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Photograph of Hotel President
Photograph by Jim Roberts, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Hotel President

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

From the record

“The Hotel President, also known as the Park Towers Apartments, is an historic building located in downtown Waterloo, Iowa, United States. The building was completed in 1929, and it opened as a "showcase hotel." In 1948, Paul "Pinkie" George and five other wrestling promoters from the Midwest founded the National Wrestling Alliance in the hotel.”

Wikipedia article Hotel President (Waterloo, Iowa), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 51 National Register listings published here for Black Hawk County · listed in 2017 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 500 Sycamore St., Waterloo, 50703
  • When was it listed? April 2017
  • Category. building
  • City. Waterloo city
  • Architectural style. Renaissance Revival architecture
  • Architect. H.L. Stevens & Company
  • National Register reference number. 100000484 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Fires near this property

8 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Hotel President between 2002 and 2011, burning about 12 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined6
Arson/incendiarism1
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
6 July 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 May 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources1690 HWY 218 AND 27, IA
14 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
31 March 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources315 W DUNKERTON, IOWA
27 March 2002Recreation and ceremony2.0 acresIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
26 February 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Black Hawk County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Hotel President: 8 past producers, 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Burton Avenue QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Stead Bros. and Guenther Clay PitClayPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Waterloo Pit and PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Black Hawk County

Storms near this property

60 of 168 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Waterloo, the town this property stands in, in 168 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 66 hail, 50 thunderstorm wind, 23 heavy rain, 14 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2008LightningWaterloo1 hurtLighting struck and injured one outside of the Waterloo Post Office.
July 2006HailWaterloo$1,000,000no account filed
June 2002LightningWaterloo$1,000,000no account filed
July 1999Flash FloodWaterloo$1,000,000no account filed
July 2001Flash FloodWaterloo$250,000no account filed
June 2008Flash FloodWaterloo$150,000Two to 3 feet of water standing in Waterloo near the Sycamore area. Water was also over portions of Black Hawk Road.
May 1999Flash FloodWaterloo$150,000no account filed
July 2010Heavy RainWaterloo$100,000Rainfall of 3.8 to 4 inches since 0430 CST. Several houses have water in the basement.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$100,000no account filed
May 2013Flash FloodWaterloo$75,000A car stalled in flash flood waters near the Grout Museum.
May 2004Flash FloodWaterloo$75,000no account filed
June 1998FloodWaterloo$75,000no account filed
July 2025Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$50,000Several reports across Waterloo of trees on utility lines and transformers. Power is out in various locations around Waterloo. Time estimated by radar and ASOS recorded gust.
March 2024LightningWaterloo$50,000Delayed report of house fire in vicinity due to lightning. Time of lightning strike estimated from radar.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$50,000Large trees down, power lines down, some damage to home on Gloria Drive.
July 2010Flash FloodWaterloo$50,000Law enforcement reported the road impassible at the intersection of Franklin and Elm Street due to water.
April 2009Flash FloodWaterloo$50,000Reports of 18 to 24 inches of flowing water through the intersection.
March 2007FloodWaterloo$50,000no account filed
July 2006HailWaterloo$50,000no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$50,000no account filed
September 2001Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$50,000no account filed
May 2000Flash FloodWaterloo$50,000no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$50,000no account filed
June 1998FloodWaterloo$50,000no account filed
April 1997Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$50,000no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$40,000Damage to homes due to downed tree limbs.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$30,000Trees and power lines were down across the Waterloo and Cedar Falls area including the University of Northern Iowa. One tree fell on a house.
April 2013HailWaterloo$25,000Quarter size hall covering the ground two the three inches deep at the intersection of Conger St and Highway 63.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$25,000Tree fell on a house.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$25,000Numerous trees blown down.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$25,000Large trees were down in the southern end of Waterloo. Power lines taken down as well. Another tree was downed in Evansdale.
April 2013HailWaterloo$25,000no account filed
April 2010HailWaterloo$25,000no account filed
July 2006HailWaterloo$25,000no account filed
May 2003HailWaterloo$25,000no account filed
May 2002HailWaterloo$25,000no account filed
June 2018Flash FloodWaterloo$20,000KWWL reported flash flooding along 4th St in downtown Waterloo.
June 2008Flash FloodWaterloo$20,000Sixth Street and Lafayette in Waterloo under water one half block in either direction.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$20,000Several large trees and numerous large branches were down along Highway 63 in the southern section of Waterloo.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$20,000no account filed
June 2001Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$20,000no account filed
May 2000HailWaterloo$20,000no account filed
July 2008LightningWaterloo$15,000KWWL reported that lightning struck a home in Waterloo around 1500 CST. Fire crews were called to the scene.
April 2010HailWaterloo$15,000no account filed
August 2016Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$10,000Media reported a large tree down on some power lines. Delayed report.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$10,000Trees were reported down from high wind.
April 2009Flash FloodWaterloo$10,000Flooding has popped up manhole covers on Upton Ave near Ansborough Ave.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$10,000no account filed
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$10,000no account filed
July 2007Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$10,000no account filed
March 2006HailWaterloo$10,000no account filed
April 2006HailWaterloo$10,000no account filed
March 2005Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$10,000no account filed
May 2004HailWaterloo$10,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$10,000no account filed
May 2003HailWaterloo$10,000no account filed
September 2001Thunderstorm WindWaterloo$10,000no account filed
May 2000FloodWaterloo$10,000no account filed
June 2000LightningWaterloo$10,000no account filed
August 1998FloodWaterloo$10,000no account filed

Every storm recorded in Black Hawk County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Waterloo East Commercial Historic District0.1 miles2011
Marsh-Place Building0.1 miles1998
Waterloo Masonic Temple0.1 miles2013
Fowler Company Building, The0.2 miles2009
Waterloo Public Library-East Side Branch0.2 miles1988
Black Hawk County Soldiers Memorial Hall0.2 miles1988

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 100000484 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Black Hawk CountyAll 51 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.