Immaculate Conception, the oldest Catholic parish in Cedar Rapids, was established in 1858. Its first wood building at 3rd Avenue SE and 7th Street SE was replaced in the early 1870s by a larger brick building to serve the Catholic population of the city. By the turn of the twentieth century, the growing parish demanded even larger facilities. A new site at 3rd Avenue SE and 10th Street SE was purchased in 1914, and a new church building was commissioned from St. Paul, Minnesota, architect Emmanuel L. Masqueray who had designed the Cathedral of St. Paul and the Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary in Minneapolis. The new building of red brick with stone trim and a crowning cupola with a design inspired by the Italian Baroque was dedicated on May 30, 1915. The adjacent rectory had been the John Thomas family home built c. 1885 and remodeled when the new church was completed.
Download this plaque (PDF format)
Download this plaque (PDF format)
