Historic Drake mansion opens for rare tours
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The 1896 Captain Nicholas and Emma Johnson House in Des Moines. Photo: Courtesy of the Polk County Assessor
A 130-year-old Drake neighborhood mansion, rarely open to the public, will host guided tours this weekend.
State of play: The 1896 Captain Nicholas and Emma Johnson House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Catch up quick: Johnson was a 19th-century sea captain who sailed the Atlantic and later became a prominent Madison County farmer.
- The family moved to Des Moines in the early 1890s.
The intrigue: It served as a funeral home for more than 60 years and as a monastery for about a decade before it became a single-family home again in 2009.
- It is now the residence of David Schlarmann and Shauneen Linton, who helped launch Metro Market, an early-2000s public market in the building that later became Gateway Market.
What's next: Tours are on Saturday and Sunday, and reservations are required; proceeds benefit the Drake Neighborhood Association.