CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The 1920s brick storefront at 1135-1137 Ellis Blvd. NW has served the Time Check neighborhood for more than a century, selling pharmaceuticals, soap, lipstick, shaving cream, groceries and more.

Now, Save CR Heritage plans to return the historic building to its roots as a neighborhood hub, with a storefront for the group’s architectural salvage materials, breathing new life into the area.

The all-volunteer nonprofit recently was awarded a major grant from the Hall-Perrine Foundation to purchase the building, with the provision that remaining funds be raised by Aug. 1, 2025.

“This project has so much potential to be mutually beneficial for Save CR Heritage and the neighborhood,” said Board President Nikki Halvorson. “This investment in our history strengthens the future of our organization, the neighborhood and the city as a whole.”

Built in 1921 as a pharmacy for Charles Zastera and William Cain, Zastera independently operated the pharmacy from 1928 until his retirement in 1964. That portion of the building later housed a barbershop and other businesses.

The building’s second unit was initially a small grocery store, followed by bakeries until 1957, and other iterations, including laundromats.

Zastera and his two brothers, the sons of Czech immigrants, all operated pharmacies in Cedar Rapids, including the Ellis Boulevard site and one downtown.

Brother Joseph Zastera bought the Tichy Pharmacy at 100 16th Ave. SW in 1920 and operated the business, renamed the Sixteenth Avenue Pharmacy, for 21 years before his retirement. The building still stands in Czech Village as the Czech Cottage gift shop.

After the Ellis Boulevard site was inundated by record flooding in 2008, neighborhood leaders advocated to remove the building from the city’s demolition list.

More than 1,200 homes and commercial buildings in Cedar Rapids were razed after the flood.

“We lost so much,” Linda Seger, then-president of the Northwest Neighbors Neighborhood Association, said at the time. “We’d like to save what’s left.”

While it was spared from demolition, the building has since been vacant and used for storage.

Save CR Heritage plans to use the building as a storefront for the group’s vintage windows, solid doors, sinks, hardwood flooring, doorknobs and other items salvaged from buildings before demolition. A community component would include space for artwork, pop-up shops and more.

Currently, the group’s J.E. Halvorson House, 606 Fifth Ave. SE, serves as headquarters of Save CR Heritage, as well as the site of monthly salvage sales.

The Ellis Boulevard building would offer more display space, all on a single floor, while the group’s east-side house would continue to be used for meetings, workshops and tours. Save CR Heritage continues to raise funds to move the early-1900s J.E. Halvorson House in 2027.

Cedar Rapids Historian Mark Stoffer Hunter said the Zastera Pharmacy project would strengthen preservation of a commercial intersection that has always been at the heart of this neighborhood and continues to connect the entire community with experiences at places such as The Flamingo restaurant, and vivid memories of the A & W, which was demolished across the street after the 2008 flood.

“Everyone in the neighborhood could walk to this grocery store, pharmacy, laundromat, barbershop,” Stoffer Hunter said.

With a $100,000 Hall-Perrine grant, Save CR Heritage needs to raise $75,000 for the $175,000 purchase price of the historic Zastera Pharmacy building.

A founding member of Save CR Heritage, Emily Meyer, of New Leaf Redevelopment Consulting, has offered a generous matching donation. The first $25,000 donated will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

Additionally, supporters who donate $100 or more will be recognized on the Save CR Heritage website and on a donor wall displayed in the storefront.

A brick-by-brick campaign will launch Saturday, June 21, 2025, from 9-11 a.m. at the J.E. Halvorson House, 606 Fifth Ave. SE.

As long as they last, donors of $100 or more will receive a commemorative brick with a Czech connection, which came from the Sykora Bakery auction in Czech Village.

Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated and can be made here, at: savecrheritage.org/donate

Donations may also be mailed directly to:
Save Cedar Rapids Heritage
P.O. Box 1134
Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-1134

For donations of $100 and more, please indicate the name to be included on the donor wall.

Save CR Heritage is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, with donations tax-deductible as allowed by law.