Before electric refrigeration, natural ice was harvested from the Cedar River and stored in an ice house owned by the Cedar Falls Ice and Fuel Company. Built in 1921, the building was 100 feet in diameter, had hollow tile walls 30 feet high, and could hold 6,000-8,000 tons of ice. Ice blocks taken from the river, weighing up to 200 pounds, were stored in sawdust and could remain frozen for 12 months. Ice was delivered to homes in 25 and 50 pound blocks. The last ice harvest in Cedar Falls was in 1934. Over the years, the former ice house was used as a sales pavilion, an ice skating rink, and for boat storage. When the building was threatened with demolition in 1975, a community fundraising effort paid for restoration work, and the building became part of the Cedar Falls Historical Society. It has survived several floods, and today the museum displays exhibits and artifacts about the ice harvest industry and related history of Cedar Falls.