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Veterans Memorial Building
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| Location: | May’s Island, Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
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| Architectural style: | Beaux Arts |
| Governing body: | Local |
| Part of: | May's Island Historic District (#78001240[1]) |
| Added to NRHP: | October 19, 1978 |
The Veteran’s Memorial Building is located on May’s Island in the middle of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It, along with the Linn County Courthouse, is a contributing property to the May's Island Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1] The building served as the Cedar Rapids City Hall until it was damaged in the Flood of 2008.
A petition to construct a memorial building was filed with the City Clerk on March 4, 1925.[2] Over 40 civic organizations were involved in planning for the structure. Voters passed a bond referendum and a Veterans Memorial Commission was formed.
Plans were drawn and the building was placed on May’s Island. In order to make the building financially feasible a new city hall was incorporated into the plans. Cedar Rapids, after Paris, would be only one of two cities to have their government located on an island.[2] The building also contains a Memorial Window, Memorial Auditorium and a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The building was designed in the Beaux-Arts style. It is largely a four-story building with an eight-story section in the front. A cenotaph tops the eight story section. The auditorium contains seven banners from veterans’ organizations and seven American flags were suspended from the ceiling. A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located above the cenotaph.
The first addition to the building was a statue of the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima, which was placed on the front steps in 1960. It is a memorial to World War II and the Korean War. The Veterans Memorial Commission added a museum in 1966. It contains items from the American Revolution through the Vietnam War. The museum was dedicated as a memorial to the Spanish-American War. A granite monument memorializes those who served in the Vietnam War. In 2000 an eternal flame was lit on top of the building.
The buildings sustained damage as a result of the 2008 flood. As a result the city government was forced to leave the building. In the aftermath the city decided to move the city offices to the former Federal Courthouse.[3] The city was able to take possession of the building after it provided the land for a new courthouse downtown. The city is expected to move into its new city hall in the spring of 2011.[4]
Regionalist artist Grant Wood, who grew up and lived in Cedar Rapids as an adult, was commissioned to design the memorial window. The window measures 24 feet (7.3 m) high by 20 feet (6 m) wide. It is the only stained glass window designed by Wood.[5] It depicts a 16 foot (4.9 m) Lady of Peace and Victory in the clouds.[5] She wears a Grecian robe and a blue mourning veil and holds a palm branch for peace in one hand and a wreath for victory in the other. The artists sister Nan was the model for the woman,[5] just as she was for Wood’s best know work American Gothic. Across the bottom are six, six foot (1.8 m) tall, soldiers representing the American Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican–American War, American Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War I.[5] The window’s border contains insignias from the United States Army, United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. The widow was made in Munich, Germany under Wood’s direction and assembled in Cedar Rapids. It consists of over 8,000 panels of glass. The window was made at a cost of $9,000 and by 2010 its value had increased to $3 million.[5]
The widow deteriorated somewhat over the years and it was damaged in the 2008 flood. Glass Heritage of Davenport, Iowa restored the window for $150,000.[5] It was re-dedicated on July 4, 2010.
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