About 415 Walnut Street
This iconic Cedar Falls home is teeming with stories, character, and historical significance. T.L. French, who owned the historic broom factory, purchased this land from the Overman family and built the stately Walnut home in 1874. Every inch boasts beautiful character and no expense was spared when constructing the home. T.L. French eventually sold the home to the Gleason family, who owned the Centennial home for over a century! The grand wrap-around porch provides magnificent curb appeal and is a peaceful spot to spend an evening with friends and family. Step in the stately front door and you'll instantly fall in love with the soaring ceilings, detailed woodwork of the entry, and grand staircase. A parlor sits in front of the home and features lovely picture rail moulding, beautiful lighting, the first of many custom ceiling medallions, and the first of five marble fireplaces in the home. These marble fireplaces traveled by boat from Italy to port in New Orleans, by barge up the Mississippi River to Dubuque, and then by oxcart to Cedar Falls. Towering pocket doors usher you in to the family room. Here you'll again notice the beauty of the custom doors, marble fireplace feature, wall murals, custom ceiling medallion, and more exquisite character details. Beyond the living room, a large formal dining room provides the perfect space to host a crowd. The dining area has doors that lead to a second covered porch area, and the backyard deck. Around 1900, a large addition to the home brought the kitchen indoors! The spacious renovated kitchen boasts magnificent cherry cabinetry, a large center island, hard surface countertops, touch faucet, updated appliances, a cistern surprise, and a wonderful workspace area. A main floor laundry room sits beyond the kitchen and leads to a newly renovated full bath. Also on the main, you'll find an office with floor to ceiling built ins, tin ceiling, and fireplace focal point. Travel up the marvelous front staircase to the second story, and you'll find 4 sizeable bedrooms, including a master suite with a master bathroom that houses double sinks, shower, and a jetted tub. Also on the second level, you'll discover a nursery room, storage room, a second full bath, and access to the amazing attic space. A servant's staircase leads back down to the kitchen. Continue down to the basement and you'll find plenty of storage, a craft/project room, workshop space, exercise room, and a large living area. Previous owners opened up a trap door area and turned it into a second basement staircase. When doing so, they found evidence of a rumored speakeasy once housed in the basement! The outside spaces of this home are an absolute oasis! Once lined with 9 hitching posts for the extensive guests that visited the grandiose home for social gatherings, the front yard is beautifully landscaped and bursts with color. One set of steps remains on Walnut, where horse carriages would stop to let people out to be ushered into the home. A private backyard provides a peaceful deck with pergola, a grapevine arbor, and brick patio pavers salvaged from old 4th Street in Waterloo. The carriage house-style garage provides three stalls of parking space, and an amazing upper level studio workspace. A second garage/shed, once used for cooking and laundry, gives more storage options, workspace, and a potting shed area. There are so many wonderful details and stories to share...this historic Walnut home is an absolute dream! Don't miss your chance to own an iconic piece of Cedar Falls history!
