Time Machine: Veterans Memorial

CEDAR RAPIDS - According to a May 19, 1920 Gazette story, 'Battery E of the 126th Field Artillery was regarded during the war by local folks as ‘Cedar Rapids' Own'. When the battery was encamped in the Mound Farm district, Cedar Rapids organizations vied with each other in their efforts to accomplish most for the boys who were soon to leave for the training camps and eventually for France and the war.”

Edwin Probasco was one of the young men. He was described as fun-loving, athletic and, probably like most of the other young men in his unit, wanted to 'get the nasty job over with and return to his home.” That wasn't to be. Probasco's was one of the names added to the casualty list.

His story was used to begin a fund drive to build a memorial for those who served in the 'Great War”, the Spanish-American War and the Civil War.

A special election on a bond issue to build a 'practical memorial on the island that will combine a modern coliseum and city hall” was presented to voters on June 1, 1925. It passed. The next step was to appoint a Memorial Commission to supervise construction and to take charge of the building after it was done.

Under Chapter 33 of the 1924 Code of Iowa, which provided for building war memorials, three delegates each were chosen from the Grand Army of the Republic, the Spanish War veterans and the city's American Legion posts. Those nine appointed a commission of five. Since a city hall was part of the project, the mayor became an ex officio member of the commission.

The last contract for the construction of the building was finalized in January 1927 for a memorial window to be installed between the two Second Avenue entrances. The contract allotted $9,000 to Cedar Rapids artist Grant Wood for glass, design, decorating - everything but the steel ribs and the work of setting the glass.

At the same time, the Memorial Commission decided on the final design for the building's tower. Consulting architect Henry Hornbostel of Pittsburgh proposed a tower 19 feet higher than any other plan. It included a cenotaph modeled after the one in London erected for the Unknown Soldier, the top of which was 165 feet above ground.

Over the main entrances of the building and the memorial window an inscription - 'May the wreaths they have won never wither, nor the star of their glory grow dim,” - was to be carved. The verse, from 'Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean,” was suggested by Memorial Commission Chairman C.B. Robbins.

As weather warmed in 1927, excavation and pile driving accelerated on the municipal island, and as the crew moved back from the site's north end, general contractor O.F. Paulson began constructing foundation walls.

By July, the building's steel skeleton was rising. When the first steel beam in the last tier was placed, the American flag was raised 138 feet above ground, in keeping with an iron workers custom.

A year later, finishing work was in progress in hopes of a formal July opening.

'Plasterers have finished the Chamber portion and workmen are now laying the terrazzo floors. As soon as these are dry, the carpenters will be busy putting in the finishing work, and the electricians will install fixtures. The elevators in that part are practically ready,” related a Gazette story on May 27, 1928. 'On high scaffolds the workmen are plastering the main auditorium. After that is done the maple floor must be put in, and the painting done. '

The official opening of the million-dollar Memorial building 'erected by the people of Cedar Rapids in memory of soldiers of all wars” was Aug. 22, 1928. It began with a tour by presidential candidate Herbert Hoover and ended with a political rally headed by Gov. Henry Allen of Kansas before 6,000 people.

The first item on the agenda that day and the last item on his itinerary in Cedar Rapids was Hoover's visit to the new coliseum.

Hoover left Brucemore at 4:20 p.m. with a squad of motorcycle policemen and the American Legion drum and bugle corps as escort. A committee representing veterans organizations met Hoover and his party at the new building.

'Perhaps the most touching feature of the afternoon came when the Hoover family was introduced to a score of Civil War veterans stationed inside the structure,” according to The Gazette. 'Mr. Hoover deliberately took time to permit himself and his family to shake hands with each of the grizzled warriors. The inspection proper was brief. The party stepped inside the main auditorium, glanced briefly about as Mr. Hoover commented on the beauty of the structure.” With the visit completed, Hoover's group headed to Union Station.

The Indiana limestone building was divided into three sections: city hall offices, memorial coliseum and chamber of commerce.

The south entrance led to the Memorial Hall where bronze tablets bearing the names of veterans were yet to be placed in panels on the walls. To the right of the hall were the waterworks offices, to the left the Grand Army of the Republic rooms and straight ahead was the coliseum auditorium.

The auditorium was 74 by 138 feet with classic columns and Grecian cornices. It sat 2,000 on the main floor and 2,000 more in balconies and stage. Red curtains could be dropped between the columns to shut off the balconies. Twenty-two univents (green cabinets that lined the main floor) provided heat, and cathedral-like windows on the side let in light and fresh air.

In the basement, the south part held boiler rooms that were not used because the city opted for steam. The chief basement space had a National Guard drill room, a small sloping balcony and a small stage. Running the length of the room was an 80-foot rifle range with ventilators to pump out smoke.

The crown of the four-story Chamber portion of the building was its 40-by-60-foot convention room with full length windows giving a beautiful view of the Cedar River and hills to the north of the city.

The building's formal dedication took place on Sept. 12, 1928.