1870 - 1890: This block of Downtown Cedar Rapids was primarily residential before 1875 with the exception of the first Union railroad station at the corner of First Avenue and the railroad tracks. This old frame depot had been built in the 1860’s following the arrival of the first railroad to Cedar Rapids in 1859. In 1877, William Waterhouse built a fine new three story “business block at the corner of Third Street and First Avenue NE. It was originally intended to be an office structure on the upper two levels and retail space below.
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