page_title: B.J. Palmer House
section_title: A Little Bit O’ Heaven
hierarchical_section_title: B.J. Palmer House / A Little Bit O’ Heaven
caption_attribution_description: English: B. J. Palmer's House entrance.
context_page_description: The B.J. Palmer House, also known as the Palmer Family Residence, is a historic building located on the Brady Street Hill in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is on the campus of Palmer College of Chiropractic and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. The college offers tours of the first floor of the mansion.
context_section_description: Palmer started to build a garden along the north side of the house in 1924 that he called A Little Bit O’ Heaven. It was largely a collection of artwork and artifacts that Palmer and his wife, Mabel Heath Palmer, collected on their trips to Asia and Europe. Part of the collection was also kept on the porch. A courtyard contained items such as totem poles, statues of deer, birds and the birth of Venus. There was a rock-lined corridor called “purgatory” that led to the heart of the exhibit that contained a large greenhouse with a waterfall of 40 feet (12 m) and a pond that was filled with tropical fish, alligators and Oriental art. The site also contained what Palmer claimed was the smallest chapel in the world, it was 8 square feet (0.74 m²), and thousands of people wed there. For a small fee the public was allowed to visit the site. It was one of the most popular attractions in Davenport. After Palmer's death in 1961 A Little Bit O’ Heaven started to decline and it was closed to the public in 1981 and it was dismantled in 1983.
  Over their lifetime the Palmers amassed a large collection of artifacts that decorated their house and A Little Bit O’ Heaven. Half of the Palmer's collection went to their son David when Mabel died. When B.J. died, half of what was left was relocated to the Putnam Museum in Davenport. The remainder went to the Palmer's three granddaughters and what was left over remains in the house. The house remains a part of Palmer College today and the courtyard became a patio for students.
caption: The entrance of A Little Bit O' Heaven
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