A barrel of water and other survival supplies sit on display in the former bomb shelter at McKinley STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids on Oct. 16. The water in the barrels has evaporated since being packaged in the 1960s. The government issued survival supplies were never used and can be seen on historical tours of the building. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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CEDAR RAPIDS — For years, students at McKinley STEAM Academy have given tours of the school building, which opened to students in 1922.

One Gazette reader from Cedar Rapids remembers going to the depths of the school while on a tour and viewing the school’s bomb shelter and the drums of government-supplied survival supplies inside.

That reader wrote to Curious Iowa, a Gazette series that answers readers’ questions, to ask what the Cold War-era bomb shelter is used for today — and whether rations were still stored there.

The former bomb shelter at McKinley STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids on Oct. 16. Before being turned into a bomb shelter, the space was used as a firing range where students could bring their firearms to school to practice shooting. The space was eventually turned into a bomb shelter and then mechanical space. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

What’s the history of the boiler room area in McKinley STEAM Academy?

The lowest level of McKinley STEAM Academy — previously known as McKinley Junior High and McKinley Middle School — is the boiler room area. According to “This is Your Life, McKinley,” a school history booklet shared with The Gazette by The History Center, a firing range was located in the boiler room area between 1922 and 1934. Indoor firing ranges were used across the country in the basements of schools, police stations and banks.

By 1960, the firing range had been converted into a bomb shelter.

According to the Aug. 21, 1952 edition of the Cedar Rapids Tribune, the start of the school year marked the implementation of a civil defense program being taught in Iowa’s public school system.

The emergency preparedness curriculum taught students what to do in the event of an air attack, fire or natural disaster. Air raid and fire drills were held at least once monthly.

Drums of survival supplies, like biscuits and hygiene products, were stored in the bomb shelter. The supplies, stuck in time, are still there today, although the barrels of water have evaporated.

A can of survival biscuits and an MRE sit on display in the former bomb shelter at McKinley STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids on Oct. 16. The government issued survival supplies remain unopened and can be seen on historical tours of the building. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

“It has not been used for any student activities for a number of years,” Heather Butterfield, spokeswoman for the Cedar Rapids Community School District, said in an email to The Gazette.

Stacy Karam, the gifted and talented teacher at McKinley, curates the archives room at the 103-year-old school. In the spring, Karam teaches the class “McKinley Archives,” which teaches students “important elements of McKinley’s history” and how to give tours, along with speech techniques and communication skills.

Tours are given annually to sixth grade students, which include bringing students to the bomb shelter. Karam said these student-led tours have been given for at least 40 years.

“There was a group of talented and gifted students in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s that did extensive research on the history of the building and wrote the script for the building tour,” Karam said. “This script has been passed down for decades, with changes being made as the building is updated or remodeled.”

Karam said students are often surprised to learn about the fallout shelter and its former life as a rifle range.

A sanitation kit including toilet paper and a toilet seat sit on display in the former bomb shelter at McKinley STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids on Oct. 16. The government issued survival supplies were never used and can be seen on historical tours of the building. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

“Kids seem fascinated to learn about this time period in America’s history, and they enjoy imagining what it might have been like had McKinley students had to use the fallout shelter,” Karam said. “At that time, there were approximately 700 students attending McKinley, and it would have been very tight quarters to say the least.”

Alumni and Grant Wood Scholars are also given tours.

According to Butterfield, the fallout shelter is now used as part of the school’s air duct system and access to mechanical spaces.

Were bomb shelters common in Linn County?

According to an article in the Oct. 29, 1962 edition of The Gazette, 80 locations in Linn County had been approved as fallout shelters. These locations, all but three located within Cedar Rapids, would accommodate 69,905 people.

The locations of the fallout shelters, like McKinley, included the Coe College Chapel, Allison Hotel, Magnus Hotel, Roosevelt Hotel, Killian’s, Armstrong’s, The Paramount, Linn County Courthouse, the Masonic Library, the Cornell College Fieldhouse and Immaculate Conception Church, to name a few.

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