2005 Featured Homes Original Tour Brochure
196 Bluff
Bishop John Hennessy had this building, and the one adjoining it, built as a residence for himself and his two sisters in 1858. At the time of its construction, the building boasted leaded glass in all the doors, wooden porches, cobblestone sidewalks, and stables in the rear. Twenty years later John Hennessey was made the first Archbishop of Dubuque. He brought hundreds of priests and nuns to the area and set up the parochial school system. When the Archbishop died on March 4, 1900, he left the triplex to his sister Ellen. In 1920 Henry Rooney, a switchman for the Illinois Central Railroad, purchased the property. Then it was sold to the McGuinness family in 1944. They lived at the residence for over fifty-four years. Ed, the only son, has fond memories of growing up in the neighborhood. This end of town was called "Little Dublin," due to the large number of Irish living in the area. Even today, the South End Club publishes its own newsletter called "The Little Dublin News."
In 1994, Dean and Susan Fair created the interior which you see today. They restored and repaired walls, woodwork, pocket doors, staircase railing, and remodeled the basement. They also did structural repairs on the exterior. The building now houses Bernardi Investment Services, Inc. The current owners have redone the side porch, the turret, the front doors and windows, and added carpet. They enjoy hearing the bells of St. Raphael Cathedral during working hours. Upon entering the building, look in the room to the left for the Archbishop's cross which is part of the stained glass window.
St. Raphael's Rectory
231 Bluff
This simple, square three-storied red brick Georgian Revival structure was built by Bishop Smyth in 1858 to complement the new cathedral. The rectory has over twenty rooms and eight baths. The entry features solid oak doors which weigh four hundred pounds each. The unusual doors with beveled and stained glass were purchased for the total sum of five dollars (!!) when the Greystone Mansion, formerly on Bluff Street, was torn down. Above the doors is a semi-circular fanlight of stained glass. The rectory has enjoyed continuous maintenance since it was built. Entering the first floor, visitors will see an elaborate clock, made in Germany in the Black Forest. The clock was originally in the Stout House. The hallways are adorned with oils of religious subjects, copied by the students of great masters, purchased by Archbishop Beckman. In the library, over the fireplace, is an Italian carved fifteenth century relief of the crucifixion, the oldest item in the building. The first floor boasts two original marble fireplaces. The main staircase is lit by a beautifully colored stained glass window from Munich. On the second floor is a suite of rooms used by Monsignor Ressler as his private quarters. There is also an "Antique Room," which has a complete matched burled walnut bedroom set, and another guest room and bath.
Visitors are invited to tour the cathedral—if services are not taking place—and the crypt, established in 1902, where bishops are buried. The current cathedral of St. Raphael serves the oldest parish in Iowa and was built under the guidance of Bishop Mathias Loras. It replaces an original native stone church, which stood where the Cathedral Square Fitness Center is now. Housed in a small wooden box under the altar of the Cathedral are the bones of an early Christian martyr, St. Cessanius. Seven bishops and archbishops are buried here: Bishop Loras, Bishop Clement Smyth, Archbishop Hennessey, Archbishop Francis J.L. Beckman, Archbishop Henry P. Rohlman, Archbishop Raymond Etteldorf, and Archbishop James J. Byrne. Major alterations took place in 1876, 1882, 1886, and 1986 when extensive interior renovation was performed.
793 West Third
The first entry for this property is U.S. government to Cardiff in July 1844. In the mid 1850s, it passed to George and William Kelley. 1850 is the first year that a structure is mentioned in the abstract. A simple miners' shack or cabin was built on the back of the site where the kitchen now stands. Major front and read additions later transformed the building to a three story home with a brick façade, extensive brackets, and Mansard roof in the Second Empire style.
Unfortunately, modernization during the 1950's stripped the residence of its original character and details. Interior staircases and French doors were removed, fireplaces were covered up, and each floor became a separate apartment. The current owners purchased the home in 1980 and later renovated the second and third floors, installing a spiral staircase to connect them. This area is now a private apartment, occupied by a family member.
In 1998, the owners decided to renovate the first floor. Because the house was devoid of original detailing, they had a clean slate. They gutted and reconfigured the interior space, combining old and new materials in creative ways. The result is the comfortable apartment where they live. The first floor living quarters include an entry, parlor, guest room with an office tucked in a closet, a bath, kitchen, and master bedroom with attached bath.
Maple and long leaf yellow pine flooring, harvested to near extinction at the turn of the century, was salvaged flooring from the old Adams Company. It was replaned and is now in use as the kitchen ceiling, woodwork and bedroom built-ins. Pat Marsh did much of the renovation work. An old tin ceiling from St. Mary's Church covers the front of the kitchen island and part of a kitchen wall where a fireplace used to be. Two heavy doors are installed as sliders to provide privacy to bath and bedroom and save space. Surplus granite, marble, and tile all found their way into the project as the owners recycled and reused. Their creativity and imagination show what can be done to make a remarkable home from a building which was stripped of interest.
541 West Third
It is not certain when this Italian Villa style home was built. The first entry in the incomplete abstract is dated October 15, 1845, United States to Sylvester Saucier. Greek Key woodwork throughout the home suggests it was built in the 1850s. It stands on land formerly owned by J.K. Graves, who built the Fourth Street elevator and the Shot Tower. Some rumors imply that Graves built the home. In the 1870s it was used as a young ladies Episcopal Seminary. It has a gabled roof and is L-shaped. A tower rises from the southeast corner. The round-topped windows are paired. At their base, a decorative line of brickwork surrounds the house. The former address was 141 West Third Street and originally included a small barn and fruit orchard. Nancy Steil Greco (b. 1932), one of ten children born in the home, remembers the south slope as a terrace with grape vines. Her father, Joseph Steil, bought the home in 1908. One family member reportedly used the tower for violin practice. The Kirkegaards purchased the property in 1996 and installed a new roof and two furnaces, one on the ground floor and one in the attic. In 2003 the tuckpointing of the brick was completed. Interior storms were fitted on the main windows, so the original arch over each window remains preserved from the outside. The veranda was built before the porch was restored. The porch was enclosed with new arched windows with the help of craftsman Mark Ihm.
The main floor has an updated kitchen and bath. The dining room and parlor have veranda windows. On the parlor side the windows give access to a balcony on the south facade. The Kirkegaards speculate the balcony was once wrought iron. The ceiling light in the parlor is original. The parlor has a warming fireplace and the dining room had a place for a stove.
In the front hall, a spiral staircase rises all the way to the tower. Artisan Kirk Barron restored the front door leading to the glassed-in porch. The fireplace mantel in the third floor master bedroom is original and its stove is paired with the one in the parlor. There are two other bedrooms and a large bathroom on this floor. The other bedrooms were warmed by small stoves.
591 Fenelon Place
This vernacular two-story home has a hip-core with broad eaves, full bay, and front dormer. The classic revival front porch, recently restored by the owners, has half-sized paired Tuscan columns. The land was purchased from the government in 1849 by Sylvester Saucier. The final vacant land owners were Joseph and Lucy Sheridan. In 1906 they sold the property to Joseph F. and Susan McParland, who then built the house. Joseph was a local dentist and Susan worked in a bank. When the Browns purchased the home, there were still marks on the dining room floor where Dr. McParland had his dental chair. In 1945, when he became a widower, he sold the house. Then the Huntoon, Bertsch, Kucera, Curry, and Hesse families lived in the home until the Browns purchased it in 1997. The original address of the property was 72 Fenelon Place.
The interior woodwork is oak on the first floor and pine on the second. A beveled glass window faces the porch. Shirley has painted the walls in the entry, which has a Dubuque theme. Typical of homes at this time in history, there is a beautiful oak staircase, ornamented by a brightly colored stained glass window on the landing. The dining room has an oak built-in sideboard, pocket doors, and a plate rail. The double parlor, separated by oak pillars found at an auction, has been restored to its former appearance. Brad has done all the work himself, including restoring the front porch and removing the deck from the dining room roof, himself. The next project is the replacement of the second floor bath. Brad and Shirley were honored in January 2005 by the Dubuque County Historical Society for their restoration of this wonderful home.