Little Mexico doesn’t appear on most maps today.

 

But it was here, near the rail yards,where Mexican families built a neighborhood rooted in work, culture, and resilience.

 

Many arrived in Cedar Rapids in the early 20th century, recruited to work on the railroads. Some came during World War I, others during World War II under federal labor programs designed to fill workforce shortages.

 

They lived where they could, sometimes in boxcars, sometimes in small section houses near the tracks.

This was a neighborhood shaped by necessity. Close to work. Close to one another.

 

Like many immigrant communities, Little Mexico existed on the margins of the city’s investment priorities. Areas near railroads and industry were often viewed as less desirable, and when redlining maps were created, these neighborhoods were frequently graded poorly.

 

But redlining wasn’t what erased Little Mexico.

 

Highway construction did.

 

In the mid-20th century, Interstate 380 cut directly through this area. Homes were demolished. Families were displaced. A community disappeared from the physical landscape, even as its legacy remains in Cedar Rapids today.