Nov/Dec 2011 (Volume 3, Issue 6)
By John Busbee
“Mr. & Mrs. B. F. Allen at home Friday Evening, January 29, 1869 – 7 1/2 O’clock. Terrace Hill.”
More than 1,000 such simply stated invitations were sent out, to as far away as New York City. That’s all the information the recipients needed. Thus were the doors first opened to one of America’s most impressive mansions, and also opened to one of Iowa’s greatest stories. Today the former Allen home stands as a compelling piece of state history, majestically incongruent with the muted Iowa demeanor, yet ultimately built and developed upon the foundation of the Iowa hallmark: its work ethic.
As the towering mansion, dubbed “The Palace on the Prairie”, nears its sesquicentennial birthday, its history, its special place as an Iowa icon, and its vital role in Iowa’s future should be embraced. The story about Terrace Hill is more intertwined with Iowans than the stonework, wood, bricks, glass, nails and mortar that bind this incredible edifice together.
Terrace Hill is a cultural crossroads, bringing many people together, and is a binding force for all Iowans to celebrate. It occupies a special place as one of America’s pre-eminent historic sites and governor’s residences – a status other states imitate but cannot surpass.
The style and scope of Terrace Hill is impressive. A stunning example of Second Empire architecture, this 18,000 square foot building now serves the dual purpose of official residence for Iowa’s first family and a National Historic Landmark. Its grand three stories feature a signature north tower, reaching almost ninety feet into the sky, with a footprint of more than eighty feet across at its greatest width and depth.
The exterior is highlighted by octagonal and circular elements, capped by the distinctive Mansard roof. It also provides a unique portal into a bygone Victorian era. Situated on the majestic crown on one of the region’s high points, Terrace Hill continues to stand guardian over Iowa’s capitol city, and was built by Iowa’s first millionaire, Benjamin Franklin Allen.
Allen arrived at Fort Des Moines in 1848, coming on the advice of his uncle, Captain James Allen. In 1843, Captain Allen had established an outpost at the convergence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. His orders were to protect the Sac and Fox Native Americans from white squatters trying to claim lands belonging to these tribes. He also protected his own interests, having opened the first coal-mining shaft and stone quarry in Polk County, a saw mill, a grist mill, and other ventures. Before his nephew, B. F., arrived, however, orders took Captain Allen from the Iowa Territory to recruit Mormons from the Midwest to march into Mexico. He undoubtedly planned to return to his Des Moines businesses, but fell ill on this assignment, and died in 1846.
Upon his arrival in Iowa, young B. F. was not a destitute young man. He brought capital with him, some saying up to $15,000. He inherited much from Captain Allen’s estate, including ownership interests in several businesses. With earlier training from another uncle, Robert Allen, a quartermaster for the U.S. Army, B. F. was well positioned to begin building an empire which, at its peak, was estimated between $3 to $4 million.
B. F. quickly grew his wealth through land speculation. By the late 1860s, in addition to his bank and other businesses, B. F. owned more than 35,000 acres of land in 35 Iowa counties. In Polk County alone, he was involved in more than 1100 property purchases and sales. One business linked B. F. with another rising business star, Frederick Marion Hubbell – the Equitable Insurance Company. Equitable was formed in 1867, a year after Allen’s initial plans for his dream home, Terrace Hill, were unveiled. This year also marked divergent paths in the future fortunes of Allen and Hubbell. But in 1866, Allen had the resources and passion to push Terrace Hill from vision to reality.
Allen hired renowned Chicago-based architect William W. Boyington to build Terrace Hill. Perhaps Boyington’s most famous remaining structure, the Old Chicago Water Tower, was also built during Terrace Hill’s construction. Lavish praise for the architect’s plans appeared in the April 28, 1867, Daily State Register, claiming the residence and its grounds would be “equal to anything west of New York”.
Much of the material for the construction was hauled in by 16-mule teams from the railroad terminus on the Mississippi River. The flooring and woodwork were magnificent. Massive 12-foot tall round-topped doors, trim and intricate flooring inlays were made from cherry, walnut, oak, butternut, maple, rosewood, and pine. Lavish fireplaces, marble and bronze statuary, drapery, custom furnishings, tapestries and more extravagances pushed the final costs, including the out buildings and grounds, up to $400,000.
Although Terrace Hill anchors the Des Moines skyline today, there were times when its destination might have been nothing more than memories in faded photographs. During B. F.’s financial collapse and subsequent bankruptcy proceedings, he attempted to sell Terrace Hill to the Presbyterian Church as the anchor for another idea: “Allen University.”
This proposal was coolly met by the Presbyterians, and Terrace Hill was ultimately included in a blanket mortgage to protect the property from creditors. Had the Presbyterian deal gone through, Terrace Hill may have ultimately become a relatively short-lived footnote in Iowa’s architectural genealogy.
However, the paths of these two Des Moines business pioneers – Allen and Hubbell – ultimately converged at Terrace Hill in 1884. Terrace Hill would become the most lasting symbol of Allen’s empire. The mansion’s next owner, Frederick Marion Hubbell, shared Allen’s passion for Terrace Hill, and brought stability for its future. This not only completed a transfer of Iowa’s premier property from one self-made man to another, but symbolically represented the transfer of financial power from Iowa’s first major success story, which collapsed around its architect, to the heir apparent, Hubbell.
TO READ THE ENTIRE STORY AND OTHER FASCINATING STORIES ABOUT IOWA HISTORY, subscribe to Iowa History Journal.