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Nearly lost piece of history finds new life close to home
11
Jan 2025

Nearly lost piece of history finds new life close to home

The Music Loft is shown before demolition began in 2018, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

By Cindy Hadish/Save CR Heritage

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Ransacked by squatters and vandalized during break-ins, the turn-of-the-century homes along First Avenue SE were considered an eyesore to some, but Save CR Heritage volunteers worked for days to save what they viewed as pieces of Cedar Rapids history.

With the owner’s permission and knowing demolition neared, the crew of just a handful of volunteers salvaged doors, flooring and other items from the four homes, which included a house connected to what had become the Music Loft at 1445 First Ave. SE, offering sales, rentals and repair of musical instruments, a recording studio and music lessons.

Built in 1900, the attached home offered hints at an opulent past, including a grand staircase with elegant spindles and an ornate newel post.

A view from the house, looking into the Music Loft, with the home’s balustrade on the left, in 2018. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Cedar Rapids historian Mark Stoffer Hunter noted the stretch of First Avenue had once been home to mansions and country estates, with residences giving way to commercial properties as storefronts were added in front of homes in the 1920s to 1940s, with shop owners often living behind their stores.

One such business was Holland Home Bakery, added to the front of the 1900-built home in 1924. McRaith’s ice cream shop and the Cross & Company grocery store were added in 1934.

Stoffer Hunter said the three storefronts eventually were combined and housed the Music Loft before it was demolished, along with the once-majestic home, in September 2018. Three other neighboring homes also were demolished at that time, including one known as the Baker Apartments.

More: Homes demolished along First Avenue

Two other homes near the Music Loft also were demolished in 2018, along with a fourth, known as the Baker Apartments. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Founded in 2012, Save Cedar Rapids Heritage works to preserve historic resources through education, assistance, advocacy and action. A small number of volunteers, including board member John “Erik” Halvorson, saved what they could from the homes in a limited amount of time, including the Music Loft home balustrade’s handrail, spindles and newel post.

Without the volunteers’ efforts, the balustrade and other items would have been lost to history and added to the landfill.

Dubbed “The Precious” by volunteers, the newel post moved from one location to another until Save CR Heritage rehabbed and opened the early-1900s J.E. Halvorson House, named in honor of their beloved board member, killed by a drunk driver in 2020.

“The Precious” a newel post from the house behind the Music Loft, is shown in a storage site in 2018. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

The nonprofit had already moved and rehabbed the “Frankie House,” a Bohemian immigrant home sold by Save CR Heritage as affordable housing in Wellington Heights.

That home connected past to the present when Mary Beth and Austin Davis bought a long-neglected house near Coe College in the Mound View Neighborhood of northeast Cedar Rapids.

Save CR Heritage Board President Nikki Halvorson — Erik Halvorson’s widow — found that the 1892 house in northeast Cedar Rapids had been home to the Woitishek family, headed by prominent businessman Joseph Woitishek.

In southeast Cedar Rapids, the first tenants of the Frankie House, built in 1894 by Bohemian immigrant John Kuba, were Dr. Frank Woitishek — Joseph’s son — and wife Josephine, who lived there from 1895 to 1898. Members of Save CR Heritage named the home the Frankie House in memory of Frank and Josephine’s 3-year-old daughter, Frankie, who died in 1898.

Related: Save CR Heritage receives prestigious preservation award

The balustrade of the home behind the Music Loft is shown before demolition in 2018. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

As they surveyed the 1892 home they recently purchased, Mary Beth and Austin Davis knew they needed a balustrade to replace one that had been torn out, likely years ago.

Reaching out to Save CR Heritage, the couple found what they needed to fit the home’s character: the balustrade from the Music Loft home, which had been located just blocks from the house they purchased and in the same era.

“The Precious” and the rest of the balustrade will be installed in the home, serving as a statement piece for anyone entering the house, and the couple’s home improvement project will serve as an example and inspiration for the entire neighborhood.

Mary Beth and Austin Davis are shown with “The Precious” newel post on Jan. 10, 2025. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Save CR Heritage has other balustrades for sale, including one from an 1860s-1870s railroad boardinghouse, which Erik Halvorson also helped to save.

Proceeds from the sales support the J.E. Halvorson House.

Find photos of the balustrades and more from the Music Loft home, below, and on the Save CR Heritage Facebook page.

Save CR Heritage has been raising awareness of at-risk historic properties in Cedar Rapids since 2012. Help continue this important educational and advocacy work by donating here. We can’t do it without you!

The Music Loft is shown before demolition in 2018, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Spindles are shown after they were salvaged from the Music Loft house. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Austin Davis carries “The Precious” newel post down the stairs of the J.E. Halvorson House in January 2025. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Mary Beth Davis carries spindles from the balustrade on the way to their “new” home in Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

The Music Loft, previously Holland Home Bakery, and connected home were demolished in 2018 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
This balustrade from an 1860s-1870s railroad boardinghouse is among items available from Save CR Heritage. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Spindles from the railroad boardinghouse are shown before they were salvaged and the home demolished. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
This handrail from a former farmhouse is also available from Save CR Heritage. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

A closeup of the spindles from the farmhouse handrail. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

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