Time Machine: The Mittvalsky House

CEDAR RAPIDS — Frank J. Mittvalsky, a native of Czechoslovakia, came to Cedar Rapids in 1870 and opened his butcher shop at 44 S. Commercial St. He advertised that he was a 'butcher and dealer in all kinds of meats, game, fish, poultry, etc.'

He, his wife, Frances, and their five children lived at 301 S. Washington, a few blocks away from the shop.

When the street names were changed in 1882, Commercial Street became First Street and Washington Street was renamed Second Street. By then, Mittvalsky had moved his family into the nine-room, red brick mansion he had built at 1035 South Second St.

The Victorian-Italianate-style home had tin headings over the long, narrow windows, a wrought iron railing above the porch and lots of gingerbread ornamentation. Progressive for its time, it had running water and a bathroom. It was among the first in the city to get electricity, and when a telephone line was installed, the mansion's number was 3.

Mittvalsky grew ill in early 1886 and was forced to close his butcher's market. After his health improved in December, his patrons were glad to see the market reopen. The Evening Gazette described Mittvalsky as 'one of the most successful butchers ever in the city.'

In 1888, the city passed a long list of regulations concerning butcher and slaughter houses. Mittvalsky had a processing building and smoke house behind the house and even cured meat in the cellar, so he moved the operation outside the city limits to South First Street beyond 20th Avenue West, also known as Iowa City Road.

Meanwhile, Mittvalsky's children, Frank Steven Mittvalsky, a bookkeeper for Citizens' National Bank, and Mary F. Mittvalsky continued to live at the house on South Second St.

Mittvalsky's son and bride, Anna, moved to 809 South 10th St., where their son was born in 1903.

Mittvalsky's daughter married Charles J. Novak on Oct. 10, 1900, and the newlyweds made the Mittvalsky's mansion their home. Charles was one of the founders of the Linn County Abstract Co. and served as the company's secretary and treasurer.

Novak died on May 22, 1919, leaving his wife in charge of his estate. Novak's children Charles Jr., Louis, Edwin, Mary Louise and Emma survived him as well. Mittvalsky was buried in Oak Hill beside his son, William, who had died in an auto accident at the age of 9 in 1918.

Mary Novak and her children received letters in 1942 from Edwin, who was a captain in the air corps during World War II. His letters were marked 'Somewhere at sea in the Atlantic.'

A week later, a telegram arrived at 1035 Second St. SE. Edwin had been killed in action on Nov. 9, the first Cedar Rapidian to be killed in the African theater. Edwin had been a paperboy for The Gazette before he graduated from old Washington High School. He went on to graduate from Iowa State College in Ames and worked for Shell Petroleum before entering service in 1941.

Mary Novak continued to live in the family home until her death in 1955 at the age of 75.

Charles Jr. was the last of the Mittvalsky-Novak family to live in the family home. He was found dead in his home at the age of 57 on March 29, 1963.

Charles' sister and brother, Emily Haverkamp and Louis C. Novak, were his heirs. Neither apparently wanted the property, because on Nov. 9, 1963, the house and its contents were auctioned.

John A. Kuba bought the house and began to restore it. He gave it the name Tower Grove after the historic Henry Shaw Italianate house in St. Louis.

Kuba, a member of the Linn County Historical Museum Association, agreed to allow the organization to take over his home for about six weeks in the summer of 1972 for public tours to gauge interest in a permanent history museum. Community members redecorated the house, selecting paint colors, wallpaper, antique furniture and fabrics to make it authentically Victorian.

City, county and congressional leaders, members of historical societies, media and members of the Mittvalsky family were invited to a pre-opening ceremony on Aug. 3, 1972.

The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as 'the best preserved, if not the only remaining example of Italianate Victorian architecture in metropolitan Cedar Rapids,' according to Adrian Anderson, director and historical preservation officer of the state historical department.

The Velvet Feedbag, a restaurant that had operated in Newhall since 1977, moved to Tower Grove in 1979, opening on April 7. The menu featured European dishes that Kuba said 'an untrained cook might find difficult to prepare.' It sat about 100 people in an unhurried, elegant atmosphere.

On Thursday, May 31, 1984, smoke and flames shot high enough from the mansion's roof that firefighters could see it from the central fire station. The attic was destroyed and the rest of the floors had water damage. Empty gas cans were found in the garage, into which someone had broken.

The fire was ruled an arson by investigators. The restaurant manager was charged with setting the fire to cover up evidence that he had been taking money from the business.

After fighting his insurance company for two years, Kuba finally reached a settlement for his losses and moved on.

The historic mansion was declared a public nuisance in a City Council meeting July 15, 1987, and ordered demolished.