Cedar Rapids’ Lighthouse Inn celebrates 112 years of business

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – This past weekend, the Lighthouse Inn Supper Club in Cedar Rapids commemorated its 112th anniversary with an antique car display and a look back at some of the events that have shaped the restaurant’s current identity.

Famous gangsters like Al Capone used to stay at the real inn off the historic Lincoln Highway, which was now the Lighthouse Inn restaurant.

”So you had a lot of traffic from Chicago, especially during prohibition,” said Jason Cullum, one of the event’s hosts.

The restaurant celebrated its historic past on Saturday by serving a special meal that some of its well-known customers used to love.

Tommy Terrill emerged victorious in the auto show, drawing a lot of attention with his distinctive display.

”You don’t just go out and buy one, you have to build it to match your personality,” Terrill said.

According to Terrill, events like these auto exhibitions keep some older rides relevant by drawing in new enthusiasts.

”You go to the car shows, and a lot of the people who have cars like this… are older,” Terrill said.

In addition to preserving history, the auto show also provides financial support for select owners of historic vehicles.

”So we’ve been reached out for unique events for stuff like that, so that’s another cool thing about these is you get out here and people like it and they ask you to do stuff for them,” said Justin Bascom, a car show contestant.

Terrill said he’s just delighted to see the tiny bits of history everyone else brings in, aside from getting to show off his automobile.

”I’ve never been to a car show that I didn’t have fun at.”