What to See in Waterloo - Top Sights and Attractions

Building in Waterloo, Iowa. The Rensselaer Russell House, also known as the Lamson House, is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. Russell was a real estate investor, banker, and a dealer in dry goods. He completed the construction of this two-story Italianate house in 1861. This was one of the first substantial brick houses built in the city. He had to import materials from Dubuque and Chicago to build it. Washington Square, located across the street, was donated by the family to the City of Waterloo in 1871. The house is made up of a two-story brick main block with a smaller 1½-story wing. It features a tall narrow windows, Corinthian columns on the porches, bracketed eaves, and hipped roof capped with a belvedere. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.^[4]

Church building in Waterloo, Iowa. Walnut Street Baptist Church is a church building in downtown Waterloo, Iowa, United States. It has also been known as Faith Temple Baptist Church.

Built in 1908, it was designed for its triangular lot by Waterloo architect Clinton P. Shockley. Although the main exterior materials are merely brick plus stone and concrete trim, the building reflects multiple architectural influences:

The building exhibits the influence of a combination of contemporary architectural styles and trends of the early 20th century including the English Arts and Crafts movement and the Chicago School with minor indications of the academic tradition of the Beaux-Arts.

Clinton Phillip Shockley began his architectural practice in 1906. This was an important work for him. He and Mortimer Cleveland were "by far" the most qualified architects in Iowa and were able to win contracts that would previously have gone to non-Iowa firms.

The Walnut Street Baptist Church congregation worshiped in the facility from its construction until 1970. The congregation was an early leader in the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. Upon relocating to a new facility and changing its name to Walnut Ridge Baptist Church, the congregation sold the downtown site to Faith Temple Baptist Church (American Baptist Churches USA).

The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. In 2019 it was included as a contributing building in the Walnut Street Historic District.^[5]

The Waterloo Masonic Temple is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. The first Masonic lodge in town, No. 105 A.F. & A.M, was established on the west side of the Cedar River in 1857. Lodge No. 296 was organized on the east side of the river in 1871, and the two consolidated into one lodge eight years later. They built their first Masonic Temple in 1899 at the intersection of Sycamore Street and East Park Avenue. The city was in the midst of a period economic growth that would see its population double each decade from 1890 to 1910. By 1918 the Masons felt the need for a new facility. Property at the intersection of East Park Avenue and Mulberry Street was acquired in 1920. Local architect John G. Ralston, a fellow Mason, was chosen to design the new building in what has been termed the "Phoenician Revival" style. The exterior walls were completed in 1925, but the interior wasn't completed until 1928. It is a four-story structure built over a raised basement. Its exterior walls are composed of dark red brick accented with light grey limestone. The main façade features a central entrance pavilion with three entrance ways that terminate in Moorish peaks near the roofline. Various Masonic symbols are found carved into the stone, and decorative brickwork flanks the central stone pavilion. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.^[7]

The Hotel Russell-Lamson is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. Clyde O. Lamson, a real estate developer, and his wife Lillian Russell Lamson were instrumental in the construction of the hotel. Completed in 1914, it uses their family names for its name. The Chicago architectural firm of Marshall & Fox designed the eight-story Georgian Revival building. It utilizes the base-shaft-capital configuration that is typical for this building type. The base is composed of rusticated Bedford limestone, which extends to the mezzanine level. The shaft is six floors of red brick veneer. It contrasts with the limestone trim. The capital is a rather simple cornice composed of moldings and a row of dentils.

From 1919 to 1921 the hotel became the home of the Greater Waterloo Association. It was the result of a merger of four organizations that had worked separately to improve and develop the city. Black Hawk Broadcasting Company established radio station KWWL in the hotel in 1947, and television station KWWL in 1953. Studios for both stations were located in the hotel until 1958. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The 250-room hotel has been converted into a 90-unit apartment building.^[9]

The YMCA Building is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. The local YMCA was established in 1868, three months after the city was incorporated. Its first permanent building was built at this location in 1893. As membership expanded they eventually out grew the building, and it was torn down in 1930. The present building was designed by local architect Mortimer Cleveland and his associate D.B. Toenjes. The general contractor was H.A. Maine Construction. The three-story brick structure features decorative elements from the Art Deco mode. The first level has housed commercial firms in the storefronts. An addition was built onto the west side of the building in 1959 to house adult activities. The local YMCA built a new facility and moved from here in 1982. The following year the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been converted into an office building.^[10]

Building. Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, also known as Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. The congregation that built this building was organized in 1861 as First Methodist Episcopal Church. They built church buildings in 1865 at Lafayette and East Fifth Streets, and then at East Fourth and Mulberry Streets in 1877. They changed their name to Grace in 1895. They completed this building at Walnut and East Fifth Streets in 1913. The brick, Neoclassical structure designed by Turnbill & Jones features a large central dome and a large classical portico with six Ionic columns. Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church acquired the building from Grace United Methodist in 1996. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.^[11]

School in Waterloo, Iowa. Emerson School is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. It is oldest extant school campus on the city's west side. Emerson was established in 1893 when its first building was constructed on this property. It was the third school in West Waterloo. The original building was replaced when the present main building was completed in 1906. The annex was built ten years later to accommodate the school's increased enrollment. They are connected by a hyphen. The complex was designed by Waterloo architect John G. Ralston. The original building is a two-story brick structure on a raised limestone basement designed in the Neoclassical style. It features broken pediment gable ends, stylized pilasters on the gable ends of the upper level, Palladian dormers, and corner pilaster capitals. The annex was designed in the Second Renaissance Revival style. It is also a two-story brick structure. Typical of this style the annex features distinct horizontal divisions separated by belt and stringcourses. There is also a parapet frieze across the top. In 1973 the building became Expo Alternative High School. The building was closed in 1981, and it was later sold. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.^[13]

The Hotel President, also known as the Park Towers Apartments, is an historic building located in downtown Waterloo, Iowa, United States. The building was completed in 1929, and it opened as a "showcase hotel." In 1948, Paul "Pinkie" George and five other wrestling promoters from the Midwest founded the National Wrestling Alliance in the hotel. The manager of the hotel at the time was Lark Gable, the grandfather of Olympic gold medal winner Dan Gable. Various companies owned and operated the hotel until it was acquired in 1968 by Elders Inc. a nonprofit group of churches. They converted the building into subsidized housing. It was bought by local developers Brent Dahlstrom and Jim Sulentic in 2011 and they sold it to Huntley Witmer Development of Los Angeles. Huntley Witmer spent $12 million in 2015 renovating the building that continues to house 84 units of federally subsidized housing. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.^[14]