Denver, Des Moines has perhaps the largest skyscraper cluster for a metro under 600k in the country, all of our Mississippi River towns (Dubuque, Clinton, Davenport, Muscatine, Burlington, Keokuk) have well preserved late 1800s/early 1900s cores, etc. Was it Thundertubs that had a great series where he followed the Mississippi down, photographing the river cities?

stepper77 · #18 Posted **Jun 2, 2013, 5:49 PM**

I always enjoy Iowan (?!) cities. I really like the Czech Village. Thanks for sharing!

Nineties Flava · #19 Posted **Jun 3, 2013, 12:41 AM**

Literally my only experience with Cedar Rapids is the movie lol. It definitely looks bigger than I would've thought. Thanks for the pics

Ex-Ithacan · #20 Posted **Jun 3, 2013, 11:59 AM**

Thanks for the replies guys. I was impressed with the Iowa too. Your explanation makes sense Dralcoffin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buck

Great pictures! Reminds me a lot of Macon, Georgia... perhaps with a larger core and a bit better preserved.

Thanks for reminding me, I visited Macon last fall, and forgot to post the pics. Keep an eye out for them in the future.