Cedar Rapids buildings with storied past demolished in NewBo area

Employees of Kelly Demolition of Mount Vernon on Friday demolished three buildings at 119, 121 and 123 14th Ave. SE that formerly housed Air Filter Sales & Service Inc. before the June 2008 flood. The structure closest to the bridge was initially a home for Eagle Bottling Works, manufacturers of soda, ginger ale and a variety of soft drinks during the early years of Prohibition from about 1918 through the early 1920s. The other two structures were used as an early location for Hach Brothers Wholesale Paper in the 1920s. Other businesses that used portions of these three buildings in the following decades included the Riverside Feed Mill, Langhurst Motor Co. automobiles and Simanek and Zazza Plumbing & Heating Inc. (George C. Ford/The Gazette-KCRG)