Marion adds historic McGowan home to cultural district

Bt Cathleen Beke, Correspondent

MARION - No one in Marion is likely to forget Tom and Mildred McGowan any time soon.

The couple placed their mark on the city, forever shaping hundreds of acres on the northeast side where their namesake boulevard travels through the subdivisions Tom developed in the 1960s.

Now their generosity will help shape a part of the city's uptown Cultural and Entertainment District for generations to come as uses are sought for their historic 10th Street home across the street from the Marion Public Library.

Tom McGowan was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, postal worker, and railroad maintenance man with the Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul line before turning to real estate. He was on the Board of Realtors for three decades, the Salvation Army advisory board, past president of the Marion Chamber of Commerce and a director of the Marion YMCA board. When he passed in 1968, Mildred continued living in the home.

Mildred McGowan owned Rainbow Real Estate in Hiawatha, worked for the Cedar Rapids Assessor's Office and Linn County Treasurer's Office, worked at LaPlant-Choate manufacturing during World War II, was a founding member of Open Arms group at the Toddville Free Methodist Church for childless women, and for more than five decades belonged to the Marion Nature and Garden Club. She died last April, and the city of Marion took possession of the property last month.

“Mildred had wanted the historical society to have the home,” former Mayor Vic Klopfenstein recalled. But Klopfenstein and longtime banker John Vernon convinced her that the city would be the better caretaker, rather than that the society, which runs the Marion Heritage Center a block away.

The McGowans kept the Dunn Dwelling, as it was originally called, in immaculate condition. The triple row brick home was originally built by farmer William Dunn as a place to retire. He lived there from 1866 until his death in 1898, and his wife, Phoebe, continued living there until her death in 1901, according to Dave Hockett, assistant planning and development director for Marion, who delved into the property abstract as part of an application to have the house at 524 10th St. declared a historical landmark.

The application, prepared by Leah Rogers of Tallgrass Associates in Iowa City, notes that the structure is a “two story front-gabled brick dwelling (with) a low pitched gable roof with paired brackets under the eave overhang showing Italianate influence.”

“There's more of this home left than typical of structures of this age,” City Manager Lon Pluckhahn said while walking through the home recently. “It's triple row brick construction. It has original windows. It's a perfect complement to the uptown - the same period architecturally and very well preserved.”

Next week, in the middle of Historic Preservation Month, Marion will solicit proposals for using the 1,800-square-foot building and property. According to the terms of Mildred McGowan's will, the property can be used for low traffic commercial uses, according to Pluckhahn, who said the city has already received interest in turning it into an artist-in-residence dwelling or artisan cottage.

Ideas for the home are in the “early, early stages,”according to Sandy Rosenberger, director of the Cultural and Entertainment District for Marion.

“It has great potential,” Rosenberger said “The house is in beautiful shape, with immaculate woodwork and floors.” She hoped it would provide a “more public presence for the arts” in Marion, and added that the grounds would be perfect for outdoor classes or sculptures.

“We hope to have it bustling with activity,” she added.

The 10th Street location fits in the Cultural and Entertainment District, a designation given by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs in 2007. It designates a “walkable mile district with cultural anchors” including the Marion Heritage Center, the Granger House, uptown art galleries and Marion Square Park, Rosenberger said.

If the three-apartment home is designated as historically significant, then it will make it easier to repurpose the space, Pluckhahn said.

“The historical preservation code is more relaxed,” Pluckhahn said. “It gives us the opportunity to do things differently” and maintain the integrity of the structure.

But being 145 years old does have drawbacks, Pluckhahn pointed out. The building has steam heat, so there are no ducts for central air conditioning. Stairwells are steeper, handrails are lower, and doorways are narrow. Bathrooms will need to be updated to make them comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. A ramp will need to be added for handicapped-accessibility.

At a recent City Council meeting, members were concerned that taking the $126,700 house off the tax rolls would mean a loss of property tax for the city. Pluckhahn said there would be ways to offset the loss and benefit the city.