(c) Mark Hertzberg
The restoration of these public spaces was dramatic. Architect Jonathan Lipman discovered that the skylight had been moved to the Blythe home, a private home in Mason City, probably by Blythe. The home, which was designed by Walter Burley Griffin, is now owned by Bob and Bonnie McCoy, early champions of the restoration project. The McCoys donated the skylight to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy so that it could be reinstalled in the Park Inn building, now known as the Historic Park inn.
2005…Bob McCoy takes me through the decimated hotel building:
2008: My first look at the restoration, including reconstruction of the mezzanine above the lobby and the Skylight Room:
My tour guides were McCoy and Ann MacGregor, Executive Director of Wright on the Park, which oversaw the restoration:
Ann took me through the buildings again in 2010:
And, now, in 2012, the hotel welcomes guests:
Wright in Racine 