| The City of Mason City and Heartland Properties, Inc. a unit of Alliant
Energy, are actively pursuing options to help restore and rehabilitate the historic Park
Inn. The Mason City hotel, the only remaining hotel designed by architect Frank Lloyd
Wright, was listed January 20, as one of Iowa's Most Endangered Properties. The listing
was created by the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance. |
Park Inn Hotel, Mason City, Iowa |
|
| Working with officials in Mason City, Heartland Properties
has been investigating various options to preserve the 90-year-old structure. The company,
which sponsors affordable housing developments in communities served by Alliant Energy,
has been working with building owner Les Nelson, the City of Mason City, the Chamber of
Commerce and the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy to determine a plan of action
that might allow the building to be restored and adapted for use as downtown housing and
first floor commercial space. |
| "This designation as one of Iowa's Most Endangered
Properties focuses critical attention on the needs of this historic building," said
Dean Baumgardner, Vice President of Heartland Properties. "We are please to continue
working with the owner and community leaders to find ways that we might structure a plan
to save this Iowa treasure and internationally-significant Wright-designed
structure." Heartland Properties nominated the Park Inn for the listing. |
| "We have appreciated the interest and assistance offered
by Heartland Properties and the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance in this project,"
said Tarek Moneir, City of Mason City Community Development Director. "Prairie School
architecture has a strong presence in Mason City and we are eager to see the Park Inn
brought back to its former glory as an architectural centerpiece in the community." |
| Designed by Wright in 1909, the Park Inn gradually
deteriorated in the hands of successive owners and ceased functioning as a hotel in 1972.
Today the dramatically cantilevered hotel roof has sagged severely and there are many
structural problems. The first floor, which houses the Mason City Chamber of Commerce, has
been drastically altered over the years. According to Dr. Robert McCoy of the River City
Society for Historic Preservation, "The goal is to restore the original hotel lobby
and grand dining room areas as meeting space for the Chamber and community." |
| The City of Mason City and Heartland Properties, Inc. a unit
of Alliant Energy, are actively pursuing options to help restore and rehabilitate the
historic Park Inn. The Mason City hotel, the only remaining hotel designed by architect
Frank Lloyd Wright, was listed January 20, as one of Iowa's Most Endangered Properties.
The listing was created by the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance. |
