Mason City neighborhood makes room for historic houses

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) - A neighborhood near downtown Mason City is getting a much-needed face lift.

Four historic houses in a flood-stricken area that had been slated to be demolished have instead been relocated to East State Street, the Globe Gazette reported (https://bit.ly/2m2Op2Z ). An additional dozen homes on intersecting First Street have been razed to make way for a condo development.

Among the relocated houses is the historic Egloff house, built in 1938 in the international style with flat roofs and smooth walls. The others moved are a 1936 Tudor revival, a 1923 American four square and a 1941 limestone period revival cottage.

“You (once) had to walk through kind of a dicey-looking neighborhood that that’s really changed,” said Mason City Development Services Director Steven Van Steenhuyse. “And, I think that’s a great thing for the city.”

Community Benefit-Mason City member Robin Anderson said the project initially focused solely on the Egloff House, but expanded to include the other homes as a way to preserve significant architecture and revitalize the neighborhood.

“Although it makes no financial sense, I think it certainly made sense for our community to try to save some of this unusual architecture,” she said.

Anderson said she has been notified that the Egloff House will be added to the National Register of Historic Places.

It would be in good company in the neighborhood: About two blocks away, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Stockman House and Rock Crest/Rock Glen Historic District are on the Register.

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Information from: Globe Gazette, https://www.globegazette.com/