Participate in Iowa Museum Week?June 10 through 15?by enjoying a free tour of Brucemore. Follow a guide on a tour of the 21-room mansion and investigate the art, furnishings, technology, architecture, surrounding landscape, and stories preserved at Brucemore. Tours will be offered every thirty minutes Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 3:00 p.m. The last tour will begin at 3:00 p.m.  Free tours during Iowa Museum Week are sponsored by Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust.

Three families owned the Brucemore estate between 1884 and 1981?the Sinclairs, the Douglases, and the Halls. They were business and community leaders during a century of evolution in the Midwest. Caroline Sinclair, widow of pioneer industrialist, T.M. Sinclair, and mother of six, hired architects Josselyn and Taylor to build the mansion for $55,000 in 1884. In 1906, George Bruce Douglas, of the Quaker Oats and Douglas and Company fortunes, acquired the home with his wife Irene, transforming the property into a country estate they named Brucemore. In 1937, their daughter, Margaret, inherited Brucemore with her husband, Howard Hall, founder of Iowa Manufacturing and Iowa Steel and Ironworks. The Halls added flair to the estate with famous guests, including Presidents Herbert Hoover and Harry Truman and their exotic pet lion. The Queen Anne architecture, 1925 Grant Wood Porch, 1929 Skinner pipe organ, and 1930s Grizzly Bar and Tahitian Room reflect the vibrant history of remarkable people.  The changes they made to their estate, the impact they had on their community, and the stories they left behind shape our understanding of modern Cedar Rapids, eastern Iowa, and the American Midwest.

Iowa Museum Week annually raises awareness of the significant contributions made to Iowa communities by their museums in relation to quality of life, economic life, tourism, and education.  In his proclamation of Iowa Museum Week in April, Governor Branstad recognized the importance of Iowa's museums, stating that Iowa Museum Week will celebrate the crucial role of Iowa's museums in preserving the historical fabric and memory of Iowa through preservation of artifacts and archives; in providing educational resources and programs which expand learning opportunities for all ages; in contributing to a vibrant community and state economy through job creation, purchase of goods and services, and by attracting tourism revenue to the community and state; and in their significant role in enhancing community quality of life. For more information on Iowa museums, please visit www.iowamuseums.org or contact Cynthia Sweet of the Iowa Museum Association at imasweet@cfu.net.

 

About Brucemore

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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Stop to smell the roses.  While there, hear the wind pass through century-old trees, see the riot of color in the garden, and listen to a gardening expert. Before fiber optics, solar-powered path lights, and LEDs, gardeners relied on a more natural approach to evening landscape highlights?they planted white flowers.  See this technique and learn about other traditional landscaping tricks during Brucemore in Bloom?Thursday, May 29 at 6:00 p.m. Join Head Gardener David Morton as he traces the development of the gardens from the original plan conceived by prominent landscape architect O.C. Simonds to the integration of function, recreation, and entertainment in Irene Douglas's vision for the country estate. View current plants and landscape techniques that continue to help preserve the historically accurate, prairie-style design by Simonds. Admission is $15 per person and $12 per Brucemore member. Space is limited; purchase tickets online at www.brucemore.org or by calling (319) 362-7375.

The Brucemore in Bloom Tour is part of Brucemore's Thursday Night Lineup. Every Thursday night Brucemore will feature a different specialty tour focusing on topics for all interests, including arts and culture, Midwestern industry, gardening, landscape design, architecture, preservation, behind-the-scenes at Brucemore, and growing up in the early twentieth century. For more information on the Thursday Night Lineup, visit www.brucemore.org or call (319) 362-7375.

About Brucemore

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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Celebrate Preservation Month at Brucemore with free guided tours of the 21 room mansion on Saturday, May 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Sunday, May 4 from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. Follow a guide on a tour of the 21-room mansion and investigate the art, furnishings, technology, architecture, surrounding landscape, and stories preserved at Brucemore. Tours will begin approximately every 15 minutes with the last tour beginning at 3:00 p.m.  Free tour weekend is sponsored by Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust.

Three families owned the Brucemore estate between 1884 and 1981?the Sinclairs, the Douglases, and the Halls. They were business and community leaders during a century of evolution in the Midwest. Caroline Sinclair, widow of pioneer industrialist, T.M. Sinclair and mother of six, hired architects Josselyn and Taylor to build the mansion for $55,000 in 1884. In 1906, George Bruce Douglas, of the Quaker Oats and Douglas and Company fortunes, acquired the home with his wife Irene, transforming the property into a country estate they named Brucemore. In 1937, their daughter, Margaret, inherited Brucemore with her husband, Howard Hall, founder of Iowa Manufacturing and Iowa Steel and Ironworks. The Halls added flair to the estate with famous guests, including Presidents Herbert Hoover and Harry Truman and their exotic pet lion. The Queen Anne architecture, 1925 Grant Wood Porch, 1929 Skinner pipe organ, and 1930s Grizzly Bar and Tahitian Room reflect the vibrant history of remarkable people.  The changes they made to their estate, the impact they had on their community, and the stories they left behind shape our understanding of modern Cedar Rapids, eastern Iowa, and the American Midwest.

The National Trust created Preservation Month in 1971 to spotlight grassroots preservation efforts around the country, and has since grown into an annual celebration for local communities to honor their past and help build their future. The 2014 Preservation Month theme, "New Age of Preservation: Embark, Inspire, Engage," is meant to excite communities and introduce new audiences to the work being done to enrich and preserve the places that make your community special.

Brucemore will offer other Preservation Month activities in May, including:

  • Iowa Manufacturing: A Family Portrait exhibit - Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; and Sunday, 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.
  • Nooks and Crannies Tour - May 1 and 15, 6:00 p.m.
  • Hired Help Tour - May 8, 6:00 p.m.
  • Brucemore Summer Plant Sale - May 10, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
  • Historic Neighborhood Walk - May 22, 6:00 p.m.
  • Brucemore in Bloom Tour - May 29, 6:00 p.m.

For more information about Preservation Month activities during May and throughout the year, visit Brucemore's website at www.brucemore.org or call (319) 362-7375. Visit the National Trust for Historic Preservation website at www.preservationnation.org for more information about Preservation Month.

About Brucemore

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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Brucemore's Hired Help Tour explores working on a country estate

 

 

Downton Abbey fans will enjoy Brucemore's Hired Help Tour?March 13, April 10, and May 8 at 6:00 p.m. Join a costumed interpreter for a tour revealing the lives of Brucemore's domestic servants in the early twentieth century. Consider what it was like to live and work on one of Iowa's grandest estates while exploring the servants' living quarters and the Servants' Village, an area open to the public only during this tour. Documents, photographs, and other materials from Brucemore's collections enrich visitors' understanding of the relationships between the employers and "the hired help." Admission is $15 per person and $12 per Brucemore member. Space is limited; purchase tickets online at www.brucemore.org or by calling (319) 362-7375.

The Hired Help Tour is part of Brucemore's Thursday Night Lineup. Every Thursday night Brucemore will feature a different specialty tour focusing on topics for all interests, including arts and culture, Midwestern industry, gardening, landscape design, architecture, preservation, behind-the-scenes at Brucemore, and growing up in the early twentieth century. For more information on the Thursday Night Lineup, visit www.brucemore.org or call (319) 362-7375.

About Brucemore

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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Brucemore announces the reopening of the 21-room mansion for guided tours on March 1, 2014. Explore over a century of Cedar Rapids history through the lives of the three families who called Brucemore home?the Sinclairs, the Douglases, and the Halls. They were business and community leaders during a century of evolution in the Midwest. An investigation of the mansion's Queen Anne architecture, 1925 Grant Wood Porch, 1929 Skinner pipe organ, and 1930s Grizzly Bar and Tahitian Room reflect the history of remarkable people. The changes they made to their estate, the impact they had on their community, and the stories they left behind shape our understanding of modern Cedar Rapids, eastern Iowa, and the American Midwest.

Mansion tours are offered March through December, Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3:00 p.m. Tours begin on the hour and last approximately 50 minutes. Admission is free to Brucemore members, $7.00 for adults, and $3.00 for youth between the ages of 6 and 18. Purchase tickets fifteen minutes before the top of the hour in the Brucemore Store located in the Visitor Center.

Groups of ten or more are encouraged to schedule a private tour a minimum of two weeks in advance. In addition to the standard tour, Brucemore's tour menu features a range of tours and learning opportunities available for school and youth groups, scout troops, garden clubs, history buffs, architecture enthusiasts, and more. Visit www.brucemore.org or call (319) 362-7375 for more information or to schedule a group tour.

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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Red Cedar Chamber Music Performs He's Gone Away

 

Red Cedar Chamber Music presents He's Gone Away at Brucemore on Saturday, February 22 at 8:00 p.m. Flutist Jan Boland, guitarist John Dowdall, tenor Jonathan Dyrland, narrator Michael Zahs, and actor Susie Streit commemorate the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a blend of nineteenth-century American music, readings from Iowa Civil War letters, and stories about Iowa's role in our nation's greatest conflict.  The poignant Appalachian ballad, He's Gone Away, and letters between a Washington, Iowa soldier and his wife highlight the challenges faced by women left at home, while stories of Iowa nurses reveal contributions women made on the battlefield.  A champagne and dessert reception will be held during intermission.

Tickets are $35 per person or $30 per Brucemore member.  Space is limited; purchase tickets online at www.brucemore.org, by telephone at (319) 362-7375, or by visiting the Brucemore Store.

The He's Gone Away concert provides a natural partnership between two local cultural organizations?nineteenth-century chamber music in a nineteenth-century parlor. As artists in residence at Brucemore in 1983, Jan Boland and John Dowdall began performing nineteenth-century music on period instruments?an 1830 wooden flute and an 1830 gut-strung guitar. Currently celebrating its seventeenth season, Red Cedar Chamber Music continually strives to reach, challenge, and expand audiences that rarely have the opportunity to attend chamber music performances. Red Cedar Chamber musicians inform and entertain audiences, engaging them with lively commentary about the music, composers, and instruments. Their first recording, Czech Chamber Music, received a Critics' Choice award from the American Record Guide, which stated, "Chamber music should be just like this?intimate, bonding, and conversational." For more information about Red Cedar Chamber Music or other performances, visit www.redcedar.org or call (319) 377-8028.

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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Brucemore announces the election of three new members to three-year terms on the Board of Trustees: Larry Helling, CEO of Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust; Jim Lee, CEO of Shive-Hattery; and Kyle Wilcox, attorney with Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman. Officers for 2014 are: President Brenda Duello, University of Iowa Department of Medicine; Vice President Echo Batson, Rockwell Collins; Secretary Tom Peffer, Senior Vice President at Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C.; and Treasurer Craig DeWulf, Partner at RSM McGladrey.

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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Enjoy the eleventh year of hilarious stories, engaging conversation, and outstanding music with SPT Theatre and special guests, Alisabeth Von Presley and Garrett Hufford, during A Modern Salon, January 10, 11, 17, 18, 23, 24, and 25 at 7:30 p.m. Emulating the Parisian salons at the turn of the twentieth century, A Modern Salon is held in the Mansion's Great Hall, where Brucemore's second family, the Douglases, frequently entertained guests.  Admission is $45 per person or $40 per Brucemore member and includes pre-show wine tasting from First Avenue Wine House and appetizers starting at 7 p.m.  Champagne and desserts will be served during intermission.  Evening dress is encouraged and valet parking is available.  Space is limited; purchase tickets online at www.brucemore.org, by telephone at (319) 362-7375, or by visiting the Brucemore Store.

SPT Theatre (Small Professional Theatre) has entertained audiences with music, song, humor and wit since its establishment in 2006.  SPT's mission is to support, provide for, and expand the artistic opportunities available to performers and arts patrons in the Cultural Corridor.  SPT strives to coordinate performances with existing organizations and create new opportunities for actors, musicians, writers, and artists.  For more information about SPT Theatre, call (319) 361-5297 or visit www.spttheatre.org.

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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Don't miss Brucemore's Evening Holiday Mansion Tours - December 5, 12, 19, and 26 at 6:00 p.m. The unique holiday experience will include strolling through the softly lit rooms of the 21-room Mansion, taking in the seasonal splendor of 13 glowing trees, a dining room set for Christmas dinner, stunning mantel arrangements, the lush garland adornment of the grand staircase, and live music from the original 1929 Skinner Pipe Organ. Admission for Evening Holiday Mansion Tours is $15 per adult, $7 per child (ages 6 - 18), and $12 per Brucemore member. Space is limited; advance ticket purchase required. Tickets for evening tours can be purchased online at www.brucemore.org or by calling (319) 362-7375. The holidays at Brucemore are sponsored by Pearson.

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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Celebrate holidays past by participating in Brucemore's annual tradition, Holiday Mansion Tours, November 29 through December 31. Visitors will enjoy the seasonal splendor of 13 glowing trees, a dining room set for Christmas dinner, stunning mantel arrangements, the lush garland adornment of the grand staircase, and other seasonal cheer throughout the Mansion. Sunday tours will feature live music from the original 1929 Skinner Pipe Organ. The holidays at Brucemore are sponsored by Pearson.

Daytime tours will begin on the hour, Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; and, Sundays, noon to 3:00 p.m.  The last tour will begin at 3:00 p.m. Admission for daytime tours is $7 per adult, $3 per youth ages six to 18, and free to Brucemore members. Tickets can be purchased the day of the tour in the Brucemore Store located in the Visitor Center. Space is limited to 15 people per tour; please show up early to purchase tickets. Groups of 10 or more are required to make a reservation at least two weeks in advance. Evening tours will be offered as part of the Thursday Night Lineup; visit www.brucemore.org or call (319) 362-7375 for dates and more information. Brucemore will be closed  on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

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