Yesterday, I arrived in Cedar Rapids and decided to run a first leg of the Cedar Rapids flood driving tour and made it from Point A-I. Early this morning, I got up to run the remaining Points J-Q.
This morning’s jaunt was a bit longer and more humbling. Yesterday’s run had remnants of homeowners rebuilding their houses waiving at me as I ran by. This morning’s run was virtually vacant. It was in southern downtown and west in the Taylor neighborhood which still smelled like flood – 15 months later.
A couple blocks from my hotel I found an unknown checkpoint at a barber shop.

Barber Shop
From there, it was to southern downtown to Point J, the Legion Arts Building which had 11 feet of water.

CSPS - Legion Arts Building
Across the street, a gutted out House.

House by Legion Arts Building
From there, it was about a 6 block run to Point K – St. Wenceslaus Church. There was complete damage to the basement and some on the main floor. It appears to be back up for services.

St. Wenceslaus Church
Across the street? Not so pretty with a row of vacant, gutted homes.

Gutted Out Homes
Point L was next at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library where the water reached 8 feet. It appears to now be functional.

National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
A view of the Czech Village from the north. About half the business appear to still be vacant.

Chech Village
Another Czech Village view from the south.

Czech Village
Here’s a vacant, gutted out house in the Czech Village.

Gutted Out House In Czech Village
Point M says it all. Total gutted out home for this Cedar Rapids resident.

Point M - Another Gutted House
Near there is a Flying Wienie Chicago Dogs shop. People really seem to like it. I don’t know if it is open or not.

I couldn’t find Point N, but a house nearby has a message.

Keep Off Yard
A couple blocks from there, a family is trying to rebuild their home. No one is picking up the trash on their boulevard.

Trash on Blvd
Point O is the Linn County Administration Building. It doesn’t look damaged although they still have temporary headquarters elsewhere.

Linn County Administration Building
Between the next check point, a couple of drunken tweens still up from the night before were looking for 40 ounce beers. I did not have one on me. I’m not against a bad 40, but don’t prefer to carry one when I run.
Near there, a particular home has a message.

Cedar Rapids - Forgotten City
I got lost for a bit but then found Point P which is Taylor Elementary School which received 3 feet of water. This is a good 7 blocks from the river.

Taylor Elementary School
Point Q was the last on the list. The Cedar Rapids Community School District still have temporary locations.

Cedar Rapids Community School District
On the way back to the hotel, I noticed an official driving tour sign at the Veterans Memorial building.

Driving Tour Point at the Veteran's Memorial
Back to the hotel, there were plenty of these signs.

Rebuild Downtown Cedar Rapids
These two days of running was somber and it allowed me to truly appreciate the city. For readers in Minnesota, Cedar Rapids is not much different than a Rochester or St. Cloud which has rivers within it. The biggest difference is that Cedar Rapids is larger.
These pictures alone doesn’t do justice. You’d have to be there.
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