Holiday Inn Express Waterloo

I think that the most...

by zoranaw

I think that the most important thing to do while in Waterloo is to visit the Imaginarium. The Imaginarium is a museum that has hands on activities for children and adults! My best memory of Waterloo is when the downtown had a lot of places to shop. This was before the mall became popular. Now, our downtown is becoming revitalized and there are more stores being added down there. I am so proud of our downtown.

A Bicycle Ride Through Waterloo and Elk Run

by atufft

"Located on the Cedar River above Cedar Rapids..."

In the flood of 2008, the system of levees and concrete seawalls along both sides of the Cedar River at Waterloo more or less worked, leaving greater disaster to downstream farmland and the larger city of Cedar Rapids. This was fortunate for Waterloo, as this city has had only a brief period of success during its century and a half of existence. The town was founded and named by the Hanna, Virden, and Mullan families in 1845-46, but was slow to develop until it became a railroad junction in the 1880's. Between the 1880's and 1920, the town grew considerably, becoming the location for farm equipment manufacturing, meat packing, and even brass era automobile manufacturing. It was during this time that the city's current stock of gothic and art deco style commercial buildings and churches were constructed. I cycled into Waterloo from nearby Elk Run, where there's a large truck stop just off US20.

"Gothic Churches and the Nature Trail"

Downtown restaurants and business were mostly closed on the Sunday that I pedaled into town, but I found a small wealth of gothic and art deco architecture to photograph. Many of the commercial buildings are empty or waiting for a better purpose while the churches seem to remain in business even though Waterloo. The compact arrangement of churches along 4th street were particularly interesting. Later, in my return to the truck stop, I discovered the nature trail, a well constructed bicycle path that goes along the levees from Waterloo to Elk Run.