CEDAR RAPIDS - A cultural cornerstone in the Cedar Rapids community held a grand reopening event. The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art opened all of its 16 galleries for the first time since the flood.

Last June, sewage backed up in the basement, putting thousands of works of art in danger.

The museum's grand opening drew in patrons like Alicia Hendrix. "We noticed it was free, we were in the farmer's market just looking around," she says.

With free admission, Hendrix and other art lovers could walk through every gallery the museum has to offer for the first time since last June. "The clean-up and the rebuilding in the basement was a major undertaking," says Sean Ulmer, Curator of Art and Exhibitions. "We had to move all the art up to the second flood where it stayed for many months until we redid the basement."

Now that it's done, museum staff brought out popular favorites, including a Grant Wood display. "This is the first time in 12 months we've had work by Grant Wood and we have all of our big guns out," said Ulmer.

Thousands of pieces of art are now safely stored in the basement, making room for a large guest. The Czech and Slovak Museum sustained major damage in the flood. But their masterpieces found a temporary home at the Cedar Rapids Art Museum. "Many of their treasures have not been on view, but we took down one of our galleries upstairs and recreated, for them, a space."

It's just another draw for Hendrix, who appreciates works from around the world. "I think that it's really important to build a sense of culture. A lot of people share Slovak culture, so it's wonderful for them to come here and maybe see what their ancestors were."

The museum also held a family fun day event, where kids could create their own works of art.