Salisbury House, in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, is a Tudor,

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

and Carolean style manor home built on a wooded hill with commanding views. It was built by cosmetics magnate

Carl Weeks Carl Weeks (1876–1962) was an American businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for founding pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies, including Weeks & Leo Co., Inc. Carl and his wife Edith built Salisbury House in Des Moines, Iowa ...

and his wife, Edith Van Slyke Weeks, between 1923 and 1928. Salisbury House was modeled after the King's House in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, contains 42 rooms and measures just over . The property is owned and operated by the Salisbury House Foundation and is open to the public for tours, public events, and private rentals. Salisbury House was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1977. The listing covered a area with two

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

, one other

contributing structure In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distr ...

and one

contributing site In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distr ...

. Salisbury House is also on the

List of Registered Historic Places in Iowa Image:Iowa counties map.png, 300px, Iowa counties (clickable) rect 230 333 288 390 Adair County rect 201 388 259 431 Adams County poly 602 6 603 33 604 33 604 74 655 73 655 65 658 60 660 57 664 52 668 50 670 45 665 40 663 35 659 31 652 29 65 ...

Timeline

*1923 to 1928: Constructed and furnished with an original budget of $150,000, the final cost was $3 million. *1926: Carl and Edith Weeks and their four sons—Charles, William, Evert, and Lafayette—move into Salisbury House. *1934: Carl and Edith Weeks donate Salisbury House to

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

; they retain ownership of the House's collections and furnishings, and pay rent to Drake as tenants until 1954. *1954: Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) purchased Salisbury House and its collections from Drake University and the Weeks Family for $180,000 and began using it as office space. *1993: Salisbury House Foundation was formed to preserve, interpret and share the property for the cultural and educational benefit of the public. *1998: Salisbury House Foundation purchased the property and collections from ISEA for $4.0 million. *1999: Operation of Salisbury House as a historic house museum began.

Collections

The Weeks Family amassed extensive collections of fine art, decorative art, rare books, musical instruments, historic documents, weapons and sculpture, and most of their holdings remain in Salisbury House to this day. However, in the summer of 2019,

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

purchased the library of Carl and Edith Weeks and moved the collection of approximately 3,000 volumes and 2,500 historic documents to Burling Library on the Grinnell College campus. The collection remains open for research by the public, and Grinnell continues to collaborate with Salisbury House on programming involving the collection. The Salisbury House Foundation offers various tour packages that allow visitors to experience many highlights from the Weeks Family's collections.

References

External links

Salisbury House Website

Salisbury House Blog
{{Historic Des Moines Houses Houses completed in 1928 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Houses in Des Moines, Iowa Historic house museums in Iowa Museums in Des Moines, Iowa Jacobean architecture in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Des Moines, Iowa