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Brucemore Celebrates 25 Years As a Thriving Corridor Attraction
Eric Clark
The Gazette
February 19, 2006
[Note: This material is copyright
by The Gazette, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use"
for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require
the prior approval of The Gazette.]
CEDAR RAPIDS — Twenty-five years ago, Margaret Hall bequeathed
Brucemore to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
At the time, there were
no plans to offer tours of the historical mansion at 2160 Linden Dr. SE.
The idea was to use the mansion, which was built in 1885, for community
meetings and activities.
That idea lasted only a
few seconds.
‘
‘People immediately started
calling for tours,’’ said Peggy Whitworth, the only executive director
Brucemore has ever had. ‘‘I had more best friends than anybody in the world.’’
The day before Whitworth
started working at Brucemore, a whopping 3,300 people showed up to get
the first peek inside a mansion they had gazed at for years while driving
on First Avenue.
Today, Brucemore continues
to make a mark in the community, with 24 employees, 200 volunteers and
a full schedule of events, which includes must-sees like Bluesmore, Classics
at Brucemore and Cabaret in the Courtyard. Not to mention mansion tours,
which continue to draw nearly 30,000 people a year. ‘‘We are so fortunate
to have a place like Brucemore,’’ said Mary C. Jones of Cedar Rapids, who
has been a tour guide at the mansion since 1986. Jones points out that
historical buildings are hard to come by in Cedar Rapids. ‘‘As far as I
know, this is about the only historic thing we have,’’ Jones said. ‘‘We’ve
torn down plenty of buildings that should have been preserved.’’
Hall ensured Brucemore’s
legacy by donating the estate to the National Trust.
In the early days of the
turnover, Whitworth said, there was plenty of work needed to change the
mansion from a private home into a public museum. Supplies had to be bought,
policies had to be set and parking lots had to be built — along with about
a million other little things.
‘‘To go from a private house
to a full-fledged community center was not something that could be done
overnight,’’ Whitworth said.
Hall wanted the mansion
to be rife with events, and Brucemore’s staff wasted no time creating a
schedule of activities. One of the first events was an appearance by talk-show
host Phil Donahue in 1981.
Over the years, other events
have come. Some have disappeared, but many have thrived.
Whitworth considers Classics
at Brucemore the estate’s premier event. Classics is an annual outdoor
theater series that was founded in 1996 by Jim Kern, Brucemore’s assistant
director.
Kern said he was long interested
in starting an outdoor theater series but couldn’t figure out the proper
way to pull it off. When he finally pitched the idea to Whitworth, she
immediately offered her support.
Classics at Brucemore now
draws about 5,000 people a year.
‘‘We thought the public
would be interested in the series, and that ended up being true,’’ Kern
said.
Although Brucemore’s staff
is proud looking back on the past 25 years, Whitworth said she always is
looking toward the estate’s future. Brucemore’s Web site has become a major
marketing tool, with webcasts and podcasts giving potential visitors more
information.
Whitworth said she strives
to keep Brucemore’s mission from getting lost in the shuffle.
‘‘Brucemore isn’t just ours,
it’s the community’s,’’ she said.
Location: 2160 Linden
Drive, SE, Cedar Rapids
Built: 1885
Bequeathed: 1981
to National Trust for Historic Preservation
Annual Budget: $900,000
Endowment: Unavailable
Employees: 24
Volunteers: 200
Tours: 30,000 participants
a year