The Mason City Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located in

Mason City, Iowa 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 Go ...

, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2005. At the time of its nomination it contained 93 resources, which included 63

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, one

contributing site In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, four

objects Object may refer to: General meanings * Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept ** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place ** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter * Goal, an ...

, 22 non-contributing buildings, and three non-contributing objects. with Platted in 1855, Mason City is a commercial and industrial center for north central

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. It was also a railroad center, but the tracks bypassed the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

in order to serve the industries located on the north side of town and the wholesale enterprises on the south side. Central Park, a public square, was part of the city's original plat and is the contributing site. Most of the buildings in the downtown area were builder-contractor designed. Among the builders were Geo. P. Petersen & Son and M.M. Moen Company (later Davey & Moen). There are also several examples of architect designed buildings. They include

Parker's Opera House 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. ...

(1883) by William Foster, the former Mason City Public Library (1904) by

Patton & Miller Patton & Miller was an architectural firm of Chicago, Illinois. Normand Smith Patton and Grant C. Miller designed over 100 Carnegie libraries nationwide, including Buffalo Township Public Library, built in 1894, and 14 more in Illinois.Schnell ...

, the Park Inn Hotel (1909) and the City National Bank (1910) by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

, First National Bank (1911) by

Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen was an architectural firm in the U.S. state of Iowa. They designed Kromer Flats built in 1905. It designed courthouses, commercial buildings, and residences. Several are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic ...

, the MBA Building (1917) by Bell & Bentley, the Hanford Hotel (1921) by

Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson Proudfoot & Bird was an American architectural firm that designed many buildings throughout the Midwest region of the United States. Originally established in 1882, it remains active through its several successors, and since 2017 has been known as ...

, the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

(1926) by Tyrie and Chapman, and the former

First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

(1928) by Clyde W. Smith. There are also buildings designed by prominent local architects E.R. Bogardus and Karl Waggoner. An apartment building,

The Kirk The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church an ...

(1903), is also individually listed on the National Register.

References

External links

{{NRHP in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa Victorian architecture in Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Mason City, Iowa Historic districts in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Mason City, Iowa