In the early 1900s, Frank Lloyd Wright transformed a small midwestern prairie community into one of the world's most important architectural destinations. Mason City, Iowa, became home to his City National Bank and Park Inn--the last surviving Wright hotel. In addition, his prototype Stockman House helped launch the Prairie School architectural style. Soon after, architect Walter Burley Griffin followed in Wright's footsteps, designing a cluster of Prairie School homes in the Rock Crest/Rock Glen neighborhood. Design historian Roy Behrens leads the way through Mason City's historic development from the Industrial Revolution to the modern era of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Roy R. Behrens is a professor of art and distinguished scholar at the University of Northern Iowa. He has taught graphic design and design history at American art schools, colleges and universities for nearly forty-five years and has lectured internationally. The author of eight books and hundreds of academic journal and magazine articles, he is especially known for his writings about art, design and camouflage. He has been featured in interviews on NOVA, National Public Radio, Australian Public Radio, BBC, Iowa Public Radio and Iowa Public Television, as well as in documentary films. Described by Communication Arts magazine as "one of the most original thinkers in design," Behrens was a nominee for the Smithsonian Institution's National Design Award in 2003.