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| CEDAR RAPIDS | Pop. 45,566 | Control, Hotel Montrose |
| Clinton 80.0 |
Marshalltown 73.2 |
Eleven hotels, 12 garages. speed permitted, 25 miles. Two railroad crossings at grade, protected. Ten banks, 4 railroads, 3 interurban lines, express company, telephone company, 4 newspapers, public playgrounds and bathing beaches, natural scenic features, Elks' Home, 192 factories, largest cereal mills in the world, starch works, meat packing plant, Automobile Club, Chamber of Commerce. Free tourists' park. |
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Good Dirt, Concrete |
L.H. Local Consul, P.C. Rude, 511 2nd Avenue | |
- A Complete Official Road Guide of The LINCOLN HIGHWAY Fifth Edition (1924)
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East of Marion and Cedar Rapids.
Just west of the Seedling Mile as described in the Mt. Vernon web page, the early Lincoln Highway traveler continued northwest on gravel into Marion. In the 1920s, however, the route was changed with the construction of Mt. Vernon Road, so that at the end of the Seedling Mile, the driver turned due west into Cedar Rapids, bypassing Marion altogether. This truss bridge sits on the older, Marion version of the Highway on O'Connor Road. The seven segments in its arch identifies it as a Pennsylvania truss bridge.
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Marion.
The 1913 Lincoln Highway went through what today is the golf course at the east edge of Marion. The highway infrastructure at both ends of the course has been drastically changed in recent years, and although the exact route through the golf course grounds is not certain, most people believe this bridge once carried travelers into Marion.
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Marion.
After jogging block by block in eastern Marion, the Lincoln Highway eventually made its way to 7th Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Marion and the connecting road with Cedar Rapids to its southwest. Along this grand street are several 19th century buildings boasting some magnificent brick and mortar work, including the First National Bank building above.
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Cedar Rapids.
On the newer Lincoln Highway route, Mt. Vernon Road, there still exists some nice roadside charm, like the Lighthouse Restaurant.
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Cedar Rapids.
In beautiful downtown Cedar Rapids and along the Lincoln Highway, Coe College celebrates its sesquicentennial in 2001.
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Cedar Rapids.
The First Avenue bridge carried the Lincoln over the Cedar River past the city hall building.
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West of Cedar Rapids.
The flashy sign of the Ced-Rel, a long-time motel and eating establishment on the western outskirts of town. The road in the background is four-lane U.S. 30, but the 14-foot-wide Lincoln Highway passed this same way in 1913.
"Cedar Rapids advertisers were well represented in the [1924 Road] Guide. Checker Motor Supply offered Mazda Lamps, Gargoyle Mobiloils, and Goodyear Tires. Ed Killian's department store offered a restroom, a 'bureau of information,' a post office, and a tea room with 'good food at reasonable prices.' The Allison Hotel provided fireproof rooms for $1.50 up, European. The Lincoln Hotel, on the highway at Fourth Street, advertised rooms without bath for $1 up. Hotel Montrose ... was for the high rollers - 300 rooms, $2 up, with an all-night coffee shop."
- Gregory Franzwa, The Lincoln Highway: Iowa, The Patrice Press, 1995.
All images Copyright © Paul W. Walker, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001.