Cedar Rapids takes care of its own

Experience Summer: Week 4

May 29-30

I hit the road again, finally venturing out of Central Iowa for this weekend's Experience. I'm fortunate to have a few trips planned for either business or family this summer that helping direct my course for which things to try when. On Friday I had an ICCE Board meeting in Cedar Rapids so I decided to make a weekend out of it (or at least 36 hours or so). I called Amy, my best friend from college, to see if she wanted to meet me in CR Friday night and join me in some of my tours the next day. Thanks to Marriott Rewards points, I could get a free hotel room.

I headed east Friday morning. I'm hoping that in the midst of my set travels I have the flexibility and initiative to take some unplanned stops if they offer the opportunity for more experiences. On Friday I did just that, although it only resulted in about a 5-minute diversion. In Tama, Iowa a "historical marker" sign caught my eye. Since it was literally right off the road, I pulled off to see what it was. I ended up finding the Lincoln Highway Memorial bridge.

Back on the road, I got to the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce without too much problem, although I'm not a big fan of the street system in the city. That night when Amy arrived, we got dinner, did a little shopping, and got back to watch Jay Leno's last late show appearance. Even that I count as an "experience," especially since I vividly remember gathering 17 years ago with friends to watch Johnny Carson's last late show appearance.

Yes ... I'm that old.

Brucemore Mansion

The Brucemore Historic Site and Community Cultural Center is a mansion built in 1884 by Caroline Sinclair after the death of her husband, Thomas Sinclair, who had established one of the 4 largest meat packaging plants in the world at that time. Mrs. Sinclair moved in to the 21-room mansion with her 6 children in 1886.

In 1906, Mrs. Sinclair's children were grown and actually traded homes with George and Irene Douglas who lived in the "city." The Douglas family was also pretty prominent in the community, as George Douglas started a company that ultimately grew in to the Quaker Oats Company which still dominates the Cedar Rapids skyline today. The Douglases purchased another 23 acres to add to the original 10 acres purchased by the Sinclairs, added a new front entrance and outbuildings, and, eventually a pool.

The Mansion was given to the oldest Douglas daughter, Margaret, in 1937. Margaret was married to Howard Hall, who had been president of the Iowa Steel and Iron Works and had started the Iowa Manufacturing Company.

All three historic families were also historically famous for their generosity, especially benefitting the Cedar Rapids community. Among those who were helped by the Douglas family was, appropriately, Grant Wood. There were a couple Grant Wood paintings in the mansion, but Grant was also commissioned to do a plaster mural in the sleeping porch built for one of the Douglas daughters. The Douglas family were also very big contributors to Coe College. In fact, according to our tour guide, Coe College might not be here today were it not for the Douglas family.

Amy and I also noted that it seemed like the Sinclairs, Douglases and Halls were all good employers, showing generosity to their help. There was an employee chart that showed how many of the staff had stayed for years, and there were even husbands & wives, brothers and sisters employed together. Several of the staff had their own rooms or even separate homes on the property. And, when Margaret Hall bequeathed the Brucemore to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, one of the stipulations she made was taht any of the staff still living at the Brucemore after her death must be allowed to live there until their deaths. Today there is still one woman living on site in a separate cottage on the property. Her husband had been the last chauffer for the Hall family.

The Brucemore mansion was definitely impressive, but probably even more impressive were the grounds, including amazing landscaping. Especially since the weather was so beautiful on Saturday, the Brucemore grounds were really neat to walk through, although it proved that I am more than illiterate when it comes to naming flowers and plants. If I lived in Cedar Rapids, I'd definitely go back for some of the events held at the site each summer.

Quirky things about the Brucemore:

• The Douglas family had several pets as did the Halls. The Halls had 3 lions - one right after the other - all named Leo. There were also 4 dogs named King, among other pets.
• The Brucemore continues to be a host location for art fairs, outdoor theater and musical performances, a greenhouse and floral shop, and even an annual Night Glow hot-air balloon event. Organizations and businesses can rent the mansion for meetings, dinners and conferences. However, as gorgeous as the grounds are, Mrs. Hall stipulated that it was never to be used for weddings.
• Howard Hall had many contacts in Hollywood, and traveled to the West Coast often, including getting to go behind the scenes and take personal movies of "Gone With the Wind." And one of the Leo Lions was actually the daughter of the original MGM Lion.
• It was very "Narnia-like" on the grounds, complete with sculptures of dogs and deer that looked more like wolves and far too anatomically correct fawn.
• And ... SPOILER ALERT! There are 5 total floors to the Brucemore. The upper 4 are expectedly formal. Then we went to the basement, which was mind-blowing in uber-tacky Tahitian and Hunting lodge themes. No kidding. About 2/3 of the basement was turned in to a ridiculous tiki-hut with 1/2 plastic naked women with grass skirts and leis on the walls, 'bamboo' and straw faux roof and walls, diaramas of sea life, shells and more. Then you walk in to the Grizzly Bar complete with beer steins a'plenty, a couple more diaramas of bar scenes, 'log cabin' type walls, and all the tacky bar signs you can think of. According to the tour guide, Howard Hall wanted a place to entertain clients. Clearly, all his clients were men. :)

We paid $7 for the Mansion tour, but you could walk around the grounds for free and give yourself a self-guided tour. It's definitely worth the $7 for the tour. Thumbs up. :)

Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

Amy had to leave town after the Brucemore, so I headed for the Art Museum on my own, which should have been an easy drive if I stopped to ask for directions, but apparently I thought I knew Cedar Rapids well enough to not need them having been in town for less than 24 hours. Anyway, I finally got the the Art musuem and found it was the opening day for the new John Buck exhibit, which was primarily large woodcut pieces. And, John Buck was actually there to do a lecture, although after looking at the Buck pieces, I was happy to skip the lecture. :) Art is subjective - what can I say. Two artists I did like there, however, were Malvina Hoffman (sculpture) and especially Thomas Jackson (photography). Ms. Hoffman (1885 - 1966) did a great job capturing personality in her subjects, especially the non-famous subjects, like her neighbors or her father. Mr. Jackson (still alive) was born in Rock Island, IL, and used to teach at Mt. Mercy college in Cedar Rapids. I'd love to have some of his pieces in my home; very unique combinations of different photographs. Check out his photography: http://www.thomascjackson.com/index.htm

Admittedly, there's not a lot to the Museum of Art. I was happy to make the $5 donation, even though, ironically, all the Grant Wood pieces were not on display this weekend. Bad timing on my part.

Downtown Cedar Rapids

I kind of thought the Grant Wood studio was right next to the Art Museum or attached or something. I was wrong, but it was only about 3.5 blocks away, so I walked. I had never really been downtown CR before, so this was my first opportunity to be here, but it was still definitely 'post-flood.' Cedar Rapids is far from recovered, and there are still lots of empty storefronts, even in just the few blocks I walked. However, there were also a spattering of "We are open for business" signs, beckoning potential customers to come back. The day before while I was in our board meeting, there was another meeting going on at the Cedar Rapids Chamber with many angry citizens who still haven't gotten much progress on recovery funds from the State or federal agencies. Cedar Rapids is huge ... and hurting. But, as I learned from my experiences this weekend, Cedar Rapids is good about taking care of their own. Though the rest of the country was virtually blind to the severe flooding (unlike the enslaught of aid directed towards the gulf states after Katrina), Cedar Rapids will continue to rebuild because they don't know any other way to respond. Iowa needs Cedar Rapids.

Grant Wood Studio and Visitors Center
The studio is quite unpretentious as it's located, really, in the parking lot of a funeral home ... or so I thought. I followed the signs to the entrance and was immediately greeted by two volunteer workers. I purchased my ticket and was directed to a viewing area to watch the video "Grant Wood and Me." Just as it was starting, an elderly man also came in and purchased a ticket and watched the video with me. The video was pretty good, actually. Grant Wood was born in Iowa in the country, but moved to the 'big city' of Cedar Rapids when his father died and his mother need to find a job (3 jobs, actually) to take care of the family. Grant was well-liked everywhere he went, and in school he was recognized right away for his artistic talent. He went to school to pursue art, and returned to Cedar Rapids where he was offered a job teaching art. The principal said the kids loved Grant and would follow him like the Pied Piper. He also continued to do other art work which the Cedar Rapids community loved (and they loved him), so on summer breaks he was sent to Europe to study more. On his first trips, Grant was in France and learned about the impressionists which he could imitate, but he never really liked it, sensing something was missing from the finished work. Later, back in Iowa, Grant was commissioned to do a portrait that was a different style for him, but was more detailed. Grant decided to enter the painting in the Iowa State Fair. He not only won the Fair show, but he gained even more fame and fans. The subject of the portrait, if I remember correctly, was John Turner, who then owned the mansion earlier inhabited by the Douglas family and later Mrs. Sinclair. The Turners were so enamored with Grant Wood, they offered him the loft above their carriage house to be used as a studio and apartment.

The studio apartment is almost exactly as it was when Grant lived there. He was not only a masterful artist, but he was also innovative in using space efficiently, he was a builder, a craftsman, and even started the community theater in Cedar Rapids. He turned the Carriage House loft into an amazing studio and apartment where eventually he lived with his mother and his sister. He even had plays performed there. The 11 years he worked and lived in the studio were the years Grant was most prolific, and where he painted his most famous works including "American Gothic" and "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere."

The thing that stood out to me most about the Grant Wood Studio experience was what a well-liked guy he was. He didn't appear to ever be wealthy, but he was so popular with everyone people loved to be with him and see what he'd do next. He definitely had a sense of humor, he was generous to friends and family, and he was profoundly creative. In fact, everyone who referenced him, even my tour guide, always referred to him as "Grant" - as if everyone was his friend. It makes me want to learn more about him, and, actually, it made me envy his life a bit.

Grant lived a short life. He died in his early 50's from pancreatic cancer. As I drove back from Cedar Rapids, I couldn't help but notice what perhaps Grant saw - a beautiful state. There were "Grant Wood landscapes" all along Highway 30. I mean, who wouldn't want to experience all this state has to offer?

American Gothic facts:

• The "models" never posed for this painting in front of this house
• The "models" were Grant's younger sister Nan and his dentist. His dentist posed in the dentist's office.
• The house is in Elwood, Iowa. The window is a 'gothic' style.