From the day the massive doors were opened at 2300 Grand in 1869, Terrace Hill has been a landmark. Initially remarkable as the ostentatious residence of Iowa’s first millionaire, Benjamin Franklin Allen, Terrace Hill stood out on the prairie like a palace. In 1884, when fortune turned on Allen’s banking interests, he sold the home to insurance pioneer and railroad magnate Frederick Marion Hubbell. The home remained in the Hubbell family and its trust until 1971, when it was given by the Hubbell heirs to the state of Iowa for use as the official residence of Iowa’s governors.

Today, Terrace Hill is a landmark that houses Iowa’s governors during their terms of office. Since 1976, Iowa’s first families have lived on the third floor in what was once a ballroom and servants quarters. The first and second floors are open to the public as an interpretive Victorian museum.