Charles H. MacNider Art Museum

The Charles H. MacNider Art Museum has promoted the arts in Mason City since its founding in 1965. It features permanent and changing exhibitions showcasing American art and offers a variety of art classes and programs. The museum also includes a library. The museum is located in a home originally built in 1921 by a local attorney. The permanent collection includes paintings, ceramics, puppets prints, and photographs. A highlight is the largest collection of puppets created by puppeteer Bill Bair. Many of the works on the collection can be viewed on the museum's website, including the puppets.

The house was built for attorney Bur Keeler, who hired Minneapolis architect Carl A. Gage to design it. The exterior of the Tudor-style house consists of stone on the first floor and ornamental brickwork inset with half-timbers on the second floor. Inside, the house features walnut woodwork and terrazzo tile floors. After being privately owned for many years, the Presentation Sisters of St. Joseph's Catholic Church acquired the house in 1948 and occupied it until 1965. A year before they vacated the house, the Sisters sold it to General Hanford MacNider and his wife, who then donated it to the city on the condition that it be converted into an art museum. The grand opening was held on January 8-9, 1966. In the coming years, the museum was expanded on three occasions and underwent its last major renovation in 2003.

"The Building Tells a Story." Charles H. MacNider Art Museum. Accessed September 27, 2021. http://macniderart.org/contact-us/the-building-tells-a-story.