70-677: The Mason City Public Library is located in Mason City, Iowa , United States. The building that was funded by Andrew Carnegie , and is now an office building, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It was included as a contributing property in the Mason City Downtown Historic District in 2005. The first library in Mason City was a subscription library that
140-620: A Russian opera singer, on March 13, 1948. She died on December 6, 1966. Willson married Rosemary Sullivan in February 1968. For years he lived in the Mandeville Canyon section of Brentwood, California ; he was fondly remembered by friends and neighbors as a warm and gregarious host who loved nothing more than to play the piano and sing at parties. He often gave guests autographed copies of his album Meredith Willson Sings Songs from The Music Man . In 1982, he and Rosemary appeared in
210-503: A Salvation Army officer , Olaf Lundgren, sang the song. In 1964, Willson produced three original summer variety specials for CBS under the title Texaco Star Parade . The first premiered on June 5, 1964, and starred Willson and his wife Rini. It featured guest stars Caterina Valente and Sergio Franchi , and a production number with Willson leading four military bands composed of 500 California high school band members. The second special starred Debbie Reynolds singing songs she sang in
280-402: A founder's son, Mason Long. In 1854, John McMillin opened the first store, and Dr. Silas Card opened the first medical practice in the area. Lizzie Thompson established the first schoolhouse in a log cabin in 1856. The United States Post Office Department started service to the town in 1857. Mason City was named the county seat in 1858. In 1870, Mason City, Iowa was officially incorporated as
350-633: A grant from the Public Works Administration (PWA) to expand the building. The MacNider family offered 7 acres (2.8 ha) at Second and Pennsylvania for a new library. The city renegotiated with the PWA to use the grant for a new building. The Chicago architectural firm of Holabird & Root designed the new building, which was dedicated in January 1940. The Denison Room, which overlooks the garden and Willow Creek, and an adjacent patio
420-523: A historic district. The first two Prairie structures, the Dr. G.C. Stockman House (1908) and the Park Inn Hotel and City National Bank Buildings (1909–1910) were both designed by Frank Lloyd Wright . The hotel and bank, a mixed-use development at the corner of State and Federal Avenues was the first to be commissioned by local attorneys James E. E. Markley and James E. Blythe. Within a year, Wright
490-612: A member of John Philip Sousa 's band (1921–1924) and later the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini (1924–1929). He then moved to San Francisco, California , as the concert director for radio station KFRC , and then as a musical director for the NBC radio network in Hollywood. His on-air radio debut came on KFRC in 1928 on Blue Monday Jamboree . Willson's work in many films included
560-434: A new library building in Mason City. Because of his appeal the city was awarded a grant of $ 20,000 on April 11, 1902, which was $ 7,000 more than it would have normally received. The Chicago architectural firm of Patton & Miller designed the two-story Neoclassical building. Construction was delayed because of a debate in the local community over the use of Bedford stone over local limestone . The architects wanted
630-515: A sister 12 years his senior, children's writer Dixie Willson . Willson attended Frank Damrosch 's Institute of Musical Art (which later became The Juilliard School ) in New York City. He married his high-school sweetheart, Elizabeth "Peggy" Wilson, on August 29, 1920; they were married for 26 years. As a child, Willson played the bass drum for a Salvation Army band. He became a flute and piccolo virtuoso accomplished enough to become
700-565: A town with Darius B. Mason as the first mayor. The city's "favorite son," Meredith Willson , grew up in Mason City and played in the Mason City Symphonic Band as a high school student. Willson's crowning achievement was the famous stage musical The Music Man . Many of the characters in it were based on people Willson knew from his childhood in Mason City. Mason City also features the Parker's Opera House . According to
770-503: Is a small enclave of single-family homes situated along the banks of Willow Creek five blocks east of downtown. It is the largest collection of prairie-style homes in a natural setting in the world. It features both Prairie School and Usonian design. Five of these houses were designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin , two by Francis Barry Byrne , and others by William Drummond, Einar Broaten, and Curtis Besinger. In addition to Prairie Style architecture , Mason City
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#1732791058018840-556: Is also the home of the Worldwide College of Auctioning founded in 1933 by the well-known auctioneer Col. Joe Reisch and subsequently owned/operated for many years by Col. Gordon E. Taylor. Mason City is home to several institutions of higher education, including the North Iowa Area Community College (formerly Mason City Junior College), a branch of Buena Vista University which is located on
910-505: Is home to extensive Victorian , Craftsman , and Bungalow style homes, as well as historic commercial structures, dates from between 1892 and 1940, including the Brick and Tile Building at the intersection of State and Delaware Streets. The Mason City Public Library was designed by Chicago architects Holabird and Root in 1939. The Len Jus Building on North Federal Avenue has an extremely rare sheet-metal facade, it had been placed on
980-486: Is served by Iowa Highway 122 and U.S. Route 65 . U.S. Route 18 now bypasses the city to the south. Interstate 35 (eight miles to the west) serves the city as well. Mason City is home to the Iowa Traction Railway . The IATR is one of the last surviving electric interurban railroads in the U. S., and the only one that still uses electric locomotives to haul freight in regular service. Mason City also
1050-583: Is served by the Canadian Pacific Railway and Union Pacific Railroad . The Canadian Pacific track is part of its US subsidiary the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (former I&M Rail Link and Milwaukee Road trackage. The Union Pacific's track was inherited from the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company when it bought it in the 1990s. Much of the trackage is composed of
1120-609: Is the airport from which early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly , Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) took off on the night of February 3, 1959, after a concert at the Surf Ballroom in nearby Clear Lake, Iowa , en route to Fargo, N.D. The plane crashed a few miles west of the airport in an historic event later referred to as the Day the Music Died . Holly, Valens, Richardson and pilot Roger Peterson all died in
1190-506: The Billboard charts . It was also recorded by Bing Crosby , and by Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra on vocals. Three songs from The Music Man have become American standards: " Seventy-Six Trombones ", "Gary, Indiana", and " Till There Was You ", originally titled "Till I Met You" (1950). Other popular songs by Willson include " It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas " (published as "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas"), " May
1260-641: The Coulee Region Chill . The North Iowa Huskies played in the United States Hockey League from 1983 to 1999 and then moved to Cedar Rapids. Mason City was home to minor league baseball . The Mason City Cementmakers (1912) and Mason City Claydiggers (1915–1917) played as members of the Iowa State League (1912) and Central Association (1915–1917). The teams played at Hanford Park. The Mason City Bats of
1330-589: The Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance 's Most Endangered list because of its poor repair and indifferent ownership, but is now being rehabilitated by the new owner. Mason City has some history of minor league and amateur sports teams despite its relatively small size. The North Iowa Bulls are a junior ice hockey team that first began play in 2011 as member of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The Bulls won
1400-545: The Kraft Foods plant that produces the nation's entire supply of refrigerated ready-to-eat Jell-O pudding snacks. Mason City is also a major production center for Portland cement . In November 2007, Reyes Holding / Martin-Brower opened a distribution facility serving McDonald's in 5 states. In March 2016, North Carolina based company Prestage Farms proposed to build a $ 240 million pork processing plant or slaughterhouse in Mason City, employing about 1,800 people. In May,
1470-715: The Moscow State Symphony Orchestra . Other symphonic works include the O.O. McIntyre Suite , Symphonic Variations on an American Theme and Anthem , the symphonic poem Jervis Bay , and Ask Not , which incorporates quotations from John F. Kennedy 's inaugural address. In tribute to the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA) , Willson composed In Idyllwild for orchestra, choir, vocal solo and Alphorn . Willson's chamber music includes A Suite for Flute . In 1958, Willson appeared on
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#17327910580181540-562: The Neil Simon Theatre with Craig Bierko as Harold Hill and Rebecca Luker as Marian. The production ran for 699 performances. A second Broadway revival premiered on February 10, 2022, at the Winter Garden Theatre , starring Hugh Jackman as Harold and Sutton Foster as Marian. In 1959, Willson and his second wife Ralina "Rini" Zarova recorded an album, ... and Then I Wrote The Music Man , in which they review
1610-511: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 28.10 square miles (72.78 km ), of which 27.81 square miles (72.03 km ) is land and 0.29 square miles (0.75 km ) is water. Mason City has a warm-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfb), bordering closely on the hot-summer variant. As of the census of 2020, there were 27,338 people, 12,271 households, and 6,838 families residing in
1680-489: The "Big Parade" through the town, and the event included special appearances by the film's stars Shirley Jones and Robert Preston . The Master of Ceremonies, Mason City Globe-Gazette editor W. Earl Hall , was a statewide radio personality and friend of many decades. Willson was a member of the National Honorary Band Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi . Willson died of heart failure in 1984 at
1750-438: The 1957 hit Broadway musical The Music Man and " It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas " (1951). Willson wrote three other musicals, two of which appeared on Broadway, and composed symphonies and popular songs. He was twice nominated for Academy Awards for film scores. Willson was born in Mason City, Iowa , to Rosalie Reiniger Willson and John David Willson. He had a brother two years his senior, John Cedrick, and
1820-434: The 1964 movie version of Willson's Broadway musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown. On July 28, Willson and Rini hosted the third special, which featured a Willson production number with 1,000 Marine Corps volunteers from Camp Pendelton . Guest stars were Vikki Carr , Jack Jones , Frederick Hemke , and Joe and Eddie . Willson wrote a number of well-known songs, such as "You and I", a No. 1 hit for Glenn Miller in 1941 on
1890-573: The Bedford stone because it could be worked to a smooth finish, while the native limestone could not. Other delays contributed the building being completed in December 1904 with a stone veneer of Bedford stone. Dedicated on January 10, 1905, it is considered the finest example of Neoclassical architecture in Mason City. By the late 1930s the Carnegie library had become too small. The city received
1960-695: The Good Lord Bless and Keep You ", and " I See the Moon ". He wrote the University of Iowa 's fight song , " Iowa Fight Song ", as well as Iowa State University 's "For I for S Forever". He also wrote the fight song for his hometown high school "Mason City, Go!" An oddity in Willson's body of work is " Chicken Fat ", written in 1962. In school gymnasiums across the nation, this was the theme song for President John F. Kennedy's youth fitness program. It
2030-560: The Mason City Council cast a tie vote rejecting the proposed project. Plant opponents raised environmental issues and expressed concern about possible harm to property values. The Charles H. MacNider Art Museum includes a permanent collection of American art, the famous Bil Baird puppets, and a wide range of ceramics. Music Man Square is located near downtown and features multiple exhibits related to Meredith Willson and The Music Man , including Willson's boyhood home,
2100-544: The Meredith Willson Museum, and a replica streetscape from the musical. In late May or early June Mason City holds an annual celebration of its musical heritage called The North Iowa Band Festival . School bands from across the Midwest compete during the parade to be named the best band. The home bands, Mason City High School and Newman Catholic High School Marching Bands, do not compete but do perform in
2170-478: The NIACC campus, and Purdue University Global formerly known as Kaplan University . Hamilton College, a business school, has operated in the city since 1900. The town is featured prominently in the first episode of the 12-part documentary film How Democracy Works Now . In the 1989 movie UHF the character Stanley Spadowski (played by Michael Richards) is seen wearing a Mason City t-shirt. Mason City served as
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2240-578: The Park, Inc. began restoration on the Park Inn Hotel in 2005 and the former City National Bank building in 2007. The organization reopened both buildings as a boutique hotel in August 2011. The Park Inn Hotel is last remaining of the few hotels that Wright completed during his career and is considered a prototype for Wright's Imperial Hotel . The Rock Glen and Rock Crest National Historic district
2310-507: The Talking People, a choral group that spoke in unison while delivering radio commercials. In 1950, he became the musical director for The Big Show , a 90-minute comedy-variety program hosted by actress Tallulah Bankhead and featuring some of the era's best-known entertainers. Willson became part of one of the show's very few running gags, beginning replies to Bankhead's comments or questions with "well, sir, Miss Bankhead". He wrote
2380-477: The Territory (1959). Willson was married three times. He was divorced by his first wife, Elizabeth, as reported in a news dispatch of March 5, 1947. They apparently had no contact after the divorce, and in his three memoirs Elizabeth is never mentioned, although he surprised her by sending her roses on August 20, 1970, which would have been their 50th wedding anniversary. Willson married Ralina "Rini" Zarova,
2450-402: The accident. Mason City, Iowa, and Montegrotto Terme , Italy, created a Sister City relationship in the spring of 2005. Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flautist , composer , conductor , musical arranger , bandleader , playwright , and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for
2520-495: The audience of The Lawrence Welk Show . Willson returned several times to his hometown for the North Iowa Band Festival, an annual event celebrating music with a special emphasis on marching bands. Mason City was the site of the 1962 premiere of the motion picture The Music Man , hosted by Iowa Governor Norman Erbe , which was timed to coincide with the festival. Like his character Harold Hill, Willson led
2590-405: The average family size was 2.90. In the city the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males. The median income for a household in the city
2660-548: The bandleader, and a regular character, on the Burns and Allen radio program. He played a shy man always trying to get advice on women. His character was ditzy as well, basically a male version of Allen's. In 1942, Willson had his own program on NBC . Meredith Willson's Music was a summer replacement for Fibber McGee and Molly . Sparkle Time , which ran on CBS in 1946–47, was Willson's first full-season radio program. Returning to network radio after WWII, Willson created
2730-429: The city. The population density was 981.4 inhabitants per square mile (378.9/km ). There were 13,584 housing units at an average density of 487.7 per square mile (188.3/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 87.0% White , 2.9% Black or African American , 0.5% Native American , 1.5% Asian , 0.5% Pacific Islander , 1.9% from other races and 5.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race comprised 6.7% of
2800-412: The city. The population density was 1,009.7 inhabitants per square mile (389.8/km ). There were 13,352 housing units at an average density of 480.1 units per square mile (185.4 units/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 93.8% White , 1.8% African American , 0.3% Native American , 0.9% Asian , 1.3% from other races , and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.1% of
2870-445: The city. The population density was 1,131.3 inhabitants per square mile (436.8/km ). There were 13,029 housing units at an average density of 505.3 units per square mile (195.1 units/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 95.40% White , 1.17% African American , 0.18% Native American , 0.77% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 1.07% from other races , and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.45% of
Mason City Public Library - Misplaced Pages Continue
2940-860: The club since it first began. The club competes against teams from Iowa, Minnesota , and Nebraska in the Midwest Division 3. Mason City Community School District operates the following schools: Harding Elementary School, Hoover Elementary School, Jefferson Elementary School, Roosevelt Elementary School, Lincoln Intermediate School (5–6), John Adams Junior High School (7–8), Mason City High School , (9–12), Mason City Alternative High School, Madison Early Childhood Center. Past schools include Lincoln, Washington, Grant, Central Heights, Central, McKinley, Wilson, Jackson, Monroe and Garfield elementary schools, and Monroe and Roosevelt junior high schools. Newman Catholic Elementary/Middle School, Newman Catholic High School , and North Iowa Christian School. Mason City
3010-543: The community to the southeast. The region around what would later be first called Shibboleth was a summer home to the Sioux and Winnebago nations. The first settlement that became Shibboleth was established in 1853 at the confluence of the Winnebago River and Calmus Creek. The town had several freemasonic influenced names: Shibboleth, Masonic Grove, and Masonville until Mason City was adopted in 1855, in honor of
3080-407: The economy including manufacturing, health, financial services, technology and education, with no one sector or employer dominating the market. The largest employer is MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center , formerly known as Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, and before that as St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, is the region's largest hospital. The facility serves 14 counties across northern Iowa. In June 2019,
3150-685: The film Miracle on 34th Street , called Here's Love . Some theater buffs recall it as a quick failure, but it actually enjoyed an eight-month run on Broadway in 1963–64 (334 performances). His fourth, last, and least successful musical was 1491 , which told the story of Columbus's attempts to finance his famous voyage. It was produced by the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera in 1969, but not on Broadway. Willson's Symphony No. 1 in F minor: A Symphony of San Francisco and his Symphony No. 2 in E minor: Missions of California were recorded in 1999 by William T. Stromberg conducting
3220-408: The history of, and sing songs from, the show. In 2010, Brian d'Arcy James and Kelli O'Hara played Willson and Rini in an off-Broadway entertainment based on that album. Willson's second musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown , ran on Broadway for 532 performances from 1960 to 1962 and was made into a 1964 motion picture starring Debbie Reynolds . His third Broadway musical was an adaptation of
3290-490: The hospital opened a new $ 10.6 million behavioral center. The new center will help MercyOne to increase the number of behavioral health-care services it can offer to those in the community it serves who are struggling with mental illness and substance abuse issues. Other major employers include door manufacturers Curries (part of Assa Abloy ) and Graham (part of Masonite International ), Woodhardbor Cabinetry Manufacturers, Principal Financial , Cargill Kitchen Solutions and
3360-544: The inspiration for the fictional town of River City, Iowa, in The Music Man , a musical that was composed and written by Mason City native son Meredith Willson (although the 1962 film, which had its world premiere in Mason City, was shot entirely at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California). Mason City Transit provides fixed-route and demand-response mass transit services to the city. The majority of Mason City
3430-768: The league championship in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2021, while also winning the Tier III National Championship in 2013 and 2015. The Bulls moved up to the Tier II North American Hockey League (NAHL) and rebranded the Tier III team as the Mason City Toros in 2021. The North Iowa Outlaws junior hockey team previously played in the NAHL from 2005 until 2010, when they relocated to Onalaska, Wisconsin , to become
3500-525: The old Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad's (aka Rock Island Railroad ) While the Iowa Northern Railway does not operate in the city of Mason City, it does serve other communities in the Mason City micropolitan statistical area. The Iowa Northern has facilities in Manly, Iowa. The city also hosts Mason City Municipal Airport , (MCW) with commercial service by United Airlines . It
3570-589: The parade. Meredith Willson returned to participate in the festival many times. Mason City is widely known for its collection of Prairie School architecture. The Rock Crest-Rock Glen Historic District is the largest concentration of any city in Iowa. At least 32 houses and one commercial building were built in the Prairie Style between 1908 and 1922, 17 of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and eight more are contributing properties to
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#17327910580183640-450: The population. Of the 12,271 households, 23.3% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 8.0% were cohabitating couples, 30.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 21.3% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 44.3% of all households were non-families. 37.5% of all household were made up of individuals, 16.3% had someone living alone who
3710-442: The population. There were 12,366 households, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.7% were non-families. Of all households, 35.0% were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
3780-411: The population. There were 12,368 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. Of all households, 33.5% were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and
3850-600: The score for Charlie Chaplin 's The Great Dictator (1940) ( Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score), and arranging music for the score of William Wyler 's The Little Foxes (1941) ( Academy Award nomination for Best Music Score of a Dramatic Picture). During World War II , Willson worked for the United States' Armed Forces Radio Service . His work with the AFRS teamed him with George Burns , Gracie Allen , and Bill Goodwin . He worked with all three as
3920-550: The short-lived Great Central League played baseball here in 1994. College Football Hall of Fame coach Barry Alvarez led Mason City High School to the 1978 Class 4A state football championship with a 15–13 victory over Dubuque Hempstead. River City Rugby Football Club was established in Mason City in 1972. The club competes in two separate two-month seasons, April and May, and September and October. The club celebrated its 40th anniversary in June 2012. Over 250 players have played for
3990-539: The song " May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You " for the show. Bankhead spoke the lyrics over the music at the end of each show. He also worked on Jack Benny 's radio program, and hosted his own program in 1949. For a few years in the early 1950s, Willson was a regular panelist on the Goodson-Todman game show The Name's the Same ; he recalled later that he did the show for the steady Goodson-Todman salary, which he
4060-514: The song exist: a three-minute, radio-friendly length, and a longer, six-minute version for use in the gymnasium. In 2014, a re-recording of "Chicken Fat" was used in a television commercial for the iPhone 5S . In 1974, Willson offered another marching song, "Whip Inflation Now", to the Ford Administration . Willson wrote three memoirs: And There I Stood With My Piccolo (1948), Eggs I Have Laid (1955), and But He Doesn't Know
4130-481: The televised panel game show I've Got a Secret . His secret was that he "wrote the new Salvation Army theme song." Willson wrote the song, "With Banners and Bonnets They Come", especially for The Salvation Army . The song was a direct reference to The Salvation Army's use of uniforms, flags, and symbols to "love the unloved". In the television special, Willson conducted the New York Staff Band while
4200-407: Was $ 33,852, and the median income for a family was $ 45,160. Males had a median income of $ 32,451 versus $ 21,756 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 18,899. About 7.2% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line , including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over. Mason City has a very diverse employment base covering multiple sectors of
4270-438: Was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age in the city was 40.9 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.1% were from 25 to 44; 28.2% were from 45 to 64, and 17.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 29,172 people, 12,368 households, and 7,507 families living in
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#17327910580184340-412: Was 27,338 in the 2020 census . Mason City is known for its musical heritage, high concentrations of renowned Prairie School style architecture, and a close connection with nearby Clear Lake . The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties. Local institutions of higher education include North Iowa Area Community College . The Winnebago River traverses
4410-422: Was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 42.7 years. 22.6% of the residents were under the age of 20; 6.3% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 and 44; 25.3% were from 45 and 64; and 22.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. As of the census of 2010, there were 28,079 people, 12,366 households, and 7,210 families living in
4480-432: Was a resounding success, running on Broadway for 1,375 performances over three and a half years. The cast recording won the first Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Album (Broadway or TV) . The show subsequently had a national tour and international productions. It was produced at New York City Center in 1980 with Dick Van Dyke in the titular role and Meg Bussert as Marian. The first Broadway revival opened in 2000 at
4550-716: Was completed in 1961. The west wing was added for the Iowa State Library Extension Service in 1966. The Mason City Community Theatre leased the wing from 1981 to 1997 after the Extension Service no longer used it. In 1998 it was remodeled for library use, and the second-floor auditorium was remodeled for the Life Long Learning Center. Mason City, Iowa Mason City is a city and the county seat of Cerro Gordo County , Iowa , United States. The population
4620-498: Was followed by two more state centennial collaborations with Rosing: The Oregon Story in 1959 and The Kansas Story in 1961. Willson's most famous work, The Music Man , premiered on Broadway in 1957, and was adapted twice for film (in 1962 and 2003 ). He called it "an Iowan's attempt to pay tribute to his home state". It took Willson eight years and 30 revisions to complete the musical, for which he wrote more than 40 songs. The show, starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook ,
4690-548: Was hired to design the Stockman House by Markley's neighbor. Both the Park Inn Hotel and Stockman House suffered from neglect and unsympathetic alterations before they were saved by community organizations. In 1989, the Stockman House was moved four blocks to prevent its demolition; it was subsequently restored and opened to the public by the River City Society for Historic Preservation. Likewise, Wright on
4760-457: Was organized in 1871, but it did not last long. The second library effort was a reading room that was organized in 1888. In 1892 voters in Mason City approved a tax levy to establish a free public library . It was housed at various locations on both South Federal Avenue and on East State Street. Through the efforts of U.S. Senator William B. Allison , local attorney James E. Blythe made a personal appeal to Andrew Carnegie and his secretary to build
4830-532: Was saving toward his Broadway musical project. In 1950, Willson served as musical director for The California Story , California's centennial production at the Hollywood Bowl . The show's director, Vladimir Rosing , introduced Willson to writer Franklin Lacey , who proved instrumental in developing the storyline for a musical Willson had been working on, soon to become The Music Man . The California Story
4900-404: Was time to get the country's youth into shape, and Willson's song had youngsters moving through basic exercises at a frenetic pace: push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, torso twists, running in place, pogo springs, and plenty of marching. With an energetic lead vocal by Robert Preston , orchestral marching band, and full chorus, it was recorded during sessions for The Music Man film. Two versions of
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