Preservation partnership helps restore historic Iowa City home

IOWA CITY — Directly across from the gazebo in College Green Park in Iowa City sits the Houser-Metzger House, a large, late-Victorian, Queen Anne-style home with a lot of history behind it.

Located at 623 College St., the home was built between 1892 and 1898 and was moved from 422 Iowa Ave. to its current location in 2016 as part of an effort to save it from demolition.

On Saturday, two preservation organizations, the Friends of Historic Preservation and Save CR Heritage, joined forces to work on restoring the home. The partnership between the two nonprofit organizations is nothing new.

The Iowa City preservation group donated a balustrade — or staircase railing — to the Cedar Rapids organization last year, as Save CR Heritage rehabilitated the 1890s 'Frankie House,' that the group had moved in 2015.

'They essentially do what we do in the Iowa City/Southeast Iowa area in Cedar Rapids. They have done tremendous work,' said Alicia Trimble, executive director of Friends of Historic Preservation. 'It's great that we can help them out by donating materials to them and they come help us. In the end, we all want the same thing, we are all trying to preserve our heritage. It's been a fantastic relationship between the two organizations.'

Members of Save CR Heritage enjoy working alongside others who value the importance of saving and restoring historic homes and sites.

'It's a bunch of the same people who share the same vision and passions, coming together for a cause that we all really believe in,' said Nicole Halvorson, a board member for Save CR Heritage. 'It's nice to have support because this is an enormous undertaking.'

The Houser-Metzger House project is a case in point. Some of the projects planned for the house include window restoration, repainting the exterior and restoring the fireplace.

'It needs some TLC but it is a worthy project,' Halvorson said. 'Many people don't see what an old house can be but these people do. For example, someone would look at this bathroom and think ... it is better to destroy it but I see a claw foot tub going here and a vanity over there. I can be really beautiful.'

The space the home now occupies was the property and home of Hans and Barbara Breder until it was struck by lightning. The roof fire and subsequent mold and water damage left their house irretrievable and the Historic Preservation Commission approved its demolition and replacement with the Houser-Metzger House.

The Houser-Metzger House now sits in the College Green Historic District where it fits in well with the architectural character of the neighborhood.

'It's really a work of art,' Trimble said.

Halvorson commented on the beauty of the home as well.

'What is not to love about this house? It's really beautiful,' she said. 'There are gorgeous, original windows and woodwork. It has a story that links back to Iowa City.'

After the home is completely restored, the plan is to sell it, Trimble said.

'We will sell it as a single-family home with a covenant on it that says it has to be owner occupied so that it will never become a student rental or anything like that,' Trimble added. 'The house is going to look fantastic.'

There is not a set completion date for the restoration project.

'It will depend on donations and the amount of help we have,' Trimble said. 'It's variable at this point.'

For more information on where to donate or how to get involved with volunteering, visit ic-fhp.org.

'These houses are representative of our local history,' Trimble said, 'They are extremely well built and they are worth saving.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8538; elianna.novitch@thegazette.com