The History Center

The History Center The History Center preserves and tells the story of Linn County, Iowa. The first museum was located at Eighth Ave and First Street in Cedar Rapids.

The History Center began in 1969 as the Linn County Historical Museum Association, formed by several local residents who were interested in permanently preserving the history of Linn County. In the 1990’s we became a professionally accredited museum and named that museum “The History Center.” The organization officially became the Linn County Historical Society. In 1997, a capital campaign began t

o build a new museum at the recently purchased site at First Ave and Sixth Street in downtown Cedar Rapids. The site was formerly Rapids Chevrolet. The new museum was officially opened on June 15, 1999. After careful consideration in 2014, the board of The History Center decided to purchase the Douglas Mansion, which had been donated by the Linge family to the city of Cedar Rapids. The opening of this new location in 2018 will be a new opportunity for The History Center to provide quality programming and exhibits within a building that is a historic treasure itself. You can learn more about our organization and our upcoming move to the Douglas Mansion by visiting our website: historycenter.org

Save the date!! Join us for the 6th Annual Root Beer Festival on the lawn at The History Center on June 20th! www.histo...
05/28/2026

Save the date!! Join us for the 6th Annual Root Beer Festival on the lawn at The History Center on June 20th!

www.historycenter.org/rootbeer

Thank you to all who were able to make it out to our Meet the Author event with Historian Kevin Mason! You can learn abo...
05/28/2026

Thank you to all who were able to make it out to our Meet the Author event with Historian Kevin Mason! You can learn about and follow Kevin on his page: Notes on Iowa.

Join us for Oral Histories LIVE! Featuring Dr. Ruth White! Admission is $8.00 General Public, $6.00 MembersThis program...
05/16/2026

Join us for Oral Histories LIVE! Featuring Dr. Ruth White!

Admission is $8.00 General Public, $6.00 Members
This program takes place at The History Center (800 2nd Ave SE)
Doors Open 5:30 p.m.
Program Starts at 6:00 p.m.

Grab your tickets here: https://www.historycenter.org/oralhistorieslive

Please note, the museum will be closed this Saturday, May 16th for a private event. Looking for a unique venue to host ...
05/12/2026

Please note, the museum will be closed this Saturday, May 16th for a private event.

Looking for a unique venue to host your next event? Contact [email protected] to book the historic Douglas Mansion!

History Happy Hour is in full swing! Come on down and see our very own Executive Director, Jason Wright on the keys! 🎹 M...
05/07/2026

History Happy Hour is in full swing! Come on down and see our very own Executive Director, Jason Wright on the keys! 🎹 Music until 6pm.

Address

800 2nd Avenue SE
Cedar Rapids, IA
52403

Opening Hours

Tuesday 12pm - 4pm
Thursday 4pm - 8pm
Friday 12pm - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+13193621501

Website

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