F.M. Norris House

The F.M. Norris House, also known as the Patton House and the Gerard Photography Studio, was a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Fred Magee Norris (1864-1938) served two terms as the mayor of the city. He was married to Elizabeth (Atkinson) Norris (1866-1933). They had Chris Rye build this Prairie School house for them. While Rye built some of Walter Burley Griffin's designs,[2] it is possible that he designed this house himself.[3] It featured a horizontal emphasis, wide eaves, broad hip roof, and stucco walls. The building was altered by Jerome J. Gerard (1913-2010) for his photography studio. In addition to his photographic work, he wrote for the magazine Popular Photography for 20 years.[3] The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1] It has subsequently been torn down.

F.M. Norris House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	108 4th St., NE. Mason City, Iowa
Coordinates	43°09′20.4″N 93°11′56.4″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1913
Built by	Chris Rye
Architectural style	Prairie School
MPS	Prairie School Architecture in Mason City TR
NRHP reference No.	80001436[1]
Added to NRHP	January 29, 1980

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Ronald Schmitt. "F.M. Norris House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-12-05. with photos
3. "Mason City's Prairie School Architecture". Iowa GenWeb. Retrieved 2016-12-05.