Historic Park Inn Hotel
Mason City
Frank Lloyd Wright was the architect of record for five hotels around the world — technically six, but one was never built. Of those, only one is still in operation: the Historic Park Inn in Mason City, Iowa.
Wright, arguably one of the nation’s most famous architects, built the hotel and the adjoining bank and office building in 1910 in his famous Prairie style, which emphasized clean lines, low profiles and natural light. Wright on the Park, a nonprofit organization, led a $20 million restoration that stayed as true as possible to the original design while repurposing the space for today’s needs, said executive director Pat Schultz.
The hotel reopened in 2011 with 27 guest rooms, and the bank was converted into a 2,400-square-foot ballroom that can seat 150 for meals. Other event spaces include the original law library, which can serve as a boardroom or a small conference room, and the ladies’ lounge, for small gatherings.
Wright on the Park saved as many original features as possible and reproduced others, among them light-fixture statues of the Roman god Mercury and iridescent art glass at the top of some columns. In the Skylight Room, guests will see 25 original glass ceiling panels that were removed at some point because they leaked. An attorney who worked in the building’s offices had taken them home, and “they were discovered and donated back for the restoration,” Schultz said.
Groups can dine in the hotel’s 1910 Grille or visit the 1910 Lounge — originally the gentlemen’s lounge — for drinks or a game of pool.
Indian Creek Nature Center
Cedar Rapids
Indian Creek Nature Center celebrated the grand opening of its new building in September, and the Living Building Challenge-certified facility “goes above and beyond LEED certification,” said director of education Erin Roghaar.
Groups can tour the building, which uses net-zero energy and net-zero water. Solar panels power the facility, and geothermal energy heats and cools it. Every drop of water that falls on the property stays on the property and is reused and recycled. All building materials were sourced within a 500-mile radius, and the wood was sustainably harvested or salvaged.
The auditorium can seat 120 people for meals, and the exhibit hall can hold 100 people. A conference room and two classrooms can be used for breakout sessions. The campus also features an outdoor patio and an outdoor activity area, each for up to 200 people, and an amphitheater can accommodate 500 guests.
Indian Creek has four miles of trails that visitors can explore or use for group activities, such as orienteering challenges. Center staff will also arrange service projects for corporate groups, Roghaar said, such as landscape planting and trail maintenance.
Indian Creek’s former facility, an old dairy barn, is undergoing some renovations, and a donor recently gave the organization a 200-acre farmstead, where the center hopes to offer more sustainable agriculture programs in the future.
www.indiancreeknaturecenter.org
Waterloo Boat House
Waterloo
When the Cedar River flooded at record levels in June 2008, the one-story Waterloo Boat House “was completely submerged” and was damaged beyond repair. So when city officials set out to rebuild it, they designed the boathouse to withstand future flooding with minimal damage, said Carrie Gleason, events coordinator for the Waterloo Center for the Arts, which handles rentals for the boathouse.
The new boathouse opened in 2013 with garage-style doors on the lower level that open to allow floodwaters to flow through. The first level is home to the Waterloo Rowing Club, and the second story houses a modern, airy event space for up to 126 people that also delivers some surprises.
“It has a wraparound deck with large windows so you have a great view of the river and downtown Waterloo and the bridges,” Gleason said, adding, “it’s really a view you just don’t get anywhere else in the Cedar Valley.”
The boathouse sits just off the city’s riverfront walking-biking trail and is next to a boat dock, “so they could bring in a boat and launch from there and cruise around,” she said.
The building is also located near Exchange Park, where groups will find a disc golf course, and although they haven’t done so yet, Gleason said planners may be able to work with the Waterloo Rowing Club to arrange rowing lessons or other team-building activities.
