UPDATE: The mansion was demolished on Sept. 23, 2025. See more: Death of a queen
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — The dusty floors, boarded windows and cracked porch spindles belie the opulence of the once-majestic mansion dubbed by locals as the “Queen of Hearts.”
“It’s long past gone,” owner Todd Hollingworth said of the Marshalltown mansion. “It’s just collapsing.”
After exploring grants and other funding sources, Hollingworth, who has owned the home the past seven years, said he couldn’t come up with the $1.8 million estimated cost of repair. Preservationists put the cost of stabilizing the house at much less, however.
Others have tried over the years, too, Hollingworth said, adding that he purchased the property for the land for his neighboring home.
The city recently issued a notice for Hollingworth to bring it up to code or “abate” and he said, the $51,000 to demolish “is a lot less expensive.” The house could be demolished as soon as Sept. 2, 2025.
The ornate grand staircase is shown in a photo before someone used a “Sawzall” to remove it from the Marshalltown mansion. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
West End Architectural Salvage in Des Moines salvaged some interior items last week, followed by the nonprofit Save Cedar Rapids Heritage, whose volunteers salvage as a last-resort when a home can’t be saved in place or moved.
Related: Queen Anne Victorian home moved in North Liberty
Built in 1901 for Newton Carmean, president of the Marshalltown Buggy Co., the eclectic-style house featured 18 rooms, including a third floor ballroom.
Reality Daydream LLC tried to fundraise via their YouTube channel to repair the home, which was damaged by a 2019 tornado and Iowa’s 2020 hurricane-strength derecho, but the efforts fell short.
Kyle Landas removes a heart-shaped window frame from the mansion in Marshalltown. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Located on West Main Street, the home has been described as French Chateauesque, Colonial Revival and Queen Anne style and is best known for its signature heart-shaped windows.
After receiving permission, Kyle Landas of Marshalltown was able to save the frame of one of the heart windows, which he will keep as a piece of art in his own home. His son, Emerson, also helped in the effort.
Hollingworth said he wished there would have been a different outcome for the mansion.
“I’ve watched four different owners go through there with all of those dreams,” he said. “They just couldn’t keep up with it.”
MORE: See photos of mansions in Bonaparte, Iowa, and more from the Queen of Hearts, below:
If the readers here will notice that there is not a trace of an attempt to brace this house to stabilize it. Mr. Hollingsworth… not yet the owner… has essentially committed “ demolition by neglect” by years of moaning and he has been in contract since the unbelievable date of 2019. His intention was to expand his yard despite contracts to preserve it … and do it the cheapest way possible by parting it out to salvagers.
[…] More: See photos of the “Queen of Hearts” in its final days […]