The house Mike Ford built gains early 1900s fame
The Cedar Rapids stone residence on Linden Drive SE built by contractor Mike Ford in the early 1900s drew praise as a showplace and won a stonework award. Ford, born in 1868 in Iowa City to Irish parents, rose from barber to contractor, partnering in sewer and paving before founding a multi-state asphalt firm.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cedar Rapids
Linden Drive
Dr. Stark
Mike Ford
Ford
Iowa City
Elizabeth
Lizzie” Mentz
Second Street
Fourth Avenue
R.C. Delahunt
Purington Brick and Tile Co
Galesburg
Ford's Cedar Rapids era and Cedar Rapids Palace theater rise
Frederick Brown and Ford built major Cedar Rapids landmarks in early 1900s. The Palace opened 1912 on Second Avenue SE seating 730, followed by the Strand in 1915, attracting local praise and a Tribune gloss. Ford later paved roads including Lincoln Highway Seedling Mile near Mount Vernon. He died July 6, 1920, at age 52. The Linden Drive home passed to Cal Stark in 1946, later owned by Jack and Sarah Else who began a lengthy restoration.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ford
Cedar Rapids
Palace
Second Avenue
Third Street
Strand
the World
Mount Vernon
Linden Drive
Cal H. Stark
Alyce Kennedy Stark
Stark
Army Air Force
Starks
Dr. Stark
Jack
Sarah Else
Mike Ford Dies at 52. Cedar Rapids Builders Remembered
Mike Ford, president of Ford Paving Co. and co owner of several Iowa theaters, died July 6 1920 on his 52nd birthday. He and his wife Elizabeth built a Cedar Rapids home at 1900 Linden Dr SE that remained in Ford family until 1946.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Evening Gazette
Mike Ford
Ford Paving Co
Iowa
Ford
Elizabeth
Linden Dr. SE
Cedar Rapids
Also Mentioned on This Page
C.R
Diane Fannon-Langton
Grande Avenue Land Co
Ridgewood
Linden
Alyce
D.fanonlangton
Gmail
Thegazette.com
Frederick
W.J. Brown
M. Ford
the Gazette
John
Frank Klepach
American Carpenter and Builder Magazine of
Chicago
Tribune
George Hen
William Baylis
Whipple
Cedar Rapids Public Library
Rob Cline
Is Generou
Mike
Esther Wilson
Esther S
HistoryCenter.org
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!