[September 05, 2011] Fate of first Cedar Falls post office building unknown Tweet Sep 05, 2011 (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- To take a glance at the exterior, it's not too difficult to imagine the post office serving customers back in the early 1900s. Inside the building at 217 Washington Street, imagining a wrecking ball taking the whole thing down isn't too difficult to swallow. The future of the city-owned brick building, which was once the city's first post office building, is uncertain. For nearly eight years, students in the Cedar Falls school district have used the building as the Alternative High School. But this month, the school district plans to move out, leaving the building vacant. The city's long-term plans have that site slated for future expansion of City Hall. Cyndi Sweet, a local historian and member of the new Historic Preservation Commission, believes the building should be restored. The building dates back to 1919, with it opening three years after Congress appropriated $10,000 for its construction. Prior to that, the city had Black Hawk County's first post office, operating out of the second floor of a Main Street building. Cedar Falls also boasted Iowa's first letter carrier. The Historic Preservation Commission was formed this year and is working on developing an inventory of historically significant properties. Sweet thinks the former post office belongs on that list. "The city established a historical preservation commission for a reason and I assume that's to preserve the history in our community," Sweet said. "To not even try to maintain a historical structure so near to our Great American Main Street seems to be counterproductive." Cedar Falls School Superintendent David Stoakes said the interior of the building is not in great condition. Renovating and replacing the mechanical systems could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Richard McAlister, administrative services director for the city, said repairing the building would be expensive. "From a city standpoint, we're not thinking about putting something else in there because the cost to maintain is too high," McAlister said. McAlister said no plans exist to tear the building down, but the city also doesn't plan to make use of it. The building interior had been remodeled several times, serving as an annex to City Hall before being put to use by the schools. Sweet thinks even if the building interior were remodeled and didn't retain any of its original character, the shell still has historical value. "There's a thing called demolition by neglect, where property owners don't maintain properties for years so they can later tear it down because it is in poor condition," Sweet said. Those wishing to preserve the building caught the ear of Councilman Frank Darrah, who recently asked that the issue be sent to a council committee to discuss. ___ (c)2011 Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) Visit Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) at www.wcfcourier.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]