Save CR Heritage celebrates 10th anniversary with tour of historic buildings on Saturday

CEDAR RAPIDS — Save CR Heritage will celebrate its 10th anniversary by highlighting historic churches and other buildings at the edge of downtown Cedar Rapids.

The Save CR Heritage 10th Anniversary Buildings Tour will be 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, starting at the J.E. Halvorson House, 606 Fifth Ave. SE. Tickets are $10 and available at the door.

The nonprofit hopes to draw attention to these buildings that have stood the test of time, along with their history and the people who keep them going today.

Two churches on the tour, for example, have been committed to staying downtown, even as the surrounding neighborhoods have all but disappeared, while the owner of a small café in another building has managed to stay open during the pandemic, derecho and ongoing street closures. One building on the tour was moved 100 years ago, while another was relocated in more recent history to save it from demolition.

Organized in response to the demolitions of two historic Cedar Rapids churches, Save Cedar Rapids Heritage was incorporated May 3, 2012, and is operated by a group of volunteers. The buildings tour is the first of several events the group plans this year to mark the past decade, including window and screen repair workshops and other tours.

Participants will start at the J.E. Halvorson House, next to Kathy's Pies, for a wristband and map of the tour sites, all within walking distance. Visitors will see inside these historic gems as volunteers share information about the history of each tour stop. Tickets, at $10 each, support the early-1900s J.E. Halvorson House.

The tour also will be an opportunity to sign a petition to place the closure of Garfield Elementary School on the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s Board of Education agenda. Save CR Heritage believes the public deserves a voice in a decision as far-reaching as a school closure.

Save Cedar Rapids Heritage is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving historic properties by developing preservation and reuse strategies, as well as raising awareness about the value of historic buildings in strengthening our community, conserving resources, fostering economic development and enriching lives. For more information, visit www.savecrheritage.org