Note: Cedar Rapids Historian Mark Stoffer Hunter will lead walking tours of the neighborhood surrounding the J.E. Halvorson House, 606 Fifth Ave. SE, on Oct. 15-16, 2021, as the building is dedicated in memory of beloved board member John Erik Halvorson. See more on Save CR Heritage’s Facebook page.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Save CR Heritage offers heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported our efforts to raise awareness about the value of older buildings, and to recognize and remember our beloved board member, John Erik Halvorson, through the J.E. Halvorson House project.

Mercy Medical Center could have demolished the early-1900s home they owned at 606 Fifth Ave. SE, as was planned, but instead listened to our rationale for saving the building and allowed us to keep it in place as we raise funds to move it. Without the leadership of Mercy, we would not have had this opportunity.

Our goal is to use the home for workshops on window rehab and other skills, and to provide a place to match our vintage doors, windows and other items we’ve salvaged from buildings destined for demolition to homeowners who can use them.

The house is still a work in progress, and Save CR Heritage — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is totally volunteer-based — is still in need of items such as paint, window screens and gutters, as well as financial donations toward our building relocation fund and volunteers who are interested in helping us accomplish our goals. Every bit helps!

A big thanks goes to the Linn County Historic Preservation Commission and Linn County Board of Supervisors for a preservation grant that allowed us to hire the expert plaster craftsmen with Haverland Plastering; to the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation for a President’s Fund grant that helped us buy a new furnace; the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Solid Waste Alternatives Program for their cost-share funding for our door and window display racks; to Precision Drywall for their wall and ceiling finish work; Cutting Edge Engraving Arts and Sign Pro for our beautiful new sign and Scott Shoemaker & Associates for legal services.

We also are deeply grateful to Erik’s former employer, Paulson Electric, along with the IBEW Local 405 & Local Labor Management Cooperation Committee for all they provided in electrical repairs, and for their generous donation and commitment to this project.

Save CR Heritage self-funded much of the work on the house through proceeds from our salvage sales and other fundraisers and through our Board of Directors, who put in countless hours of volunteer work.

We appreciate the timely work of our contractors: MasterPro Roofing; Colony Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning; Hanna Plumbing & Heating and Precision Drywall/Haverland Plastering.

Our full list of donors and volunteers is here and will be posted in the J.E. Halvorson House.

– Mercy Medical Center: building
– Linn County Historic Preservation Commission/Linn County Board of Supervisors: plaster grant
– President’s Fund of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation: furnace grant
– Iowa Department of Natural Resources Solid Waste Alternatives Program: display rack funding
– Paulson Electric Co., IBEW Local 405 & Local Labor Management Cooperation Committee: electrical repairs & donation
– Precision Drywall of Cedar Rapids: wall and ceiling finish work
– Scott Shoemaker & Associates: legal services
– MasterPro Roofing: porch roof decking
– Cutting Edge Engraving Arts and Sign Pro: sign
– Steve Emerson: storage
– American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation & Jeff Barnes Agency: Community of Dreamers donation
– May’s Island Chapter of The Questors International: donation
– Eagle Point Solar: Acts of Sunshine donation
– Colony Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning: furnace check
– Bibbs Enterprise: hauling
– Linn County Master Gardeners: plants
– Rinderknecht Associates: temporary construction fencing

Media sponsors: City Revealed; The Iowa Source; Tidbits

Individual donors/volunteers

Dennis Andrews
Keri Andrews
Jennifer Bata
Sarah Bengtson
Cindy Bogner
Chris and Eryn Cronbaugh
Beth and Tom DeBoom
Andrea Eastburn
Terry Erlacher
Mary Kay Frary
Cindy Hadish
Amanda Halvorson and Grant Batterson
Nikki Halvorson
Ethan Hammer
Keith Hammer
Anna Holstine
Ellen and Joseph Holtwick
Ryan Hoy
Stacie Johnson
Bethany Jordan
Lisa and Jerry Kindred
Carolyn Schiller Landergott
Jordan King
Lance LeTellier
David Maier
Audrey and Gavin McGrath
Mary Kay McGrath
Joanie McMahon and Tom Attaway
Karen and Brian Middleswarth
Natalia and Jonathan Mitchell
Devin Neufeld
Sylvia and Ed Popelka
Paul Sabotta
Wyatt Sebers
Amelia Smith
Therese and Mark Smith
Tyler Tedford
Jay Vavra
Sharon Vavra
Margaret and Brad Wolter
Campbell Yaw

This project was made possible by the generous gifts of many. Please let us know if we overlooked your donation of time, talent or money, and know how much we appreciate every donor!

Save CR Heritage has been raising awareness of at-risk historic properties in Cedar Rapids since 2012. Help continue this important educational and advocacy work by donating here. We can’t do it without you!