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Brown Apartments (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

American Craftsman architecture in IowaApartment buildings in Cedar Rapids, IowaApartment buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in IowaIowa building and structure stubsLinn County, Iowa Registered Historic Place stubs
National Register of Historic Places in Cedar Rapids, IowaResidential buildings completed in 1914
Brown Apartments
Brown Apartments

Brown Apartments is a historic building located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. Designed by local architect William J. Brown, this is an early example of an apartment suites building type and the first known English basement apartment building in the city. Other innovations from the time of construction include the janitor's living quarters, a common laundry room, and tenant storage areas. The building's first owners were Arthur and Elizabeth Brown. He was an ice cream manufacturer and marketer, and it is unknown if he was related to the architect. The four-story, brick structure features American Craftsman influences. The symmetrical facade consists of three projecting solarium bays between which are the entry ways into the building. Both of the entry porches has heavy wooden brackets, and each bay is capped with distinctive wood parapets that are supported by heavy timber brackets. Regionalist painter Marvin Cone lived in the building from 1920 to 1923. He dedicated two oil paintings to the Browns in lieu of rent. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

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Brown Apartments (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
4th Avenue Southeast, Cedar Rapids

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 41.983194444444 ° E -91.654361111111 °
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Address

4th Avenue Southeast 1282
52403 Cedar Rapids
Iowa, United States
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Brown Apartments
Brown Apartments
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Second and Third Avenue Historic District

The Second and Third Avenue Historic District is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 186 resources, which included 176 contributing buildings, and 10 non-contributing buildings. This area was developed as a streetcar suburb at the turn of the 20th century. It includes single-family dwellings, apartment buildings, and two churches. The upper part of the district is called the Sampson Heights Addition. It was developed by Ellen Bever Blake and realtor/developer Malcolm Bolton. Blake's brothers James and George Bever developed the lower part of the district that they called the Bever Park Addition. The family members were in litigation for four years over the development as the two Bever sisters maintained that the three brothers received a disproportionate share of the property in their father's estate, and that they never paid for their stock in the Bever Land Company. In the end, their father's will was set aside and the five children agreed to divide the estate equally.The buildings are representative of various architectural styles and vernacular building forms popular from the 1890s through the 1930s. Several prominent architects and architectural firms have buildings here, including Charles W. Bolton of Philadelphia, Louis Sullivan of Chicago, Clausen & Kruse of Davenport, and Charles Dieman and Josselyn & Taylor of Cedar Rapids. St. Paul United Methodist Church (1914) and the William and Sue Damour House (1917) are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

George B. Douglas House
George B. Douglas House

The George B. Douglas House, which later became known as Turner Mortuary East, is owned today by The History Center, Linn County Historical Society. This historic building located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. The house was built for Douglas who was a partner in a cereal mill that became the Quaker Oats Company. David Turner bought the property in 1924 and converted the house into a funeral home. He was a patron of regionalist artist Grant Wood, and Turner leased the carriage house to him from 1924 to 1933. Wood used it as his residence, along with his mother, and as a studio. It was here at #5 Turner Alley that he painted two of his most famous paintings, American Gothic (1930) and Stone City (1930). Wood also worked as a decorator when he lived here and designed the interior of the main house when it was converted into a funeral home. His work included two stained glass windows that flank the main entrance. Several Wood paintings also hung in the funeral home. The house is a 2½-story, brick Georgian Revival structure. It features a symmetrical facade and a hipped roof with three gable dormers. The symmetry, however, was undone by the addition built onto the northeast side. It was designed by local architect Bruce McKay and Grant Wood. Wood is thought to have designed the bay window for the first-floor chapel. Other additions were built onto the back of the structure. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.