The hubby celebrated his birthday earlier this week and since it is so close to Christmas it always gets lost in all of the celebrations. Every year I think about doing something special for him mid year and it just does not happen. This year I decided that I would try to do as much as I could to make it extra special starting with tickets to a UNC basketball game in January. The weekend was filled with a fabulous dinner out, a great concert by Una Vocis and then Monday night I surprised him with a night at our local historical inn—the Historic Park Inn in Mason City—the last remaining designed and built hotel by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is our claim to fame these days and they have done an amazing job of renovating it and restoring it to the fabulous icon that it is today. Check out their website here.
I tried to make it a total surprise but since he had meetings and events he was in charge of I had to tell him the day before and I think he was surprised and happy about it. We had a great night there and I would recommend that anyone who is coming this way at least get a tour of it if you are in the area. The staff was friendly and gracious, the 1910 Grille was delightful and the room we had was comfy and beautiful.
Enjoy the pictures—most of the outside pictures were taken during the summer when the weather was a tad bit nicer. We have a huge winter storm moving in tonight and the weather is getting increasingly nasty. I am not excited.
The front of the hotel—hard to get pictures without people in it!
Side entrance
Fabulous lines and angles
Beautifully restored in every detail
Our room for the night!
13 sets of blinds to close at night takes awhile!
Interesting lights on the nightstands!
Display of some of the artifacts and current things related to the hotel.
Love the details in this lamp in the lobby area.
Photograph of the condition before restoration—apologies for the flash reflection!
Sign from the law offices that were part of the historical part of the hotel.
This is a view of the business center in the hotel—love the desk!
Looking down from the upstairs into the extended lobby area.
Wright inspired chairs
Everywhere is the geometric design repeated that represents Wright’s style.
Hallway to the ballroom
Fabulous stained glass ceiling that was restored and moved back to the hotel
Don’t you just want to sit down for a spell?
Downstairs in the bar and billiards area
The details of the pool cue holder amazed me!
Outside at night
A view of the 1910 Grille that is in the hotel
Our room for the night!
Some treats for the birthday boy!
Linens with the logo!
18 Comments
Leave a commentOOH I want to stay there!
It is really beautiful. They did an awesome job. I didn’t include all the facts and figures but it was a massive renovation as you can imagine.
Looks nice. Tell him happy bday for me
Will do!
WOW! Beautiful! I want to stay there too! I hope Chris has a very happy birthday… And I love how you guys celebrated early as to not lose his b-day in the christmas shuffle!
I try. It stinks sometimes having a December birthday!
OOooh I love everything Frank Lloyd Wright. Wonderful! Happy Birthday Chris!
it is truly beautiful! Come down sometime and we will take the tour!
I went through your area with Bill, a few times. He goes through there often, actually. Unfortunately, he is unable to stop to peruse places. We do admire scenes, buildings, towns, places, people, and of course the wildlife & nature. Very interesting!
Oh man! I would have loved to have waved to you in the truck!!!! 🙂 Merry Christmas, McGuffy Ann!
Oh, my goodness, I want to stay here and then come visit you and Chris. Randy and I are due for a get away and this place looks fabulous.
I have always wanted to see some of his homes and I did see one. I saw him in one of the art museums when we were in New York City years ago. He was sitting with a young lady and telling her about the painting hanging there.
I remember you telling me that and I think that is pretty neat that you saw him. One of these days we will get you out here and we will tour all the Prairie School houses!!!
I love this, Beth Ann! That is a lot of windows to close, but they are fabulous windows. Thanks for sharing all the details. Though the pictures were taken in summer, your snowflakes are blowing across the photo! 🙂 Looks like winter to me, except for the short-sleeved attire. And the snow isn’t sticking.
It is really a beautiful place! They did such a great job on the restoration and it is really a neat place to say is in “our” town. And the snowflakes are definitely falling—to the tune that the interstate is closed and we can’t get to the airport. Grrr..
Beautiful place to stay! Great pics Beth Ann. Merry Christmas and belated Happy Birthday to Chris!
Thank you ! It was a great weekend! Merry Christmas to you too!
[…] City is home to a lot of great things—-the last remaining Frank Lloyd Wright hotel–The Historic Park Inn which I blogged about here, many parks and recreation areas, a fabulous renovated library complete with coffee shop, The […]