06/10/2026
Our Reference Librarians and Library Assistants have been hard at work adding local history postcards to the library’s Historical Cedar Valley database, uncovering fascinating pieces of Waterloo’s past along the way. We’re excited to share some of their favorite finds with you.
Named after the crossing of U.S. Highways 412, 218, and 520, ground broke on the Crossroads Center in May of 1967. The original plan for Crossroads included two anchor stores, including Sears, J.C. Penney, as well as a host of other small store spaces. Before construction began, the developers estimated “possibly 135,000 vehicles [would] enter the complex each day” (Waterloo Daily Courier, June 20, 1967, p. 3), leading to high hopes for what Iowa’s first enclosed, fully-air conditioned mall would bring to the local economy. The Sears Store and Outlet opened in 1969, but Crossroads Center didn’t fully open until Spring of 1970.
The mall experienced ups and downs as any retail center might over the years, experiencing renovations, new anchors, and national and local chains. In a multi-page spread published on page 9 of the May 12, 1970 edition of the Waterloo Daily Courier, they laid out all the stores to be seen in Crossroads. Notable stores in the main building and located in out-buildings include a Hy-vee, JCPenney, Osco Drug, Zales, Scheels, Black’s Department Store, Sears, and a branch of the National Bank of Waterloo.
As time went on, Highway 412 was renamed San Marnan Blvd, Highway 218 would be widened into four lanes with a grass median, and Highway 520 would become the Highway 20 we all know today.
Crossroads Mall is currently being demolished for redevelopment under the name The Blvd at Crossroads, with planned commercial and residential developments for the site.
Love local history? Discover more historic postcards, photographs, and Cedar Valley stories in the Historical Cedar Valley database:
https://historicalcedarvalley.omeka.net/
