1120 2nd Avenue Southeast
Cedar Rapids, IA, USA

A. T. Averill House

The A. T. Averill House is a historic building located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. Local architects Sidney Smith and W.A. Fulkerson designed this 2 1/2 -story, brick Late Victorian home. It was completed in 1886 for farm implement dealer Arthur Tappan Averill. This is a more restrained version of the High Victorian style. The house features a truncated hip roof, a 2 1/2 -story polygonal bay, and a rectangular tower set on the diagonal. The carriage house/barn behind the house is of a similar design, but older. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

National Register of Historic Places - A. T. Averill House

Statement of Significance:

The Averill house, superbly designed for its corner lot location, displays a variety of elements associated with High Victorian residential architecture. Chief among these are the pierced, vertical brick chimney panels, the paneled cornice, incised detailing on the lintels, and the overall atmosphere of crisp angularity, the latter in particular setting it off-from the looser, freer character of the Queen Anne style. Even within the High Victorian, however, the Averill house is a rather restrained example of the style. The carriage house/barn is architecturally compatible with the house (indeed, it was completed before the house itself), with noteworthy features including a simpler version of the main house's paneled cornice and the stone "imposts" of the window arches.

The house was designed by the local firm of Sidney Smith and W.A. Fulkerson. This partnership was short-lived (1884-1886) but had to its credit several residences and commercial structures in Cedar Rapids. Smith worked in Des Moines before coining to Cedar Rapids, but retired in 1886, leaving Fulkerson to continue the practice alone.

The house was built for Arthur Tappan Averill (1843-1910), among Cedar Rapids' more "substantial" citizens curing the late 19th century. Averill was born in Vermont, grew up in Illinois, and came to Cedar Rapids in 1865. After 4 years' work with, the local branch of McCormick Harvester Co. (Chicago), Averill opened his own agricultural implement business with John T. Hamilton. Averill § Hamilton (later Averill § Amidon, and finally owned solely by Averill) was apparently a prosperous company, for by 1875 A.T. Averill was beginning to invest in a variety of local enterprises, including the Cedar Rapids Gas Light Co. and assorted banking concerns. Eventually he owned property and businesses in several states, including hotels in Chicago and Cedar Rapids.