NorthIowaToday.com

Founded in 2010

News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region

Mason City shows off Historic Park Inn Hotel

MASON CITY – Wright on the Park kicked off a week of events Monday with a picnic in Central Park. Tours of the newly-renovated Historic Park Inn Hotel were free to the public. Food, music and big crowds teamed with sunshine and a cool breeze to make the event a “big success” according to event organizers and volunteers.

The line to get into the hotel and take a tour stretched all the way across Central Park. They were letting ten people at a time come inside. Tours started at 11 a.m. and were supposed to end at 3 p.m. At about ten minutes to 3, the line was still nearly all the way across the park.

People came from all over the area and some traveled greater distances to take the tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed hotel. One couple from Algona drove to Mason City just to take the tour. When asked if the tour would be worth the wait, they said “that’s what everyone has been telling us that’s been through it.” They waited in line at least an hour. “We’re having so much fun.” They weren’t sure if they would get a room since they live so close.

Another woman said she drove over 150 miles to take the tour. She heard about the hotel and today’s event from the Des Moines Register. “I didn’t drive all this way not to see it,” she said. She had been in line 40 minutes, she said, and was just past halfway to the front.

Ann MacGregor, executive director of Wright on the Park, said “We have an incredible team,” when asked about what made the event such a success. There were many “docents,” as their name tags said, or volunteers, helping with the event, giving tours and explaining about the history of the hotel and Frank Lloyd Wright. “It is awesome beyond belief. This is way, way over the top,” she said. “A labor of love,” MacGregor said of her continued efforts to renovate the hotel.

Central Park was kept clean during the picnic by volunteers from the North Iowa Youth Center.

More events are planned this week to celebrate the opening of the Park Inn.

Tuesday through Thursday, there will be Tea Parties in the Ladies Parlor of The Historic Park Inn Hotel. Tickets cost $25 each but the event is sold-out, according the website for Wright on the Park.

The Skylight Ball will be held Saturday, September 10, 6:00 p.m. to Midnight. “The Skylight Ball is a grand celebration of the re-opening of the last remaining hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright 101 years ago. Enjoy cocktail cuisine under the re-stored art-glass skylight in the Grand Ballroom,” its website says. Tickets are $101 and can be purchased at Moorman Clothiers in downtown Mason City or the Wright on the Park office.

A lecture will be held Sunday, Sept. 11, at 2:00 p.m. in The Historic Park Inn Hotel Ballroom. Jonathan Lipman will be the featured speaker. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Watch video:

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Even more news:

Watercooler
Copyright 2024 – Internet Marketing Pros. of Iowa, Inc.
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x