Waterloo City Council Approves Convention Center Name Change It's not the first name change for the convention center in downtown Waterloo. Originally built in 1975, the Conway Civic Center was built as the "hub" of the city with the intention to bring convention-goers and tourists from all over the nation. Back in the day, city officials wanted to bring the city's east and westside together, and that's how they arrived at the building's original name. They combined the words, "connecting way", to make "Conway". Vintage Ephemera via Amazon In 1988, the name was changed to the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center 13 years after it opened, the name was changed to honor local heroes, the five Sullivan brothers, who perished when the USS Juneau was sunk during World War II in 1942. After years of hosting numerous conventions, events, and banquets, the 40,000 square foot building was ready for some much-needed repair and renovations.