Discover Linn County’s Hidden History!

Take a virtual tour of historic sites throughout the community! A collaboration of The History Center and Iowa BIG 

(Iowa’s Initiative Based High School Experience).

See significant locations throughout the county develop from the creation of the county to present day.

The History Center’s ever-popular walking tours have gone digital! Watch the evolution of these prominent sites through archived photographs, student narrative and audio.

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Time periods showcased include:

• 1870 – Early Development/The Gilded Age

• 1890 – Late Victorian/Early Progressive

• 1905 – Edwardian/WWI

• 1920 – Roaring 20s/Prohibition/Depression

• 1935 – Pre-War Boom/WWII/Postwar

• 1949 – Truman/Eisenhower/Cold War

• 1960 – Urban Renewal/Social Reforms

• 1973 – End of Downtown Retail/Electronics

• 1990 – 90s Boom/Redefining City’s Center

• 2000 – Post 9-11/Post 2008 Flood

Current Locations include:

• World Theatre, 314 3rd Ave SE

• White Star Ale House, 305 2nd Ave SE

• US Bank Parking Ramp, 300 2nd Ave SE

• Theatre Cedar Rapids, 313 1st Ave SE

• US Cellular Center (mid-block), 350 1st Ave NE

• Security Building, 203 2nd St SE

• Higley Building, 118 3rd Ave SE

• Popoli Ristorante & Sullivan’s Bar, 101 3rd Ave SW

• F&M Bank (mid-block), 200 1st St SW

• CSPS Legion Arts, 1103 3rd St SE

• NewBo City Market (bandshell corner), 1100 3rd St SE

• Lion Bridge Brewing Company, 59 16th Ave SW

• Kosek Building, 87 16th Ave SW

• Roosevelt Building, 200 1st Ave NE

• Skogman/BCR & R Building, 411 1st Ave SE

• CRST Center

• Smulekoffs, 97 3rd Ave SE

• Paramount Theater, 123 3rd Ave SE

• Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, 410 3rd Ave SE

• College Community Schools/Prairie

• Town of Ely

• Eastern Iowa Airport, 2121 Arthur Collins Pkwy SW

• Westdale Mall, 2600 Edgewood Rd SW

• Kirkwood Community College, 6301 Kirkwood Blvd SW

• Western College/Village of Western

Each location was selected by one of eight students from Iowa BIG during the 2015-2016 school year. They used a variety of materials from The History Center archives to map the progression of their chosen location. From Sanborn Maps, to City Directories as well as photographs, postcards and newspaper clippings, these digital tours take shape through Linn There, Done That.

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Linn There, Done That is developed by The City of Cedar Rapids “History Happened Here” project, a city-wide historic digital tour founded by the Cleveland Neighborhood Association.