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!
Most tumultuous Cedar Rapids decade in business history
Cedar Rapids faced a decade of upheaval as its biggest employer Rockwell Collins shrank from 12,000 to under 6,000 and rebounded to about 12,000. Exports surged 352 percent while industrial payroll rose 140 percent amid automation. A new Five Seasons Center boosted conventions and a regional mall emerged as downtown merchants planned a revival. The era also saw rail and airline service struggles, a changing trucking sector, and rapid expansion of aerospace and avionics lines. Rockwell Collins became Cedar Rapids’ largest single installation within Rockwell International, reflecting a broader rebound as new aircraft programs and avionics systems rolled out through the 1970s and into the 1980s.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cedar Rapids
Five Seasons Center
Iowa
Midwest
Rockwell-Collins
Clare Rice
Avionics and Missiles Group
Collins Radio Co
Collins
Rockwell International
Rockwell-Coulins
Rice
Boeing
Dick Petska
Chamber of Commerce Transportation Bureau
Petska
Bill Scharnberg
Cargill
Rock Island
Bob Gilliatt
Pacific Intermountain Express
Interstate Commerce Commission
Millard
Westdale Mall
Lindale Mall
I-380
Kirkwood Community College
Noland
General Mills