CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — This year has been a monumental one for Save CR Heritage, and the entire city, as the all-volunteer nonprofit finally saw the culmination of efforts to save the most architecturally significant elementary school in Cedar Rapids.

Save CR Heritage and its supporters also achieved a number of other accomplishments during 2024.

In early January, after volunteers spent the holiday period canvassing the Harrison Elementary School neighborhood, Save CR Heritage presented the city of Cedar Rapids with a petition that showed widespread opposition to the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s rezoning application for the school, at 1310 11th St. NW.

Well over the number of signatures needed to prompt a super-majority vote at the City Council level were gathered, and Save CR Heritage submitted a letter of support for the neighbors, who opposed demolishing the rare English Tudor/Gothic building, which is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

“After the city lost so much to flooding and the derecho, these neighbors do not want their iconic school destroyed, as well, only to be replaced with a generic, sprawling building,” the letter, read at the City Planning Commission meeting by Save CR Heritage Vice President Therese Smith, stated in part.

Ultimately, the commission voted to table the rezoning, and the Cedar Rapids School District eventually changed course.

By March, the school district announced the demolition of Harrison was given a one-year reprieve.

That same month, Save CR Heritage honored volunteers with a volunteer appreciation night at the J.E. Halvorson House, 606 Fifth Ave. SE, the early-1900s home the nonprofit has been using as its headquarters since 2021.

The group held regular salvage sales during 2024 to support its efforts, which includes relocating the house in coming years. The sales connect homeowners and others with high-quality, low-cost hardwood flooring, doors and other items that volunteers save from buildings before demolition.

Save CR Heritage advocates to save historic buildings in place, or move them when that cannot be accomplished. As a last resort, trained volunteers save still usable items, such as wood trim, sinks, metal heat registers and more from buildings that are destined for demolition. During the past three years, with an average of 50 solid doors saved per year, volunteers kept 3 tons of materials from going to the landfill in doors alone.

Those environmental efforts were highlighted as Save CR Heritage volunteers performed outreach with a booth during a blustery EcoFest 2024 in April. See photos here.

In May, Save CR Heritage photographed the end of Garfield Elementary School, 1201 Maplewood Dr. NE, and Arthur Elementary, 2630 B Ave. NE. Both schools, built in 1914 and opened in 1915, were closed at the end of the school year as the district opened a new $30 million building for students from both schools.

See photos on the Save CR Heritage website.

Noting their importance to the neighborhoods, Save CR Heritage advocated to keep both buildings open as schools, and while the School Board voted against those efforts, they ultimately decided to sell the schools, rather than demolish them.

Also in May, Save CR Heritage shared photos of the 100th anniversary celebration of Franklin Middle School.

In June, board members of Save CR Heritage attended the Preserve Iowa Summit in Mount Pleasant, to connect with other Iowa preservation advocates.

Members also visited a restaurant in Mount Pleasant that had repurposed oak flooring Save CR Heritage volunteers had saved from a Cedar Rapids home.

Also in June, Save CR Heritage kept up its advocacy to save Harrison Elementary by hosting a walking tour in the Harrison neighborhood, led by Cedar Rapids historian Mark Stoffer Hunter.

About 150 attendees were able to see inside the school, which opened in 1930, and Stoffer Hunter highlighted other cornerstones of the Harrison neighborhood, as well, including the Mother Mosque of America, 1335 Ninth St. NW, which opened in 1934, just a few years after Harrison.

“The Harrison building is special in the story of how it was built, what it looks like and what it means symbolically to the neighborhood,” he said during the walking tours.

See more photos

In July, work was finished on a preservation project at the J.E. Halvorson House, where Barry and Nathan Anderson of BJAnderson Services completed the repair, restoration and painting of corbels and other exterior architectural elements on the 1905 home.

Time and harsh weather had taken a toll on the ornamental features, but thanks to a Linn County Historic Preservation grant, those more than century-old exterior elements look as good as new.

In addition to the grant from the Linn County Board of Supervisors, via the Linn County Historic Preservation Commission, the project received a generous donation of primer and paint from Klinger Paint Co., with a retail store at 333 Fifth Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids.

The project was unveiled in August 2024.

See “before” and “after” photos

Save CR Heritage conducted more outreach to the public with a booth at the Bever Park Farmers Market in southeast Cedar Rapids in July.

In addition to offering information about building styles and how to preserve architectural ornamentation, volunteers gave away plants to children and others visiting the market.

In August, volunteers performed more outreach, participating in the National Night Out event hosted by the Oak Hill Jackson Neighborhood Association.

Near the end of August, Save CR Heritage and supporters received word that the Cedar Rapids School Board had reversed their decision to demolish Harrison Elementary, and instead voted to update the interior and construct an addition.

With board member Jennifer Neumann absent, the other six members all approved the recommendation to update the architecturally significant school after last year voting to demolish it, overturning a task force recommendation that would have kept Harrison.

The matter returned to the School Board after Save CR Heritage collected thousands of petition signatures, held a demonstration, spoke at board meetings and more to advocate saving Harrison, but it wasn’t until the district hired consultants who conducted a survey that board members changed their minds, after results showed the district’s $220 million bond referendum failed, in part, because of the Harrison demolition decision.

The School Board’s reversal will hopefully mean that Harrison will be allowed to stand for another 100 years or more.

In September, a mural depicting Czech immigration that Save CR Heritage volunteers had rescued from a building threatened with demolition was rededicated at the Cherry Building, 329 10th Ave. SE.

David and Lijun Chadima, owners of the Cherry Building, had the mural restored and showcased the finished work on Sept. 5, 2024. The mural, on the second floor of the building, can be viewed by the public.

Read more about the Czech mural.

Save CR Heritage volunteers continued salvage work this fall, while at the same time advocating to have a house moved that was owned by the city of Cedar Rapids.

Members have also continued to monitor School Board meetings into the end of the year, as the school district prepares to take another bond referendum before voters in November 2025.

With little notice, the School Board voted to demolish two more elementary schools, and voted again this fall to reiterate their decision, after an open meetings complaint.

Save CR Heritage plans to continue advocating for neighborhood schools, as well as historic buildings that contribute to our city’s character.

If you are interested in joining these efforts, leave a message, and follow our progress on our Facebook page.

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!