Downtown Cedar Rapids is soon to become much more striking to the eye, in a couple different places.

If you were in downtown Cedar Rapids for the 4th of July fireworks this year, you saw this beautiful sight. The Alliant Energy tower bathed in red, white, and blue lights.

The former Smulekoff's building across the street and down a block was also lit up, as you can see from the photo below.

Julie James
Julie James
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Earlier this week, the Alliant building was a beautiful rainbow.

Mike Ferris
Mike Ferris
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Ryan Brainard
Ryan Brainard
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Alliant Energy Sr. Communications Partner Justin Foss says what you've seen to this point is just testing of the building's new lighting capabilities. He tells me,

We look forward to the time when we can share this community pride with the Cedar Rapids area.

The 3rd Avenue Bridge in downtown Cedar Rapids is also undergoing a change that will make for a beautiful scene. Nine of the light poles on the bridge are currently being replaced with globe-like fixtures that will have LED lights capable of changing not just colors, but patterns as well. Look for this eye-catching change to the bridge in the coming months, according to the Economic Alliance Report. The photos below were taken today, as work continues.

Julie James
Julie James
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Julie James
Julie James
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We've already seen how beautiful an illuminated Alliant Energy tower can be by itself, as well as paired with the former Smulekoff's building. I can't wait to see what it looks like when both the building and the 3rd Avenue Bridge are popping with color.

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