COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — To be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a local landmark, a place must be special.
- The Bregant House was custom built by Jean and Inez Bregant, known as Council Bluffs' first 'little couple,' in 1912.
- After decades as a rental property, Preserve Council Bluffs continues to work to restore the three-quarter-sized Craftsman Bungalow.
- The Bregant House, often called The Dollhouse by neighbors, is open for tours on Saturdays and Sundays. Scheduled here.
Continue reading for the on-air transcript:
517 4th Street, Council Bluffs.
A small, three-quarter-sized Craftsman Bungalow is tucked back.
"Unless you know the story, you would just pass it by. You would never even give it a second thought," Michelle Mutchler-Burns of Preserve Council Bluffs remarked.
Some neighbors call it The Dollhouse. It is The Bregant House - named for the couple who built it in 1912.
"Jean and Inez Bregant were such social people - such a huge part of Council Bluffs," Mutchler-Burns explained. She gives many of the tours.
"Jean was 45 or 46 inches tall," she said. "Inez was 42 inches tall. They were Council Bluffs' original or probably only - at that time - little couple. And they had this home custom built to meet their short stature."
"All of the light switches are lower, all of the door knobs are lower. The fireplace mantle is exactly 42 inches high, which was Inez's height," she said.
The built-in console in the home's dining room is also to scale, with the mirror at the right height for topping off an outfit.
"They say Inez almost always wore a hat when she went out. And it almost always had a plume of some sort. And it would bounce as she walked and it sort of gave this impression that she was taller, I think," Mutchler-Burns said, smiling.
Jean also wore hats, and one was found in the attic during restoration. The only other known, surviving effect is a vinegar cruet.
After Jean passed - and later, Inez - the house was rented out. An anonymous donor helped Preserve Council Bluffs buy it in 2012.
A process to bring it back, photographs help guide the work. The next major project is painting the home's exterior taupe, cream and dark brown. Colorizing a black and white photo, with Jean and Inez on the front steps, provided a sense of the original palette.
The Bregants were performers - including on the Vaudeville circuit. They could have settled anywhere, but she grew up in Council Bluffs and her parents lived in the home next to their eventual lot.
In time, Jean and Inez built careers and became philanthropists - all part of the story wrapped up in the local landmark.
The Bregant House is open for tours on Saturdays and Sundays. To book yours, visit this website.