Mason City is a city and the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,338 in the 2020 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties. It is commonly referred to as the "River City", as the city grew up centered on the Winnebago River.
The Dr. G.C. Stockman House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1908 for Dr. George C. and Eleanor Stockman in Mason City, Iowa. The home was originally located at 311 1st St. SE, but was moved to 530 1st St. NE to avoid demolition. It has been fully restored as a public museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It features numerous authentic period furnishings and reproduction pieces.
The Edward C. Roberts House is a historic building located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984.
The A. B. C. Dodd House is a historic house located at 310 3rd Avenue in Charles City, Iowa.
Woodbine Public Library, also known as Carnegie Public Library, is located in Woodbine, Iowa, United States. The library was organized in 1907, and it was initially housed in the jail section of city hall. If there was inmate in the jail the public had no access to the library. The city council appointed a board of trustees in 1908 and they applied to the Andrew Carnegie for a grant to build a library building. They received a grant on April 28, 1909, for $7,500. The Eisentraut Company, a Sioux City architectural firm designed the Prairie School building. F. X. White of Eldora, Iowa was the contractor. The building was completed in February 1909, and it was dedicated on March 9 of the same year. This was the first library built in Harrison County.
The A.J. Andrus Duplex, also known as the Paul Pritchard Duplex, is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. The two story structure was completed in 1921 in the Prairie School style. Its most distinguishing feature is its C-shaped plan. The exterior is composed of brick on the first floor and stucco on the second floor. The duplex has a horizontal emphasis about it with a broad, overhanging hipped roof, and bands of windows. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The C.F. Franke House is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Built in 1916, the exterior of the two-story structure is covered with stucco. It utilizes the Mason City variant of the Prairie School style to stucco over corbelled masonry to form the wall panels for visual effect. Although the eaves on the second story were cut back almost flush with the walls, the house maintains its horizontal emphasis, including the grouping of the casement windows. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The E.R. Gibson House is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Built in 1912, this two-story stucco structure exhibits a strong Prairie School influence. It features a wide eaves, hip roof, a central chimney, and casement windows of leaded glass. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Lippert House is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Built in 1923, this two-story duplex is significant for its C-shaped plan and strong Prairie School influences. It features brick on the first floor, stucco on the second, wide eaves, broad hip roof, and a common utility wall. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The F.M. Norris House, also known as the Patton House and the Gerard Photography Studio, was a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Fred Magee Norris (1864-1938) served two terms as the mayor of the city. He was married to Elizabeth (Atkinson) Norris (1866-1933). They had Chris Rye build this Prairie School house for them. While Rye built some of Walter Burley Griffin's designs, it is possible that he designed this house himself. It featured a horizontal emphasis, wide eaves, broad hip roof, and stucco walls. The building was altered by Jerome J. Gerard (1913-2010) for his photography studio. In addition to his photographic work, he wrote for the magazine Popular Photography for 20 years. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It has subsequently been torn down.
The George Romey House, also known as the Bruce Girton House, is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. George A. Romey was a local realtor who worked in partnership with William L. Patton. He had Fred Lippert design this Prairie School house, which was built by J.M. Felt & Company in 1920. Bruce Girton, the later owner, operated the family feed business. The two-story brick house features wide eaves, broad hip roof, and groups of casement windows. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Chris Rye House is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Rye was a local contractor who built this Prairie School influenced house for his family. He may have designed it as well. Rye was responsible for constructing many of Walter Burley Griffin's houses in the Rock Crest – Rock Glen development, as well as other buildings in north-central Iowa. The exterior of the two-story house is a unique combination of brick and stucco, and it's capped with a hip roof. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Charles Seney House, also known as the Van Heel Residence, is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. This house is attributed to local architect Einar Broaten and built by Sivert Rivedal, a native of Norway. It utilizes the Mason City variant of the Prairie School style to stucco over corbelled masonry to form the wall panels for visual effect. The two-story house, completed in 1913, is capped with a hip roof. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The C. P. Shipley House was a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Clinton Pardes Shipley (1851–1936) was a native of Baltimore County, Maryland. He married Margaret A. McMillin (1853–1940) in Mason City on November 17, 1875. The two-story Prairie School house, completed in 1913, had a stucco exterior, a broad hip roof and overhanging eaves. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The house has subsequently been torn down. The Globe Gazette building is now on the property.
The Mier Wolf House is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Wolf was a prominent member of the local business community, operating a furniture store. Completed in 1909, this house is an early example of Prairie School architecture in Mason City. While its architect is unknown, it exhibits similarities to Frank Lloyd Wright's Mayan Period. The house features geometric wall decorations, truncated, stylized piers, and paired sculpted shapes on the heavy fascia of the broad overhanging hip roof. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Tessa Youngblood House is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1922, the house is attributed to local contractor John Taylor. The two-story structure features a stuccoed exterior above a brick base, and a heavy roof design with a deep fascia. The attached garage in the back was converted into a room in 1958, and at the same time the second story room above it was added. A detached garage was built the same year. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 2015 the house and the garage were included as contributing properties in the Forest Park Historic District.
The Duncan Rule House is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Rule was an attorney who hired E.R. Bogardus, a local builder to design and construct this house. The 2½-story frame structure features a large gable on the north and south elevations of the house. It is one of the few houses in the Shingle Style in Iowa that has an open gable like this. Other elements of the house include the semi-circular bay on the main floor with a somewhat asymmetrically placed veranda adjacent to it. There is also a Palladian window in the attic. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Keerl–Decker House is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. It was designed by local architect E.R. Bogardus, and completed in 1902. The two-story frame structure features a full height front porch with Ionic columns. There is also a similar single-story side porch. The house is capped with a hip roof with dormers, and a denticulated cornice with modillions. It was built for Irving Keerl, who served as Clerk of Courts for Cerro Gordo County, and he was one of the organizers of the Iowa State Bank of Mason City. The house is also associated with the Decker family who owned it from 1919 to 1965. They operated the Decker Meat Packing Plant, which is now operated by ConAgra Foods. The house was converted into a restaurant in the 1970s. It was at that time that an addition to house a commercial kitchen was built. The house has subsequently been converted into a bed and breakfast. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
The Jewell Apartments is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1917 by local contractor Fred Lippert, this apartment building is two C-shaped buildings joined together.
Parker's Opera House, also known as Opera House Store, Woolworth's and Parker Place, is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. It was designed by the prominent Des Moines architect William Foster. Cousins H. G. and A. T. Parker built this structure as an opera house, which was the first one in the community. While it initially filled a need in Mason City, it was replaced by more modern theatres around the turn of the 20th century. The third floor was created in the building in 1909 when it was placed across the middle of the auditorium. The first floor initially housed a clothing store, and F. W. Woolworth Company occupied it beginning in the mid-1920s, and the upper floors housed the local offices of the Standard Oil Company at the same time. The two-story addition in the rear was built in the 1960s. The first floor was redesigned in 1997 for Central Park Dentistry. The upper floors were converted into apartments in 2013.
