National Register-listed Building was almost 150 years old
Posted by CC on February 16th, 2008 9:56 am
On Saturday, February 9, 2008, the Olde Broom Factory Restaurant in Cedar Falls was demolished. Saved from a similar fate 30 years ago, the building served as a popular dining spot until it closed last September. According to the Cedar Falls website, the building was originally constructed to mill cornstarch, but was also used to mill oatmeal, cure pickles, and to manufacture wooden pumps, washing machines, and brooms. Dorothy Stitt purchased the building in 1976 when the city was planning to demolish it. She had the building (officially known as the Forrest Milling Company Oatmeal Mill) listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In recent years, it passed to her daughter and son-in-law, Lynne and Youri Dimitrov, who were forced to close the restaurant last fall due to a roof leak. According to a news report in the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, Youri Dimitrov decided to demolish the building when engineering reports showed the building could not be saved. He intends to build two new buildings on the site: one housing condominiums and another for a restaurant and bar.
To find out more, go to: www.waterloocourier.com
