Pioneers of Modernism

In 1900, Louis Sullivan gave a stirring lecture to young architects to urge them to create—not copies of old buildings—but a new, Democratic American Architecture for the modern world. Walter Burley Griffin, at age 24, was in the audience. This message changed his life and gave birth to a career that unified elements of architecture, landscape and planning into a unified whole. Working with another follower of Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Marion Mahony Griffin, the first female architect in Illinois, these pioneers of modernism gave form to Sullivan’s challenge. This movement—originally called the Chicago School—came to be known as the Prairie School.

Mason City, IA is a hidden jewel, featuring a stellar collection of Prairie School-style homes set amidst a picturesque natural landscape. Join Frank Lloyd Wright Curator Sarah Holian on Travel Wright’s inaugural journey to this small Midwestern city that is known as one of the best destinations for architecture—not just in the nation—but the world.

From our base at the beautiful, Wright-designed Historic Park Inn Hotel, our two-night, three-day journey hones in on a small, concentrated and highly walkable area that includes another Frank Lloyd Wright property, the Stockman House. Stockman House, designed and built in 1908 as a version of the Fireproof Home, is a modest version of the architect’s Prairie House, simplified and scaled down for middle class budgets.

Our weekend includes a guided walking tour (with interior visits to several homes) of Rock Crest/Rock Glen, the first planned Prairie School development in America. and designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Wright was originally chosen as the architect for the development, but the project was put on hold when he left for Europe in 1910. This unfortunate turn of events had a silver lining, for it paved the way for other esteemed Prairie School architects to continue the project, including Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin, William Drummond, Barry Byrne, and local architect Einar Broaten. The result is nothing like a development in the usual, modern sense of the word. It is a showcase of exceptional architecture built between 1912 and 1959, each unique and set apart from its neighbor, set in a hilly, verdant park-like setting along Willow Creek, a tributary of the Winnebago River east of town facing dramatic limestone bluffs and bordered by limestone borders, a gate and bridge.

It is this bridge that appears in Meredith Wilson’s “Music Man” — the iconic musical set during July 4, 1912 — that made Mason City famous as a symbol of Americana. From here, one can gaze upon two masterpieces of American architecture that were born at the same time and made possible by forward-thinking clients and visionary architects who came together to create this modern Eden.

Frank Lloyd Wright Trust Members: $2,295 per person, double occupancy
General: $2,495 per person, double occupancy
Single Supplement: $225
Airfare not included