Historic Carriage House finds new life as wedding venue in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — A decade after renovations first started, a historic carriage house first built to hold someone’s horses has become a place for folks to get hitched.

The 1886 Carriage House has found new life that balances the history of the space with a modern aesthetic that will serve a new purpose for many couples in the MedQuarter.

The newly reopened space, boasting about 7,000 square feet, is a labor of love finished by entrepreneur John Olinger and his wife, Tania, several years after John’s father, Bill Olinger Sr., started renovating the space in 2013. Since reopening in 2022, the venue has hosted more than 30 weddings.

“Most (couples) today lean toward something modern, but when they see a place that has history behind it, it’s the best of both worlds for them,” said John Olinger. “What that equates to, in my mind, is character.”

How it happened

When attorney Bill Olinger started renovating the Carriage House in 2013, he had a vision to turn it into a restaurant. The vision, interrupted by his untimely death in 2015, was left unmanifested as the building remained vacant for six years.

After years of unsuccessfully being marketed as a potential space for a restaurant or bar, the building remained empty until 2021, when John picked up the mantle. The entrepreneur and Cedar Rapids native, who has served thousands of weddings for many years through his limousine company in Newport, Rhode Island, saw a new vision for the old space.

In the Newport area, one of the country’s top coastal destinations for upscale weddings, venues with The Carriage House’s qualities can cost $50,000 just to open the doors, he said.

  Buy Photo

“I said to Tania, ‘You want to open a wedding venue in Iowa?’ ” John said. “We wanted to bring that wedding vibe that’s so popular here to Cedar Rapids.”

“I saw the vision instantly,” Tania said.

With a few changes, the building’s transformation adjacent to downtown Cedar Rapids today embraces the vision Bill had — even if it’s not a restaurant.

“Retaining the historical value of the building was paramount to him. Part of his strategy was to add to downtown,” John said. “I think part of his goal was to become one of those destinations in the city.”

What it was before

When it was built 158 years ago — just before the Brucemore Mansion down the road — The Carriage House was a display of incredible wealth in what was then known as Cedar Rapids’ Mansion District on the edge of town. Today, only a few buildings from that era remain.

  Buy Photo

The building then held at least six horses alongside their carriages, the feed and supplies needed for them. The size of the garage, which could hold as least three vehicles today, was significantly larger than the space most people had for their horses for their time. Most sheltered their horses outside; those with carriage houses usually had room for one horse.

“It’s one of the largest carriage houses I’ve seen built in Cedar Rapids,” said Mark Stoffer Hunter, Cedar Rapids historian. “You rarely see carriage houses preserved.”

The property was one of the first in Cedar Rapids to be added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Owner Arthur Tappan Averill, described by The Gazette in 1910 as “Cedar Rapids’ wealthiest man and most noted capitalist,” first represented Chicago’s McCormick Harvester Co. when he moved to Iowa from Vermont. He later gained wealth through an agricultural implement dealer, and acquired significantly more after he purchased a controlling share of the Cedar Rapids Gas Co. in 1875 — what is known as MidAmerican Energy today.

  Buy Photo

Before he died, Averill also had served as president of Cedar Rapids National Bank for 20 years. After Averill died, daughter Jesse Averill lived on the mansion property until her death in 1939.

In the 1950s, the property’s red brick mansion across the courtyard was used as a dormitory for nurses at St. Luke’s Hospital. Later, Olinger started to use the property as offices for his law firm.

“I think it’s really important they went to that effort (to preserve),” Stoffer Hunter said. “They’ve done a nice job building a new addition to this for this purpose.”

How it has changed

With the historical bones of the building left untouched, the white building’s additions deliver several distinct areas. Inside, they’ve been finished and modernized in a neutral but crisp palette completed by chic finishes.

  Buy Photo

“The only thing inside was cherry wainscoting walls,” John said. “We painted the cherry wood white, and I could almost hear my dad rolling in the grave. But it was the right decision.”

A bar and furniture completed rooms, and new flooring anchored the perimeters defined by round arched windows, barn doors at the courtyard and lamps that help straddle the line between modern and rustic. Other touches, like a crystal chandelier inspired by ones the couple saw on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, add luxe accents.

Upstairs, beyond a cigar humidor, wine cellar, makeup stations and areas to get ready for any occasion, a loft serves as a portal in time to transport visitors back to the days when the building was for horses.

The loft, where hay would have been stored, features the imperfections of 19th century garage engineering — complete with the original wood’s texture, gaps between floor planks and an old attic smell no facade can recreate.

  Buy Photo

And though it may not be quite what Bill Olinger pictured for the space that his son likened to the garage many dads tinker in, the opportunity to preserve a family-owned building and a piece of Cedar Rapids history was an achievement they know John’s father would be proud of.

“When nobody picked up the pieces to turn it into something, I know John wanted to finish that and not just have his dream sitting there. We wanted it to be something,” Tania said. “With people getting married, that’s an iconic step that changes’ people’s lives together. He’d find it so special that this is the place, and it’s going to carry meaning in people’s lives.”

“I think what he’d like most about it is people coming to his piece of property and celebrating a life,” John said.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.