Iowa

Rollins Mansion, Estate of the Day

Filed under: Estates

It's hard to know what the fate will be of a grand old home like this. The Rollins Mansion in Des Moines, Iowa is an 82-year-old English Tudor built in 1925-27 by Ralph Rollins, owner of Rollins Hosiery Mills. Rollins and cosmetics maker Carl Weeks, who built another Des Moines home, the Salisbury House, were fascinated by English architecture. Both homes were designed by local architects Byron Boyd and Herbert Moore, and both are on the National Register of Historic Places.

In December the Des Moines Register reported that Hubbell Realty became the fifth owner of the mansion. The company bought the home for $1.75 million as part of a 2007 in which Hubbell agreed to buy properties owned by developer Lloyd Clarke's holding company.

The nearly 12,000 square foot home is on 1.86 acres and can be used as either a commercial property or a home. The property reportedly includes 16th century ship beams and ceiling beams from the inn where William Shakespeare performed as well as stained glass designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Rollins sold the home in 1931 to the estate of Meredith Corp. founder, E.T. Meredith. Meredith's daughter, Mildred, and her husband owned the home until the 1970s when it was sold to a local lawyer who used it as office space. He sold it in 1995 to the Clarke Companies which added 5,300 square feet of contemporary office space but also rented it out for weddings and other events.

It's a well-crafted home but it's hard to say what will happen to it next. Whoever acquires it has the onus of preserving as much of its historic structure as possible while still making it livable. One thing is for certain, Hubbell Realty isn't making any money on the deal, this estate is listed at $1.7 million.

Gallery: Rollins Mansion

Tags: des moines, DesMoines, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, iowa, iowa real estate, IowaRealEstate, rollins mansion, RollinsMansion

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Templeton Small Batch Rye Whiskey

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Templeton Rye, a small batch rye whiskey from Iowa, has quite an interesting history; it was first introduced in the 1920s and was made illegally throughout the Prohibition Era. During that time Templeton was at the center of Al Capone's bootlegging empire, and was even shipped to him during his imprisonment at Alcatraz.

The end of the Prohibition came in 1933, but the production of Templeton Rye continued, and the whiskey has only been made privately and in small quantities for loyal patrons since. Templeton Rye launched its first legal product in 2006, and is currently only available in Illinois and Iowa, though that will hopefully change soon.

Following the Prohibition Era recipe, Templeton is aged for more than four years in charred new white oak barrels. While a rye whiskey must by definition be made from a mash containing at least 51% rye, Templeton is made from a mash of more than 90% rye. As the bottle says, it makes for "a smooth finish and a clean getaway."

The unique whiskey presents a rye spiciness and almost bittersweet taste that is found in the rye grain, along with notes of dried fruit, toffee, caramel and allspice. Texturally, the deep amber-colored whiskey is thick and almost chewy. The mellow, yet complex rye has a clean, spicy finish. The rye taste mixed with spiciness and sweet undertones are well balanced, a sign of careful aging.

Tags: Al Capone, AlCapone, Iowa, Prohibition, rye, Templeton Rye, TempletonRye, whiskey, whisky

Des Moines Most Expensive House In Foreclosure, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The lavish home of West Des Moines developer Dave Walters price isn't just the most expensive resale home in the Des Moines area to ever hit the market at $3.9 million, it's also in foreclosure. The Walters family moved out last year and two banks have mortgages against the home totaling around $4.2 million. Waters was one of the top home builders in the area but became involved in projects that were never completed.

If a buyer is not found in a few months the home will go up for a sheriff's sale. The 14,000-square-foot home was finished less than two years ago. The ten-acre property includes a swimming pool, a 1,500-square-foot guest house, three garages, a quarter-mile walking path and its own football field complete with goal posts. The Des Moines Register says it is estimated that Walters spent about $5.2 million building the home after buying the 10 acres for $850,000 in 2005. It has a massive great room, media room, a huge 1,100-square-foot master bedroom and even a secret room hidden by a bookshelf. It is larger and more lavish than most homes in the area but at $3.9 million it may struggle to find a buyer before the deadline.

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Gallery: A Major Foreclosure in Des Moines

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Tags: dave walters, DaveWalters, des moines, DesMoines, iowa, real estate, RealEstate

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Chateau on the Prairie, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Out on the flats of the prairie in Johnston, Iowa, sits this surprising home, a French-styled chateau plunked down into the heart of the midwest. This ten-year-old home presents an elegant exterior with it's tree-lined driveway but inside it's a bit quirky. You've got a sort of country kitchen, a dark wood study packed to the brim with fish and game trophies and antiques everywhere. The first floor public rooms have columns and some charming plaster details but then you've got my personal pet peeve, those round lights inset into the ceilings in the bedrooms which rather destroy the classic effect. The home is 8264 square feet and there are five bedrooms. The exterior includes a private pond and a swimming pool on 4.66 acres. It's a lot of house for not that much money, it's listed at $1.495 million.

Gallery: Prairie Chateau