These images are from Mason City, IA, home of Meredith Wilson who composed The Music Man. The indoor museum features a street completely with stocked stores and a real ice cream parlor just as they were at the time Wilson grew up there, and as they were for the setting of the musical. The street reminded me of The House on the Rock's shops of yesterday. There were dolls here and there, especially in the Wilson boy hood home. There is a conservatory upstairs in operation.
I loved this place; I had a lot in common with Wilson's father, a lawyer who turned to other professions.
When the movie premiered in the early 60s, its stars, including Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, and Buddy Hacket were on hand with Wilson. Wilson lead one of the band in "76 Trombones!" They show a film at the museum, and it was very moving.
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| Music Man Square |
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| Wilson's Statue |
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| Wilson home until 1931. |
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| Museum Display |
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| Homemade Dolls representing Music Man characters |
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| Display about Dixie Wilson, his sister, an author, artist, and musician |
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| Outside of Museum |
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