Austin, MN to Mason City, IA
A short drive south across the Iowa farmland takes us to Mason City, our next stop.
Mason City, IA
Mason City is a town of around 28,000 people in northern Iowa and home to a stable economy due to being the site of a number of different industries, including a large Kraft food plant that produces the nation’s entire supply of refrigerated ready-to-eat Jell-O pudding snacks. The foundation of Mason City’s growth during the early 1900’s was the rich surrounding agricultural lands. The downtown central core houses a number of substantial buildings from the period, including the 1916 Brick and Tile Building (the second picture.)
Two one-way streets bracket the central core and four blocks at the southern end were combined in 1985 into the Southbridge Mall, creating a plaza that would serve as the center of city events. The architectural design of the mall does not blend in with the surrounding turn of the 20th Century buildings, being essentially solid brick with minimal windows except on the entrance on the plaza, where a wall of dark glass blocks the street.
The view north from the entrance to the mall looks up the central area to the north.
Similar to what we saw in Sioux Falls, the downtown core is graced by a Sculpture Walk. An interesting different is that type of sculpture is significantly different. While the Sioux Falls Sculpture Walk was a mix of styles of sculpture, many modern, here in Mason City the sculptures are much more lifelike and most cast metal.
One of the major attractions of Mason City lies in its’ outstanding collection of Prairie School Architecture. Prairie School Architecture evolved from the “Chicago Group”, a collection of architects in Chicago who during the late 1800’s set out to from a distinctly American style of architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright is perhaps the most famous proponent of this style. Two original Frank Lloyd Wright buildings are located in Mason City. The first is the 1910 Park Lane Hotel and City National Bank Building, a landmark in downtown that housed a combination bank/hotel in the distinctive Frank Lloyd Wight style.
The lobby and lounge reflect the simple, horizontal lines characteristic of the Prairie School architecture.
Just east of the downtown area along Willow Creek is the historic Rock Glen neighborhood where the wealthy merchants of an earlier age built their homes. While most are of traditional architecture, a few were designed in the distinctly American Prairie School style, most unusual in the early 1900’s.
The crown jewel of the collection is the second original Frank Lloyd Wright building in Mason City, the 1908 Stockman House.
Having indulged my interest in architecture, I now turn to another of my major interests, music. Two very different but equally significant musical events occurred in the Mason City area.
The Day the Music Died…
Singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to February 3, 1959, as “the day the music died” is in his 1971 rock anthem “American Pie.” He was referring to the day of a plane crash that took the life of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the “Big Bopper” as well as Roger Peterson, the pilot. They had just taken off from Mason City airport in bad weather after a performance on the “Winter Dance Party” tour in nearby Clear Lake. Just last spring I visited Lubbock, Texas, birthplace of Buddy Holly and home to a museum honoring him (see Vol.12, Chap. 17 “That’ll Be The Day”.) The site of that last concert was the legendary Surf Ballroom in nearby Clear Lake.
Clear Lake is one of Iowa’s most popular resort towns, situated on the shores of Clear Lake and in 1933 the first Surf Ballroom was built on the shores of the lake. It quickly became a fixture on the big band tours of the era, with virtually every star of the day gracing it’s’ halls. The original ballroom burned in 1947 and a larger venue was built across the street. This is the structure which still operates today as a performance venue and most of the original interior design (mimicking a beach club) is intact.
The large sunken ballroom has a large stage on the left and raised banquettes on the other two sides, made out of the original plywood and patent leather.
The small green room is decorated with the signatures of artists over the years, signed while they waited to go on stage. The origin of the term “green room” is lost in history with one of the first references to the term occurring in 1599 when London’s Blackfriar’s Theater had a small room painted green behind the sets where actors waited to go on stage. Many are green, many are not. The green room in New York’s Rockefeller Center where I waited before going on the Today Show in 1998 was certainly a scruffy, pale green.
While there are three small bars in the corners of the ballroom the main place that dancers gather to take a break and have a drink is the Cypress Room.
The walls are lined with memorabilia honoring all of the artists who have played the ballroom. The variety of music genres representative is amazing.
Specific items on display include a guitar from ZZ Top, Charlie Daniels’ fiddle, and Pat Boone’s white shoes.
Further east, back in Mason City, a different musical legacy is honored.
The Music Man
Mason City rose to fame across the world in the early 1960’s as its’ favorite son, Meredith Willson, wrote one of the most revered musicals of all time, The Music Man. All about the excitement surrounding the arrival of con-man Harold Hill and his love for Marion the Librarian,The Music Man takes place in fictional “River City”, a wholesome, all-American town Willson modeled after his home town. Music Man Square in downtown Mason City celebrates the legacy of Meredith Willson and his most famous musical.
At the entrance to the building are pristine examples of the changing modes of transportation during the turn of the 20th Century. A 1919 Ford Model T shares the spot with an 1898 buggy.
An entire city block of River City has been recreated inside the square, utilizing the sets designed for the 1962 film as the model for the town. Many of the storefronts also have interiors appropriate to the period.
The street is made up of 25,913 yellow Mississippi pine wood blocks, each 2 inches thick. During the years around 1900 creosote soaked wood blocks like this were used to pave the residential streets in Mason City in an attempt to muffle the sound of carriages and horses passing down the streets. The livery stables house a small museum celebrating music and the life of Meredith Willson.
One of the highlights is a 1903 Chapel reed Pump Organ.
I would be remiss without mentioning the outstanding bathrooms, all decorated in a period style and lavish real brass fixtures and ceilings.
Outside of the main building is the 1895 boyhood home of Meredith Willson, which has been restored to its’ original state and is an outstanding example of the home of an upper middle-class family of the time. Willson’s family had made their fortune in the California goldfields and the home was built with the best available materials and technology of the time. It even had running water and electricity!
There are two dining areas, the everyday family dining room and a formal dining room.
A close up of the formal table shows a unique dish used at the time, the crescent shaped dish above the large plate was a “bone plate”, used for chicken bones, etc.
On a side table is a brass “Crumb Catcher”, used to brush crumbs off the table.
One side of the small kitchen was a bit difficult to photograph because of the light coming in through the windows. A telephone is on the wall next to the built-in ironing board.
A life-size statue of Meredith Willson honors his contributions to American music.
Next up: A Different Way of Life…
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