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.

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.

The Henry Weis House is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. Weis was a factory owner that produced egg case fillers, which were used to protect eggs during shipping. He engaged the local architectural firm of Murphy & Ralston to design this house, which was completed in 1902. Architecturally, the two-story frame structure is "transitional" in its design, featuring elements of the Queen Anne and the Colonial Revival styles. The Queen Anne is found in its irregular plan, wraparound porch, full-height bays, small second floor porch, and the small screened porch. The Colonial Revival is found in the Ionic fluted porch columns, and the consoles with a row of dentils located along the cornice. The house also features foliated designs on the gable ends. It remained in the Weis family into the 1930s when it was converted into apartments. It has subsequently been converted into a bed and breakfast. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.The home sold in 2022 to owners Christopher and Kelly Schmitz who run it as a Bed and Breakfast. They have a historical marker and several informational displays about the property and the life and business of Henry Weis whose family cemetery plot is also located nearby. The home is listed with the Grout Historical Museum, located only blocks away, as a location of interest but most historical data related to the site are located in the house itself.

The Snowden House is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. William Snowden was a local pharmacist. He had this house built in 1878. It became the home of the Waterloo Women's Club in 1922. The house is a two-story, brick, rectangular Italianate structure. It features a hip roof, a shallow gable with a blind oculus on the main facade, bracketed eaves, and a full-length front porch. The house has segmentally arched windows throughout, with the windows on the front capped with hoodmolds. The two-story wing on the back is a later addition. The interior was completely rebuilt after a 1955 fire. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

The Waterloo Public Library is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. The public library was established there in 1896. It operated out of two rented rooms, one on the east side of the Cedar River and other on the west side. The Carnegie Foundation agreed to grant the community $21,000 to build this building and a similar amount for the east side branch on April 11, 1902. Waterloo architect J.G. Ralston designed both buildings in the Neoclassical style. They were both dedicated on February 23, 1906. The single-story brick structure has a projecting entrance pavilion capped with a triangular pediment that is supported by Ionic columns. Also noteworthy are the corner piers that feature bands of brick squares set into the stone. In 1977 voters in Waterloo approved a $3,650,000 bond referendum to renovate the city's 1938 post office and federal building to house the library. The post office vacated the building in 1979 when it relocated. The old library building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It now houses law offices.

Master Service Station, also known as Bennett's Tire & Battery Co., is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. This was one of the first "super service stations" built in the city. Developed in California in the early 1920s, they combined a filling station with other auto-related services. The first one was built in Waterloo in 1928, and this was one of three that opened in 1930. Located on a corner lot, it is a single-story structure that follows an L-shaped plan. The building exhibits both Art Deco (piers) and Spanish Colonial Revival (tower and tile roof). Its original owner, Homer L. Lichty, lost the business to bankruptcy in 1932. The station was acquired by John G. Miller, who constructed the building. Miller sold the station in 1934. Bennett's Tire & Brake Co., a Waterloo Goodyear tire dealer, moved in sometime after that and remained until 1960. The Waterloo Convention & Visitors Bureau is now located in the building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

The Waterloo West Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 25 resources, including 22 contributing buildings, and three non-contributing buildings. The buildings are from one to three stories in height, and for the most part are clad in brick. The earliest building dates to 1882 and the latest, as of 2014, to 2000. For the must part they utilize the Victorian, Romanesque Revival, and Italianate commercial styles. Ornamentation is minimal. The buildings are all commercial structures with the exception of the former Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway Depot, designed by the Cedar Rapids architectural firm of Josselyn & Taylor. Several of the buildings housed automobile-related businesses that clustered along West Fifth Street beginning in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Campbell Baking Company is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. Built in 1927, the single-story, yellow brick structure is basically a utilitarian building with Spanish Revival decorative elements on its primary and secondary façades. An addition from the early 1930s complements the original building, while additions from 1957 and 1977 do not. The last addition incorporated an unrelated brick building into the bakery complex. The original building was designed by the Toledo, Ohio architectural firm of Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff, and built by the John G. Miller Construction Company. The building represents the consolidation of the bakery industry in the early 20th century from neighborhood retail bakers to local wholesalers to national industrial wholesale bakery companies. The Campbell Baking Company entered the Waterloo market as a financial backer of the Peerless Baking Company, which was formed in 1917. Campbell took over Peerless in 1921 in an older bakery building. It had become outmoded and too small for their needs, so they had this building constructed. They produce Wonder Bread and Hostess Twinkies here. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

The Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in Iowa, anchored by the cities of Waterloo and Cedar Falls. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 163,706 (though a July 1, 2009 estimate placed the population at 164,913). As of the 2010 Census, the MSA had a population of 169,484.

Young Arena is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Waterloo, Iowa, United States, and was built in 1994. It is home to the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League, the Waterloo Warriors of the Midwest High School Hockey League, the Waterloo Youth Hockey Association, the University of Northern Iowa Hockey Club, the Waterloo Adult Hockey Association and the Cedar Valley Figure Skating Club. Young Arena has also hosted the NCAA Division III wrestling championships, AAU youth wrestling tournaments and a college basketball game in December 1997 between UNI and UMKC.

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.

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.