20 Years - Main Street Waterloo - Then & Now

Main Street W A T E R L O O

THEN AND NOW

Sunday, October 16, 2016

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WATERLOO MAIN STREET

Main Street’s come a long way in 20 years AMIE STEFFENEICHER

amie.steffeneicher@wcfcourier.com‌

‌WATERLOO — In the history of Waterloo’s downtown, 20 years isn’t long at all.

After all, several decades earlier the 36-block district was the city center, bustling with life.

Numerous businesses, shopping and theaters were on every corner, and you could get there by walking, driving, taking a cable car and, depending on how far back you want to go, horsedrawn buggies on brick streets.

But then Waterloo was hit hard by the farm downturn of the 1980s, at the same time fully-enclosed shopping malls on the edge of town became the hip places to shop.

With a sudden influx of workers on the unemployment line, coupled with other areas of town becoming booming shopping districts, business dried up downtown. Stores shuttered and buildings were left empty.

The once-vibrant downtown became a place to drive through — quickly.

Waterloo’s downtown wasn’t the only one to be decimated or left to rot in this way, and in the 1990s, a national movement sprang up to revitalize downtown districts again. As part of that, Main Street Waterloo was created out of a merger of several downtown promotion groups in 1996.

Now in its 20th year, Main Street Waterloo uses its economic and marketing power to transform downtown into a place where people and businesses want to be, using Main Street America’s four-point approach of organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring.

Tavis Hall, the organization’s

executive director, said the turnaround in the last 20 years has been something to behold.

“It’s people hanging out, living, going to work and having a good time,” he said. “We’ve got people who are investing their livelihoods in opening bars and restaurants. We’re climbing our way back.”

In the last 20 years, many of the buildings have found new tenants — especially along Fourth Street. Some buildings have been torn down to make way for spaces like the RiverLoop Expo Plaza along Jefferson Street.

Some spaces have been built up, such as the Cedar Valley Sportsplex. And others have been restored to their former glory — Jim Walsh and JSA Development has done this with many buildings on the east side of the river.

And downtown’s revitalization continues, including on the west side of the river. Single Speed Brewing is currently restoring and renovating the former Hostess factory for a brewpub and distribution center on Commercial Street.

Hawkeye Community College was approved to begin construction on its new metro center off West First and Jefferson streets on the former Waterloo Bowl-in site, and 68 loft-style apartments are going up at Grand Crossing Condominiums on Jefferson Street and Westgate Avenue, expected to be completed in early 2017.

It’s a higher rate of construction and focus downtown than when Main Street Waterloo got started, Hall said. That’s due to a change in overall focus of his organization, which had previously sought to bring people

JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

Tavis Hall, executive director of Main Street Waterloo, stands outside the Main Street office at 210 E. Fourth St. downtown through intangibles, like Friday’Loo, Funky Junk-aLoo and various other festivals.

“We were event-focused for a long time,” he said. “That succeeded, but we wanted to look more at the economic restructuring of it.”

That’s not to say Main Street Waterloo has abandoned the event model — they’ve just changed it.

“Our events will be focused on promoting the district — getting foot traffic into shops,” Hall said.

“We want to do our part in making businesses profitable. Part of that has always been Friday’Loo, Taste of ‘Loo.” Hall, who owns his own business downtown, is the president of the Waterloo Convention and Visitors Bureau and also sits on the city’s Planning, Programming and Zoning Commission, began as the organization’s director in February.

“That’s the beauty of having a new director — it’s a natural time to do a bit of self-analysis,

how we can improve upon what has worked,” said Nick Hedrick, board president of Main Street Waterloo.

Hall said, despite all the new growth and exciting projects, Main Street Waterloo isn’t coasting. There’s lots they still want to do with their 36 blocks.

“It’s always tough in winter, but spring comes, Cottonwood Canyon puts out the chairs, people are hanging out, having a good time,” Hall said. “There’s life and breath in the downtown.”

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WATERLOO MAIN STREET

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JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

The RiverLoop Expo Plaza on Park Avenue.

Klinefelter Building — Expo Plaza

COMING SOON

JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

‌ ot all historic preservation efN forts in the history of Main Street Waterloo have happy endings.

The Klinefelter Livery, at Park Avenue and Jefferson Street in downtown Waterloo came down in July 1999. About two years earlier Main Street and downtown preservationists asked the city to pledge the cost of demolition to restoration efforts. The city declined and the building, built in 1907, came down.

In its place is the RiverLoop Expo plaza, a brick paved open space that hosts occasional events and the weekly downtown Waterloo Farmers Market. The plaza was built with a combination of Vision Iowa grant money and Black Hawk County Gaming Association funds.

The demolition of the Klinefelter Building highlights the struggle of historic preservation which is often costly and time consuming.

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Klinefelter Building on Park Avenue pictured in 1997.

The city halted demolition of the building in 1995 and took ownership of the property for $1. City officials originally gave downtown officials one year to preserve the building and extended the deadline. Finding the funds and a lead project didn’t happen in Main Street Waterloo’s first few years.

On the bright side, the west side had a public space for people and events. The plaza is home

to the annual Hy-Vee Stem and Stein, a local beer wine and food showcase event.

Other outdoor activities will occasionally draw people to the plaza and the weekly Farmers Market draws sellers and shoppers from around the area. This year, designers were awarded a design merit award from the Iowa chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the plaza design.

FRANKLIN STREET

BY FAMILY VIDEO

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JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

Bank Iowa, 330 E. Fourth St.

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2016 |

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Repass Building — BankIowa floors took more time.

JSA Development gutted the upper two BankIowa gave the Repass Building a floors and built loft apartments in 2010 new, updated look early in Main Street’s — the year of the building’s centennial history. Renovation of the upper two anniversary.

JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com

The building was built to house the Model Laundry, Cleaning and Dying Company which was housed there until about 1938. In 1950, the upper floors were remodeled to hold offices. The building

got its modern name after Don Repass acquired the building in 1962.

Aside from the commercial street-level configuration, the exterior of the building has remained relatively unchanged.

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Fowler Building

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Screaming Eagle, Silos and Smokestacks JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

MATTHEW PUTNEY / COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Paint is removed from the exterior of the Fowler Building at East Fourt and Lafayette and Lafayette streets in July 2006.

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JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

228 E. Fourth St.

‌For Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage area to have its headquarters in the Fowler Building is fitting. Built in 1884, the wholesale grocery and warehouse stored and shipped food and goods produced in Iowa to major markets in Chicago and stops in between.

Candy Streed, a Main Street Waterloo board member and Silos and Smokestacks, said the mission of Silos and Smokestacks is to tell the story of the area’s role in building and feeding the U.S. as the country expanded. The Fowler Building is part of that story, she said.

The Silos and Smokestacks offices occupy the second floor.

The third floor of the building features residential lofts.

Downstairs, the Screaming Eagle American Bar and Grill keeps one of downtown Waterloo’s prominent intersections busy. Each Thursday, the Screaming Eagle closes off Lafayette Street for bike night featuring live music.

Prior to its renovation in 2008, the Fowler Building housed Midstate Reproduction and Supply. In 2006, a worn coat of white paint was removed from the building revealing the original brick face and brought color back to a high-traffic area of downtown.

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Haffa building - C.O.R.

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JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

‌The Haffa Block, 220 E. Fourth St., built in 1888, was another renovation project that was under way early in Main Street Waterloo’s history.

The three-store-front brick building was built in 1888 by Abraham W. Haffa. A clothing store, boot and shoe store and a drug store first occupied the three spaces. They were combined into one space in 1962.

By the 1990s, interest was growing in returning old spaces to their former glory. In the late 1990s, a furniture store occupied a remodeled first floor while loft apartments were built on the second floor. Chuck Orr, a longtime downtown booster and property owner, helped take the lead on the conversion.

Currently, Waterloo’s four Catholic parishes – Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart, St. Edward and Queen

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JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

220 E. Fourth St.

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COURIER FILE PHOTO‌

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JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

Submitted photo‌

The Black’s Building, 501 Sycamore, in the late 1980s.

Black’s Building JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

‌At 132 feet tall and occupying 1.3 acres of downtown Waterloo, the Black’s Building is an icon and hub of the city’s center.

The building spans the entire block of Sycamore Street betweenEast Fourth and East Park streets. Although it appears continuous today, the 230,000-squarefoot building is actually three buildings and an addition to the original building, each constructed at different times.

The original Black’s Building was built by James Black as a full-service dry goods and department store in 1913.

This eight-story building is easternmost portion of today’s Black’s building.

The business expanded with an addition that was completed in 1929. In the 1950s, the department store took over a pair of two-story buildings along Park Avenue.

Those building facades and windows along with the original building’s mezzanine windows were covered to give the department store a modern, streamlined look popular at the time.

By the time Main Street came into

existence, Donna Nelson and Vern Nelson acquired the building to preserve it.

Donna Nelson, a long-time supporter and leader of downtown revitalization and preservation established Cedar Skyline Corp., one of the organizations that became Main Street Waterloo.

Nelson has remained involved in Main Street for most of its existence.

Much of the 1950’s slipcover was still in place but efforts to restore the building were beginning. After a series of name changes, the building was renamed the Black’s Building in 1992.

Although a cafe and some businesses occupied the main floor and mezzanine, much of the splendor of the interior of original building remained covered until recently.

In 2010, the building underwent a $4 million renovation. The former tea room was restored and the windows of the ornate skyroom on the eighth floor of the 1929 addition were again opened and restored. Loft apartments in the upper floors of the Park Avenue annex were added. Invision Architects occupies the westernmost street-level commercial space.

JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

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WATERLOO MAIN STREET

J.H. Miller building — Struxture Architects

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JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

Struxture Architects came ‌ to downtown Waterloo in 1999 just before their new home, the four-story J.H. Miller building marked its centennial.

Originally a furniture store, it was home to Lippert Camera Co., as downtown redevelopment efforts began. The store had closed when Main Street was formed in 1996, but the facade was unchanged until the entire building underwent renovations.

The Struxture offices recently underwent an update with a new open office floor plan on the third floor. The roof houses 72 solar panels which offset the firm’s energy use.

The firm has a few adaptive reuse projects on its resume including the KWWL building, under renovation now, a former downtown Waterloo railroad depot and the former Cu Restaurant, now Bryan’s on Fourth, on the same block of East Fourth Street.

Industry trends and people wanting to be part of a vibrant place dovetail with adapting and reusing historic structures, said Nick Hildebrandt of Struxture Architects. Doing so is becoming easier, he added.

“Technology actually makes adaptive reuse easier than it’s ever been,” he said.

Creating an office space no longer requires banks of hardwired data ports and other infrastructure, Hildebrandt said.

“Everybody’s mobile, everything’s portable,” he said.

The modern office in a unique space in a vibrant downtown helps attract people to the firm, Hildebrandt added.

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ABOVE: The J.H. Miller Block building, 314— 316 E. Fourth St., pictured in the mid 1990s.

Photo submitted

by Bryan Nichols.

LEFT: Struxture Architects, 314 E. Fourth St. JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

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JOHN MOLSEED PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

The vacant former Courier building, 501 Commercial St.

AMIE STEFFENEICHER

The Courier

amie.steffeneicher@wcfcourier.com‌

‌ or nearly 90 years, the Courier’s home F was on the corner of West Park Avenue and Commercial Street in downtown Waterloo — and that’s where it was in 1996, when Main Street Waterloo was formed as an organization.

Since the first issue of the Black Hawk Courier rolled off the press Jan. 18, 1859, the Courier has called the west side home.

The Courier moved to the 501 Commercial

St. in 1923.

The building began as a two-story brick building with large windows on both floors.

In 1958, the Courier underwent a major expansion, when a third story was added to the building, and the second and third floors were encased in metal siding, covering the brickwork on the first floor.

Back then, as veteran employees remembered in a 2011 Courier article, the newsroom was noisy and smoky, with typewrit-

ers and teletype machines clattering. The Courier acquired the former Montgomery Ward building in 1971 and moved printing operations to that facility, where they stayed until the press shut down in October 2008.

Printing has been contracted to Color Web Printers in Cedar Rapids since then.

In December 2011, the Courier made the move across the river to its current home, 100 E. Fourth St., formerly the Waterloo Industries building.

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The new location of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, 100 E. Fourth St.

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COURIER FILE PHOTO‌

Clean up of a wall that exploded during a fire at Starvin’ Marvin’s restaurant in downtown Waterloo, Iowa began shortly after daylight Friday morning June 4, 1999. Fire at El Charro, a neighboring restaurant, spread to Starvin’ Marvin’s through duct work and pressure built up inside the unoccupied upstairs apartments causing the explosion.

Doughy Joey’s AMIE STEFFENEICHER

amie.steffeneicher@wcfcourier.com‌

‌The corner of West Fourth and Jefferson streets wasn’t just another story about a neglected building downtown. It literally burned to the ground.

Chuck and Joanna Landau, already running the Waterloo Brown Bottle in the Russell Lamson building, opened Starvin’ Marvin’s Peetza Joynt in late 1997 at 300 W. Fourth Street. The building had previously housed Boardwalk Deli, owned and operated by Bob Dickson, who retained ownership of the building.

Dickson had done some prior restoration work on the building, restoring a tin ceiling, with brick and cherrywood interior wall sections.

When it caught fire on June 4, 1999, destroying the structure, the Landaus were distraught but not deterred.

“I just sat for months looking at the hole where (the building) was and wondering, ‘Where do I go from here?’” said Chuck Landau, quoted in a Courier article.

Where they went turned out to be a complete rebuild, but one that maintained the character of the historic building. Because of that, they received an award from the Waterloo Preservation Commission in 2011.

“We made the decision to rebuild at the corner of West Fourth and Jefferson streets because we so enjoyed the vitality it brought to the civic center area and downtown,” the Landaus wrote in an email to the Courier in 2014.

The couple owned the building until April 2014, when the Landaus sold the building. It has sat empty on the commercial market ever since.

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JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

The former Doughy Joeys, 300 W. Fourth St.

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JOHN MOLSEED / COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

Galleria de Paco and the recently renovated Finery on the 600 block of Commercial Street.

Finery and Galleria de Paco AMIE STEFFENEICHER

amie.steffeneicher@wcfcourier.com‌

Finery Bridal and Trend Boutique ‌ opened at 620 Commercial St., on downtown’s west side as Bride’s Corner Boutique more than three decades ago.

Natalie Mormann has owned and operated the business for more than 10 years.

The name change and remodel, which expanded their offerings to three floors for prospective brides, prom-goers and others looking for formal fashion and accessories, took place in 2014.

Galleria de Paco, an upscale Italian restaurant, opened next door at 622 Commercial St., in 2006. It is world-renowned for the spray-painted re-creation of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, created by Paco Rosic, the building’s owner.

Workers tore out the original ceiling, which previously housed Toad’s Treasures, and replaced it with a gently curved plaster ceiling. At its highest point, it arches 14 feet above the floor and left the artist 2,511 square feet of plaster canvas to paint, according to a Courier article from 2006.

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SUBMITTED PHOTO‌

622 Commercial St. photographed in the 1990s.

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WATERLOO MAIN STREET

RussellLamson AMIE STEFFENEICHER

amie.steffeneicher@wcfcourier.com‌

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When the Russell-Lamson ‌ Hotel, at Commercial and Fifth streets, opened on Sept. 1, 1914, the accommodations received national praise. The October 1914 edition of Chicago-based travel guide “The Hotel Bulletin” named it not only one of the finest hotels west of the Mississippi River, but in the U.S., according to a 2014 Courier article.

It was named after its first owners, Lillian Russell and Clyde Lamson. To secure funding for the hotel, Lamson sold some of his property to the city of Waterloo to underwrite the hotel.

Lamson hired Dunphy-Fredstein Co. of Milwaukee to build the hotel for a cost that ended up approaching $500,000, including $100,000 for the land on which it sits. Russell graduated from Gates Waterloo Business College in order to keep the financial records for the hotel.

But after several decades, the hotel — now a 92-unit apartment building — was in disrepair. To save it from demolition, it was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1988.

But it wasn’t until Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates bought the building in 2011 for $1.7 million and spent nearly $9 million restoring some of its original features, including opening windows in the lobby that had been covered for decades, that it became a gem of downtown Waterloo once more.

TOP: Russell Lamson Building, 209 W. Fifth St., pictured in the 1990s.

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BELOW: Russell Lamson Building, 209 W. Fifth St. JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

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Frerichs Law AMIE STEFFENEICHER

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amie.steffeneicher@wcfcourier.com‌

‌The two-story commercial building at 106 E. Fourth St. may not seem extremely significant. Built in 1888, the structure is one of the older downtown Waterloo buildings and home to Charisse Bridal.

Renovation work in the 1990s gave it a new lease on ife. Although three buildings to the south were demolished, the building was spared and is now the southernmost historic structure on East Fourth Street.

The residential space upstairs was constructed as part of the first wave of upstairs loft spaces to be built in downtown when it was remodeled by downtown developers Rene Dupont and Bryan Nichols.

The upstairs living space has one of two functioning residential fireplaces on the east side of downtown Waterloo.

Frerichs Law firm was established the same year as Main Street Waterloo — 1996 — Frerichs Law Office, P.C. began as a father-son operation. Once Al Frerichs retired from criminal defense in 2000, Tom Frerichs has continued in his father’s footsteps, according to the business’s website.

SUBMITTED PHOTO‌ Before that, that address housed Newcomb Law Of106 E. Fourth St. in the 1990s. Photo provided by Bryan Nichols. fice.

106 E. Fourth St.

JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

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COURIER FILE PHOTO‌

Dick and Mike Walden outside their store on the 200-block of W. Fourth Street.

JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

Basal Pizza owners Tony Eischeid and Marisol Salvaloza stand outside their business in the newly renovated building at 225 W. Fourth St.

Walden Photo block JOHN MOLSEED

for retail photo shops and wooden paneling from the

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌ Walden closed the store in Walden days that gave a

‌Not all was bleak and vacant in downtown Waterloo in 1996. Walden Photo, a presence in downtown Waterloo since 1926, had a three-storefront operation. It was one of the first photo stores to embrace the digital revolution.

However, that revolution also changed demand

2007. The block of buildings on the 200 block of West Fourth Street sat empty until purchased by JSA Development.

A two-year renovation project was completed earlier this year with Basal Pizzeria anchoring the rehabilitated trio of historic storefronts. Gone is the

uniform look to the three buildings. The oldest on the block was built in 1882, the newest in 1904.

The renovations came as an era of demolishing seems to be ending or at least slowing. Downtown has lost more than a third of its building stock in the last 50 years,

third of its buildings. The renovations, which include foundation work, new ventilation systems and roofs, means the old buildings can play a part in the city’s future for a long time to come.

“These buildings would COURIER FILE PHOTO‌ have been knocked down if we did not do this,” said Jim Walsh, president opment said downtown Walsh. “They’re good for and founder of JSA Devel- Waterloo has lost about a another 150 years.”

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Newton’s

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JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

COURIER FILE PHOTO

‌The iconic neon “Newton’s” sign went dark in 2007 when Newton’s Jewelers closed after being in business more than 93 years.

The building at 128 E. Fourth St. was originally built in 1870. It underwent a streamline moderne transformation when George Newton Jr. moved his jewelry store there in 1947. The look, with white metal, black and pink structural glass panels became a recognizable landmark in downtown Waterloo.

That’s why when JSA Development renovated the building, the downtown development company worked to keep the 1940s renovation look rather than restore it to its older incarnation.

In 2010, the renovated neon sign was back on in downtown as Newton’s Paradise cafe opened. Now a rooster sits perched atop the Newton’s sign instead of a diamond. Neon “fresh, local food” signs replaced the “silver,” “watches,” and “diamonds” neon signs along the side of the building.

The renovation not only maintained a landmark structure but has brought life to the corner of Sycamore and East Fourth Streets with outdoor seating and people lining up for weekend breakfast and brunch.

The renovation also included second-floor apartments with the 1940s glass brick blocks in place framed by modern windows for a view of Newton’s Park.

Newton’s Jewelers, 128 E. Fourth St., pictured in 2005.

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JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

Newton’s Cafe, 128 E. Fourth St.

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SUBMITTED PHOTO‌

New Plaza Hotel building, 615 Sycamore St.

New Plaza Hotel JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

Downtown Waterloo was ‌ home to several hotels. Accommodations ranged from swanky to sharing a bathroom with an entire floor and everything in between. As commercial districts sprawled to the outer parts of the city, new hotels sprung up there too.

Some of the downtown Waterloo hotels became long-term residency affordable housing.

When housing codes in the late 1970s banished shared bathrooms and limited exits, many of the long-term hotels downtown shuttered.

Such was the case of the New Plaza Hotel, 615 Sycamore St. Built in 1900, the building was converted to a hotel in 1915.

Waterloo being a railroad hub, the hotel served those needing short or sometimes long-term room and board.

However, the three-story building was essentially vacant since the last residents left in the late 1970s. The last store on the main floor had been shuttered for years by the time Main Street was formed and the building was essentially abandoned.

Water damage that caused a partial collapse of the back wall

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almost led to the building’s demise. However, the building survived the neglect. In fact, the neglect meant many of the original fixtures remained untouched when it underwent renovation by JSA Development and reopened last year.

“It was a good project,” said David Deeds, controller for JSA Development. “A lot of historic fabric was still there when we started.”

Samuels Group was the lead contractor in the project that uncovered original terrazzo floors and restored the original JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER woodwork, doors and windows The New Plaza Hotel building, 615 Sycamore St. throughout the building.

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Steely Block — Bryan’s on Fourth, Limestone Lounge JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

‌Although the Steely Block building, built in 1902, was one of the early renovation projects at the ground floor, the upper two stories, empty for decades, weren’t renovated until 2014.

The work on loft apartments included restoration of the third-floor ballroom that was split in two for two high-end two-bedroom spaces. A rooftop deck for the third floor apartments also was part of the facelift. The project was completed last year.

The main floor was renovated in 2004 to house Cu restaurant, which was opened by Joni and Mike Hollen.

It added an early dash of upscale, cosmopolitan style on East Fourth Street.

This year, the restaurant changed hands with Bryan Sink taking it over and revamping the menu, updating the interior and reopening as Bryan’s of Fourth and Limestone Lounge.

“Honestly, I think we’re due for a renaissance,” Sink said. “This is where I want to be; I feel welcome in downtown.”

The building, built in 1902 by John M. Steely, was an example of early 20th century classical revival. It was home to Lincoln Office Supplies when Main Street Waterloo was established.

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SUBMITTED PHOTO‌

The Steely Block, built in 1902, shown in the 1990s, housed Lincoln’s Office Supplies when Main Street was formed.

JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

Bryan’s on Fourth, 320 E. Fourth St.

Proud To Be A Downtown Waterloo & Greater Cedar Valley Business!

KWWL BUILDING RENOVATION

UNITYPOINT HEALTH PRAIRIE PARKWAY

HAWKEYE COMMUNITY COLLEGE ADULT LEARNING CENTER

UNI BARTLETT HALL RENOVATION

WATERLOO FIRE STATION #2

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COURIER FILE PHOTO‌

Operation Threshold inundated with water during flooding in June, 2008.

Cedar Valley Sportsplex

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JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

‌After historic flooding in 2008 left some west-side properties vacant, and after a spate of other city buyouts, the footprint of a two-block wide sports complex was devised.

The $27.5 million, 140,000-square-foot facility at 300 Jefferson St. along U.S. Highway 218 has changed the face of the west side of downtown and is the first of multiple large-scale developments planned in the area.

Before the Sportsplex could be built, the city spent about $3 million to buy and demolish buildings along Jefferson Street.

Some of the properties demolished to make way for the Sportsplex were damaged as a result of flooding in 2008. That includes the former offices of the social services agency Operation Threshold.

Funding for the project came via public and private partnerships over two years of fundraising.

Waterloo Development Corp., headed private fundraising efforts.

Major donations included $8 million in funds from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association, $4 million from the McElroy Trust, $3 million from the John Deere Foundation and $2 million each from the Young Family Foundation and the estate of Carlton and Thelma Winter.

JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

The Cedar Valley Sportsplex, 300 Jefferson St.

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Peabody Block — Boardwalk Deli

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JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

Peabody Block building, 206 E. Fourth St.

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‌Twenty years ago, it would have been easy to overlook one of the oldest and most ornate buildings in downtown Waterloo.

The Peabody Block 206 E. Fourth St., now home to Boardwalk Deli, was built in 1878 by W.H. Peabody. The late Victorian Italianate building features red brick, decorative second-floor window hoods and inset brick panels between openings.

An observer downtown SUBMITTED PHOTO‌ wouldn’t have known any of this more than 20 years ago.

Originally, the building housed a merchant tailor from New York. In 1922, the building became to home to a women’s clothing store, and later became Sweeney’ Women’s Clothing in 1932.

The ornate facade was hidden by a slipcover and remained hidden for decades. Long after Sweeney’s left the building, the white paneling with faded “Sweeney’s” lettering left the building looking dated and nondescript.

However, by 1996, the building was finding new life as Boardwalk Deli was established there the same year Main Street Waterloo was organized.

The upstairs was left untouched since the 1960s until the upper floor was renovated in 2013 into two loft apartments.

The renovation included restoring original woodwork, original skylight windows and adding a back deck.

JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

Boardwalk Deli, 206 E. Fourth St.

22 | Sunday, October 16, 2016

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JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

208 E. Fourth St.

Pierce Building JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

The Pierce Building by itself ‌ has an offset look. That’s because it had a partner when it was first built and again when it was rebuilt.

Although it has a more modern look, the Pierce Building, 208 E. Fourth St. was built in conjunction with the neighboring building, 210 E. Fourth St. For decades, both buildings shared one stairway to the access the second floor of each.

Originally a dry goods store, a restaurant moved into the space in 1910. In 1926, a fire damaged the building. The building was rebuilt and again joined with the

neighboring building to build a modern facade. The dark brown brick facade features the offset second-floor Chicago window in a style it once shared with the neighboring building.

The original intent behind sharing the facade design was to create an illusion of a larger, more unified building that neither estate could afford to build on its own.

The first floor has hosted a few downtown businesses since being renovated. Most recently it was home to a Hillary Clinton campaign office. In 2013, the upper floor was renovated into two-bedroom loft apartment with a restored original skylight and back deck.

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SUBMITTED PHOTO‌

208 E. Fourth St. pictured in the 1980s.

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COURIER FILE PHOTO‌

Osco — Main Street, Modus JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

For years, the empty Osco ‌ Drug storefront at 212 E. Fourth Street was a prominent reminder of downtown Waterloo’s decline.

The dated and worn paneling on the building was emblematic of an era when downtown districts sought a modern look in an attempt to compete with shopping malls. When Main Street Waterloo was formed, that thinking was replaced with a recognition that unique spaces and building that have a connection to the past is the greatest asset downtown districts have to offer.

But the Crystal Theater building, built in 1910 and renovated in 1927, in its paneled decay, stood as reminder of the era the concept was embraced by only a few and often unheard voices.

The building had deteriorated to the point where some advocates for historic renovation even admitted it likely couldn’t be salvaged.

Today, 212 E. Fourth St. houses the Main Street Waterloo office.

“I think it’s symbolic of the role of historic preservation,” said Tavis Hall, Main Street Waterloo executive director. “It’s taking something that people remember but think can’t be again and turning an eye toward the past while finding a modern use.”

The original structure has been salvaged and its front, though made of modern material, matches the historic block.

Along with Main Street’s office, the main floor houses a startup business incubator. Upstairs houses Modus Engineering.

Rene Dupont, a longtime downtown advocate and developer, stands outside the former Osco Drug Store, 210 E. Fourth St., in this undated photo.

COURIER FILE PHOTO‌

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WATERLOO MAIN STREET

Winterbottom Supply Co. — Westfield Lofts JOHN MOLSEED

john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

‌More than 2,000 people live in downtown Waterloo. Many of them are in spaces that were repurposed from other use into residential spaces.

Finding new uses for old spaces in downtown Waterloo is now a proven successful business plan. In 2005, when the plans for converting the then 97-year-old Winterbottom Supply Co. warehouse into living spaces was a bold plan.

The Westfield Lofts in the historic warehouse are occupied and sought-after housing today. Vern and Donna Nelson and downtown property owner Bryan Nichols pooled resources and efforts to convert the space.

The building was acquired in 2000 after Winterbottom Supply relocated to Ansborough Avenue.

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COURIER FILE PHOTO‌

Winterbottom Supply Co. warehouse, Westfield Avenue, in 2004.

JOHN MOLSEED, COURIER STAFF WRITER‌

Westfield Lofts in the former Winterbottom Supply Co. warehouse, 25 Commercial St.

The condominium plans were Although the Winterbottom delayed due to inquiries from Supply Co. building is a couple was a catalyst for residential reThe Westfield showed deother business prospects, which of blocks outside the Main Street development in downtown Wa- velopers what was possible in ultimately did not materialize.

Waterloo district, the project terloo. downtown Waterloo.

downtown waterloo

Continuous Change 1936-2016

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Cheers for the many property owners and downtown businesses who have invested in Downtown. Honorable mention to Jim Walsh, the Nelson Family and Galleria De Paco & Catacombs, and the transformation of an older Wonder Bread building into a state of the art beer producing business with bar and party room.The Elks Club is magnificent and probably the most notable in the United States. Also an historic jewelry store that was turned into a thriving restaurant and sidewalk cafe. Another historic building is Black’s Department Store and office building with business offices and a beautiful party room on the 8th floor overlooking downtown, and more to come. Some other major downtown changes would include the Center for the Arts and the Hope Martin Theatre, Phelps Youth Pavilion and of course the new Sportsplex, Riverloop area and Amphitheater.

Our family once owned 22 downtown buildings with 28 tenants such as Kresges, Woolworths, Martin Hotel & Cafe, Ben Franklin, Richfield’s Clothing, Kings Food Host,Tommy’s West Side Grill, Cedar Book Store, S&H Green Stamps, Enzlers Luggage, Barker’s Shoe Store, Martin Bros. Co Wholesale and Retail, and the cigar stands in the Hotel President and Russel Lamson. Started by Hope C. Martin and then Faye Martin Anderson and now Buzz H.M.Anderson.

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“Good old days”