It seems unusual, if not downright odd, to write a review of an Interstate Highway rest area, but this is a unique case. It’s located on the northbound side of I-380, a spur from I-80 that begins in Iowa City, passes through Cedar Rapids and terminates in Waterloo. This is the only rest area on the 73 mile spur.(There is a southbound rest area across the freeway.) Prior to the opening of this facility, there was a woefully inadequate building serving the rest area. The entire property has been refreshed with the centerpiece being this new building, a standardized Iowa DOT design, that opened in the fall of 2012. New picnic areas and several interesting pieces of décor make the grounds comfortable and attractive. It’s the décor that makes this rest area unique and interesting. Eastern Iowa is Grant Wood territory and this entire rest area is designed around the life and work of Iowa’s most famous artist. Wood was born about 40 miles northeast of here in 1891. His family moved to Cedar Rapids in 1901. Wood took an apprenticeship in metalwork, attended an art school in Minneapolis and enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1924, he returned to Cedar Rapids and rented a loft. It had no address, so he named it «5 Turner Alley» which is commemorated here, on the east wall of the building. Wood also helped found an art colony in Stone City, where students lived in ice wagons. Picnic tables are framed by wire frame wagon structures to commemorate the living quarters of artists in Stone City. Other features of the rest area that pay homage to Wood include the window frames that are modeled after the house windows in his painting, «American Gothic.» The windows are lit with LEDs that change colors at night. The Iowa state quarter is represented in the east entryway — the quarter also pays homage to Wood and his influence on the Iowa art scene. The colorful terrazzo floor mural depicts rows of Iowa farm crops and blends into the rest room vestibules. The vestibules feature Grant paintings, transcribed to ceramic tile, continuing the theme. A small plaque depicts his most famous painting, «American Gothic» and tells the story of the painting and how it came to reside in the museum at the Art Institute of Chicago. The Northbound Rest Area, at mile marker 12 on I-380, is more than a common rest area, it’s a living museum of Iowa and it’s most beloved artist. EDITEDTOADD: The American Gothic House is located in Eldon, Iowa, about 2 hours southwest of here. It has its own Unilocal listing with several reviews and is worth looking up on Unilocal,even if you’re not going to visit.
