1998 Featured Homes Original Tour Brochure
1272 Locust
How could the Victorians accommodate a typical family on a lot only twenty feet wide? Build a row house! Records indicate that Edward Langworthy deeded the north half of this property to John and Viola Rider in June 1872 and the south half to George and Emily Wood in 1878. The house was probably built between those years. Three spacious stories created a surprisingly roomy interior where a family could spread out.
As you enter the large hall through double front doors, there is a display of pink Depression glass. A set of French doors—added to keep drafts out of the living quarters— leads into a double parlor with matching fireplaces. The dining room has a collection of flow blue and Wedgewood china. The stenciled kitchen has an original built-in pine cupboard. A convenient bath has been tucked under the staircase.
Upstairs, there are three spacious bedrooms and a charming old bathroom. The master bedroom is in a green, yellow, and white garden theme. A back guest bedroom, which was the maid’s quarters, has a trapunto work quilt which is a replica of one in the National Museum of History. Many of the rooms on this story were probably restored in the early 1900s.
There is a spacious third floor with two more rooms. The unusual thing about this tour home is that the owners have only been in possession for half a year and have redecorated the entire house in that time while living in it!
199 Loras Boulevard
The Mandolin Inn was built in 1908 by Fridolin J. Heer & Son as the family home of N.J. Schrup. Schrup was a Dubuque banker who founded American Trust and Savings, served two terms as state senator, and was knighted by the king of Belgium after World War I. The Queen Anne mansion is constructed of gray brick with contrasting geometric brick trim and a green tile roof. Agrand porch surrounds two sides of the house, and there is a six-sided tower with ornamental brickwork. The east-facing gable has a Palladian window with columns.
The inn takes its name from an unusual zinc and painted stained glass window which depicts St. Cecilia, patron of musicians. There is elaborate woodwork throughout the house, but the dining room is exceptionally detailed, with a fantasy forest decorating the area above the oak paneling. The beveled glass china cabinet on one wall compliments a superb fireplace detailed with Italian tiles in the corner.
Mr. Schrup's two unmarried daughters lived in the home until 1950, when it was occupied by the archdiocese of Dubuque as a convent. In 1972 it was used as a group home, then a law office, and later an apartment with rented rooms. In 1988, renovation was begun by Judy Sinclair. Jan Oswald, the present owner, has continued improvements and added the touch of her gardening skills.
1655 Main
This stately red brick Second Empire style home was built in 1883 by Nicholas Thedinga, son of the first German mayor of Dubuque, in the fashionable and upscale neighborhood of Jackson Park. The slate tile mansard roof tops the Eastlake-style trimmed home, which is almost unchanged by time except for the 1912 front porch addition. When the house was purchased by Nicholas J. Loes, a prominent Dubuque businessman, the family undertook an extensive renovation which is documented by existing blueprints and invoices. At one time, Dr. William J. Loes conducted his medical practice from the house, but it has always been lovingly maintained as a single family home. Dennis and Gail Naughton purchased the home in 1978 from the last remaining family member, Leta, sixty-five years after she moved into it.
The interior is highlighted by rich mahogany (stained) woodwork, oak floors, many early light fixtures, and six bay windows. When they purchased the home, the Naughtons removed a non-functional pantry and created a large country kitchen. An interesting collection of Charlie McCarthy memorabilia can be seen here. Other major changes include making over the dining room into a family room and remodeling the basement into a recreation room. This area is now used as a law office. Through the years, the Naughtons have collected the many antiques, lighting fixtures, and family heirlooms seen throughout the home.
1921 Madison
The 1998 tour offers a sneak preview of a “diamond in the rough” in the early stages of restoration. The DeLires recently purchased the house after it had been in the same family for 105 years.
Dominating the Madison Street hill is this classic Queen Anne home with a panoramic view. Built by watchmaker and jeweler A.R. Staufenbeil in 1893, it has a corner turret and a large porch with detailed spindlework. An early pioneer to the Dubuque area, Staufenbeil arrived in Dubuque in 1853 when he was two years old. At the age of fourteen, he entered the employ of Wormwood Jewelry, and within a few years had his own shop at 1420 Clay (now 1360 Central). He built this residence shortly after his first wife, Matilda Robisch, died and he married her sister, Olinda. Three daughters from the second marriage, along with three sons from the first, grew up in this ornate home.
A beveled leaded glass front door leads into a foyer with elaborate woodwork and stained glass windows. All the floors in the downstairs are detailed parquet. The ceilings were painted by Danish artist August Rasmussen, and retain their original gilded light fixtures. Through the pocket doors is a fireplace adorned with hand-stamped brass and ceramic tiles which depict women holding falcons. Between the two curved windows, another stained glass window frames the view of downtown Dubuque. In the kitchen, the original stove and zinc-trimmed stone sink remain, along with the massive built-in icebox.
658 Fenelon Place
Believed to have been built in 1857 by George Cannon, a local grocer, this originally Victorian Italianate home was remodeled after a disastrous fire destroyed its third floor ballroom, cupola, and a porch which stretched across the entire front. Today it reflects a more simplified Federal style facade with a unique upright coved roof cornice. A twostory section with a summer kitchen and dumbwaiter was added to the southwest side about 1900, and the corresponding eastern sun porch was added in 1920. In the late 1950s, the house was subdivided into apartments. In 1985 it was completely gutted and restored to its former dignity.
The home features two marble fireplaces and floor-toceiling windows on the main level. Original embossed tin ceilings and oak floors still enhance the dining room and parlor. In 1988 a deck and garage were added to the home, and in 1990 the summer kitchen, basement, and garage areas were renovated, giving the home three levels of living space. The home originally had double inner and outer front doors, which the owners plan to restore.
448 Summit
Probably erected by Jesse P. Farley in 1856, this Italianate style red brick was built on land purchased from Sylvester Saucier, who had received it for homesteading. Farley is known for bringing the railroad to this area, and the town of Farley is named for him. The first person to live here was Edmund Mattox, who was listed as a gardener in the 1856 Dubuque directory. There may have been an addition in 1860, as the value of the house increased from $1750 to $3000. From 1860 to 1869, Richard and Mary Waller occupied the house, and it is listed as being sold on May 22, 1869, to Alpheus and Martha Palmer for $4000. The Palmers owned Palmer and Brothers Wholesale and Retail on Main Street, where they sold books, stationery, wallpaper, pianos and organs. In September 1884, the house sold again to Edward and Luella Harding, who bought it for $4550. After this the house changed hands frequently.
In the 1920s, a swimming pool was added. It was refurbished in 1980 and more recently by the present owners. Just outside the master bedroom on the upper deck is a hot tub. The Johnsons also added a large garage, being careful to match the bricks. The walnut staircase and front porch were restored. This porch was voted the "favorite of the year" by art students of a local school. The Johnsons refinished all the hardwood floors and added a bathroom when they were redecorating.