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Mason City is the real-life River City of "The Music Man": composer Meredith Willson grew up here and turned his hometown into the setting of his famous musical. Its downtown also holds the last surviving hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, making this north Iowa city of about 27,000 a surprising stop for architecture and theater fans alike.
The Historic Park Inn Hotel, completed in 1910, was carefully restored and reopened in 2011, while the nearby Stockman House shows Wright's Prairie School ideas in a modest family home. Along Willow Creek, the Rock Crest-Rock Glen neighborhood holds one of the largest groups of Prairie School homes in a natural setting, by Walter Burley Griffin and other architects.
Music Man Square recreates a 1912 River City streetscape next to Willson's boyhood home, and the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum holds American art and puppets by Bil Baird. Every June the North Iowa Band Festival fills the streets with marching bands. Clear Lake and the Surf Ballroom are ten minutes west.
The only remaining hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, completed in 1910 with an attached bank building and restored to its Prairie School glory in 2011. Guests can sleep in period-inspired rooms, and visitors can join guided tours of the public spaces. Book tours in advance in summer.
A compact Frank Lloyd Wright house built in 1908 for a local doctor, moved to its current site and restored with period furniture. Guided tours explain how the design influenced other Prairie homes across town, and an interpretive center covers the architecture movement. Open seasonally; check tour times.
A rare group of Prairie School houses set along the limestone banks of Willow Creek, planned by Walter Burley Griffin and designed by him and other architects in the 1910s. The homes are private, but a walking tour from the Stockman House area reveals them from the street. Spring and fall light is ideal for photos.
A museum and event space with an indoor recreation of a 1912 River City streetscape inspired by "The Music Man," plus exhibits on Meredith Willson's life and music, memorabilia from the film and an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Admission is modest, and it pairs neatly with his boyhood home next door.
A free art museum in an English Tudor-style mansion overlooking Willow Creek, with a collection of American paintings, prints and sculpture and a beloved gallery of marionettes and puppets created by Mason City native Bil Baird, the puppeteer famed for film and television work. Allow an hour and check the calendar for changing exhibits.
A local history museum near the airport with a one-room schoolhouse, a log cabin, vintage vehicles, farm equipment and exhibits on north Iowa's pioneer settlers. It is run by volunteers and opens seasonally in the warmer months. A quick and inexpensive stop on the way to Clear Lake; allow about an hour.
The modest frame house where the composer of "The Music Man" was born and raised, furnished to reflect his family's life in the early 1900s, with his childhood piano and family belongings. Guided tours start from Music Man Square next door. Hours are seasonal, so confirm before visiting outside the summer months.
A county nature center on bluffs above the Winnebago River, with trails through woods, restored prairie and limestone quarry ponds, plus indoor exhibits of north Iowa wildlife. Spring migration and fall color are excellent. Admission is free; wear good shoes, since some bluff trails are steep and rocky.
The city's largest park, set along Willow Creek with a historic band shell, playgrounds, picnic shelters and wooded walking paths. Summer evening concerts carry on the town's band tradition. It makes a relaxed picnic spot between architecture tours, with plenty of free parking.
A Mason City tradition dating to the 1930s in which dozens of high school marching bands parade through downtown each June, along with a carnival, food stands and concerts. It celebrates the city's River City heritage. Arrive early to claim a curbside spot on the parade route, and bring sun protection.
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Log in to add photosPhoto: Jim Roberts, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Photo: Dan Breyfogle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Dan Breyfogle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Dan Breyfogle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Photo: Dan Breyfogle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
