Letter to editor: Bus tour saw “great cultural treasures” in Mason City

Letter to editor from Lyell Henry of Iowa City:

On April 28, I was one of 35 members of the Jefferson Highway Association who toured the old highway (predecessor of U.S. 65) in northern Iowa.  We spent 2 – 1/2 very enjoyable hours in Mason City, where we saw some great cultural treasures, including the Park Inn, the Meredith Willson Home, the former Hotel Hanford, the Stockman House and many other prairie school houses.

We also visited another treasure – the Z-Garden at Rancho Deluxe at 500 2nd Street NE – but were surprised to find it unheralded by the city.  How fortunate that our tour planners learned of it by lucky accident, because the Z Garden was well worth seeing – a delightful example of a recognized category of “outsider” art known as “visionary folk are environments.”

Our tour members rated the Z Garden as one of the high points of the tour.  In view of the Z Garden’s intrinsic artistic merit and the enthusiasm it aroused in our group, I would strongly urge local tourism officials to promote it as another of Mason City’s must-see attractions.  It’s just too good to miss, and I’m happy that we didn’t.

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Editor’s note: Read more about the Jefferson Highway Association’s visit to Mason City here.  With a photo gallery and video.