Mason City Downtown Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

From the record

“The Mason City Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.”
Wikipedia article Mason City Downtown Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 48 National Register listings published here for Cerro Gordo County · listed in 2005 · category: District.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Address. Roughly bounded by N. 46th St., Georgia Ave., Washington Ave. and S. 2nd St., Mason City, 50401
When was it listed? September 2005
Category. district
City. Mason City city
National Register reference number. 05000956 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

4 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Mason City Downtown Historic District between 2007 and 2017, burning about 8 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3
Railroad operations and maintenance	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
2 June 2017	Railroad operations and maintenance	under an acre	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
20 April 2007	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
1 April 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	14259 300TH ST., MASON CITY, IOWA
28 March 2011	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	6.0 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	2211 F-52 TRAIL WILIAMSBURG, IA 52361, IA

Every fire recorded in Cerro Gordo County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 35 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 35 workings within 5 miles of Mason City Downtown Historic District: 18 producers, 16 past producers, 1 unknown. 18 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Faught Pit	Clay	Producer
Kirk Pit	Clay	Producer
Lehigh Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay	Producer
Mason City Brick and Tile	Clay	Past Producer
Northwestern States Qry Cemt Plnt	Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay	Producer
Oswald Clay Pit	Clay	Producer
Unknown	Clay	Past Producer
Willowbrook Shale Pit	Clay	Producer
Cerro Gordo County Pits	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown

Every working recorded in Cerro Gordo County

Storms near this property

60 of 160 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Mason City, the town this property stands in, in 160 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 54 thunderstorm wind, 52 hail, 23 heavy rain, 11 flash flood. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
August 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	1 hurt, $25,000	no account filed
August 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	1 hurt, $25,000	no account filed
July 1999	Flash Flood	Mason City	$1,000,000	no account filed
August 2014	Flash Flood	Mason City	$500,000	The roof of a Walmart collapsed form water weight. Water was deep enough to reach the roof on cars with several submerged along Highways 65 and 122. Several roads were impassable in the city until around 0820 CST.
June 2008	Flash Flood	Mason City	$500,000	The levee failed along North Hampshire Avenue in Mason City. A subdivision near the river is flooding.
June 2008	Flash Flood	Mason City	$200,000	Numerous streets were flooded in Mason City, with water up to the door or higher in places.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$150,000	Emergency manager reported trees on multiple homes and power lines down.
June 1998	Flood	Mason City	$150,000	no account filed
June 2013	Flash Flood	Mason City	$100,000	Multiple fields under water across northeast Cerro Gordo County. Many gravel roads have water over them. Three campgrounds were evacuated: Camp at the Woods, Wilkinson County Park and Shell Rock Preserve due to water impacting the entrances/exits.
June 2002	Hail	Mason City	$100,000	no account filed
June 2002	Hail	Mason City	$100,000	no account filed
June 1998	Flash Flood	Mason City	$100,000	no account filed
June 2002	Hail	Mason City	$75,000	Accompanied by 40 to 50 MPH winds.
May 2018	Hail	Mason City	$50,000	Trained spotter reported hail for 5 minutes with up to quarter sized hail being driven by high winds and heavy rain.
July 2016	Flash Flood	Mason City	$50,000	Law Enforcement reported 1st street blocked off with water 3 to 4 feet deep and a submerged vehicle. Various locations across Mason City with 4 to 6 inches deep. Time and location estimated.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$50,000	Trees were blown down in several areas of the city.
June 2008	Flash Flood	Mason City	$50,000	Flooding was reported at Autumn Creek Apartments. Evacuations were taking place at Rock Falls Camp Woods. Twelfth \|Street was closed by the water plant.
March 2010	Flash Flood	Mason City	$50,000	no account filed
March 2007	Flood	Mason City	$50,000	no account filed
July 2004	Flash Flood	Mason City	$50,000	no account filed
June 1998	Flood	Mason City	$50,000	no account filed
June 1998	Flood	Mason City	$50,000	no account filed
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$45,000	no account filed
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$40,000	Damage to numerous signs and other buildings around the intersection of hwy 122 and Monroe Ave. Damage done to the roof and exterior of a business at the intersection of hwy 122 and South Monroe.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$40,000	no account filed
August 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$40,000	no account filed
August 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$30,000	no account filed
September 2016	Flash Flood	Mason City	$25,000	Cerro Gordo County dispatch noted that East Park had been fully closed due to flooding.
September 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$25,000	Large trees toppled power lines along State Street in downtown Mason City.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$25,000	no account filed
July 2003	Hail	Mason City	$25,000	no account filed
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$25,000	no account filed
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$25,000	no account filed
July 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$20,000	Trees and Branches down in Mason City. Report of at least one tree on a vehicle. Several power poles on fire.
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$15,000	Emergency manager reported multiple tree limbs down throughout the town of Mason City. Some have fallen on power lines or are blocking roads. A few power poles snapped as well. Power out in multiple locations. Time estimated by radar.
October 2013	Hail	Mason City	$15,000	Sheriff's department reported hail up to ping pong ball size.
October 2013	Hail	Mason City	$15,000	no account filed
June 2002	Hail	Mason City	$15,000	no account filed
October 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$15,000	no account filed
June 1997	Lightning	Mason City	$15,000	no account filed
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	Trained spotter reported widespread tree damage including branches up to 2 to 3 inches in diameter down.
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	Trained spotter reported numerous 3 to 4 inch diameter tree branches down throughout Mason City along with a few larger trees down as well. Hail sized was unknown at the time. Time was estimated from radar.
August 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	Local 911 call center reported a power line down on a tree and an associated fire along Birch Dr. Time estimated from radar.
July 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	Emergency manager reported multiple locations with trees down in Mason City. This is a delayed report and time estimated from radar.
September 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	Several 6 inch diameter limbs were down.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	Five inch diameter branch down on 9th St. Several branches down around the city.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	Trees were down on the zero block of 10th Street NW.
May 2008	Hail	Mason City	$10,000	Dime to golf ball size hail nearly covered the ground.
April 2007	Flood	Mason City	$10,000	no account filed
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	no account filed
March 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	no account filed
March 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	no account filed
June 2002	Hail	Mason City	$10,000	no account filed
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$10,000	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	Mason City	$5,000	Pea to quarter size hail was reported in the town of Mason City.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$5,000	Tree down on the 1000 block of 9th Street NE. Sixty MPH wind gust estimated by storm spotter.
July 2011	Hail	Mason City	$5,000	no account filed
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$5,000	no account filed
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$5,000	no account filed
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Mason City	$5,000	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cerro Gordo County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Kirk, The	0.2 miles	1982
Parker's Opera House	0.3 miles	1998
First National Bank of Mason City	0.3 miles	1997
Wagner-Mozart Music Hall	0.3 miles	1978
Chris Rye House	0.3 miles	1980
Mason City YMCA	0.4 miles	2002

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 05000956 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Cerro Gordo County	All 48 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.