Frank Lloyd Wright and Mason City: Architectural Heart of the Prairie by Behrens Roy R

Author:Behrens, Roy R. [Behrens, Roy R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2016-12-04T16:00:00+00:00

Lithographic plate from The Grammar of Ornament (1856) by Owen Jones, an indispensable sourcebook for architects.

Left half of a panoramic photograph of downtown Mason City in 1907. Photograph by Frederick J. Bandholtz. LOC Prints and Photographs .

Structurally, Wright designed the two buildings to function as non-identical twins, distinct yet inseparable entities that are linked by a shared transitional zone, a generic first-floor entrance that is now known as the “central waist.”

The buildings were commissioned by the board of directors of the long-established City National Bank, which had been founded initially in 1884 as the City Bank. The original Italianate building for that facility (still standing and itself restored, it is now a clothing store) was located at 1 South Main Street, directly east and across the street from the eventual location of the new bank building of the same name. 145

In order to plan the new building, Wright traveled to Mason City, most likely by train, from Chicago. No one seems to know for sure how many times he visited, but one news story at the time claims that he was “frequently” in town. According to another source, when he did visit, he stayed at the Markley home. 146

These visits apparently happened in 1907–08, at which time he studied the bank’s proposed construction site, which could easily be observed from the intersection of the two major downtown streets, Main Street (renamed Federal Avenue in 1916), a major north–south city street that cuts through the business center, and State Street, which spans the city east–west. At the time of Wright’s visits, Main Street was the city’s busiest thoroughfare. By comparison, State Street was less congested, quieter and more subdued, in part because it is the edge of a square-block public park.

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