Corridor Collaboration: Preserving Cedar Rapids’ History

When floodwaters overtook Eastern Iowa in 2008, Cedar Rapids alone suffered $3 billion worth of damage. The disaster claimed homes, facilities, and cultural resources, while threatening to destroy many of the city’s treasured artifacts. Water submerged a priceless collection of 5,000 phonograph records spanning 80 years of Czech and Slovak music, while mud and rust took a toll on precious keepsakes at the nearby African American Museum of Iowa.

If not for a partnership between local museums and the University of Iowa Libraries, many of these valuable relics may have perished.

The UI Alumni Association(UIAA) will hold the event “Corridor Collaboration: Preserving Cedar Rapids’ History” on Thursday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, 1400 Inspiration Place SW, Cedar Rapids, to further explore their work.

This program, which is free and open to the public, is part of the UIAA Lifelong Learning series.

During this reception and program, representatives from UI Libraries, the National Czech & Slovak Museum, and the African American Museum will display and discuss the restored items—and explain how their organizations united to preserve an important piece of the community’s cultural heritage. They will also highlight another positive outcome of the flood: the creation of a statewide 25-member disaster response team that now stands ready to assist other Iowa communities.

Learn more and register by noon on Tuesday, April 21.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, contact Whit France-Kelly in advance at 319-335-2311 or whit-france-kelly@uiowa.edu.