Congrats, you found a gem here // Hidden gallery #11
Sometimes you just gotta go get it.
Even if someone let you on the roof with permission, it wouldn’t be at night and they certainly wouldn’t let you climb the sign.
So I took it upon myself.
One of the holy grail rooftops of CR photo hunting. Probably third hardest on the list behind US Bank (its a bank) and the Federal courthouse (literally impossible.) Doubletree seems hard but you probably just need to know the right homie.
Nobody has these photos.
Never-before-seen views of Cedar Rapids. Taken in 2016, you can see that the CRST building is still mid-construction. That last photo is Longbranch (RIP) which was a dump, but it would be nice to have a second hotel downtown. Perfect location.
It was the middle of the night, in February, in Iowa. I was so cold up there that I thought I was only going to be able to stay for a few shots…
Then I found a giant vent, not only blowing out hot air, but hot air that smelled like cereal. Not crunchberries necessarily, but definitely cereal. That “sweet spot” helped extend the night, allowing me to spend some time getting the shots I wanted.
Of course I HAD to climb the sign. You can’t get all the way up there and not climb the sign. Rules is rules.
Last few images before I left, to give the climb some context.
I came, I saw, I conquered * Jay-Z voice *