Brucemore Historical Estate

"The grandest house west of Chicago" In the middle of Brucemore Estate, which holds over 120 years of history, stands a 19th-century mansion that tells the stories of three families from Cedar Rapids- the Sinclair, Douglas, and Hall families. They were among thousands of other wealthy families who moved from the cities to the countryside. Each family had its own influence on the industrial development of Cedar Rapids in some way. The estate shows the importance and the evolution of the Midwest in this century. This was the largest real estate transaction in the city's history. The mansion is 4 stories containing 21 rooms, all filled with the art, furnishings, technology, and architecture of its time. In the 1880s, when the Sinclairs first bought the home, it was priced at $55,000, so it made quite an impression on the city when it was built. Ossian Cole, an influential landscaping architect, was responsible for the outdoor rooms and vistas, and he was well-known for his work at the Graceland Cemetery as well. Brucemore emphasizes that preservation, conservation, and restoration describes the treatment of the Historical Estate. The mansion's tours run from March through December each year.