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Wisconsin

Seth Petersen’s Cottage, Frank Lloyd Wright Architect

by Bo Mackison on 02/04/2011

Entrance to Seth Peterson Cottage, Mirror Lake, Frank Lloyd Wright architect

Seth's Cottage Entrance © 2011 Bo Mackison

The Seth Peterson, located on a bluff above Mirror Lake near Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton, Wisconsin, was one of the last commissions completed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The cottage was designed to include much in a very small space. The bedroom is small but very functional with built ins and closets. The dining and living area is almost spacious. When dining, one can gaze out at Mirror Lake and watch the water fowl. The flagstone floor has a radiant heating system underneath the surface and the floor is toasty warm for bare feet. Nice touch!

View from Entrance, Seth Peterson Cottage, Frank Lloyd Wright architect

From the Front Door to the Back Door - A View © 2011 Bo Mackison

Wright knew how to make the most of lighting and windows, and the cottage has plenty of both. The western exposure is a wall of windows set on a short stone base. The rear wall also has windows and insures a great view of the lake and the wildlife.

Central Fireplace at Seth Peterson Cottage, Frank Lloyd Wright architect

Central Fireplace at Cottage © 2011 Bo Mackison

He also employed stone in his exterior design and in the mammoth, central fireplace. The kitchen walls, located immediately behind the fireplace, are also entirely of stone. Modern appliances complement the warmth of the small alcove.

Seth Peterson never lived in the cottage he talked Frank Lloyd Wright into designing for him when Wright was 90 years old. Seth committed suicide before its completion, and the home was sold and finished by another party. In 1966 the state of Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources acquired the building and property as a part of the adjoining Mirror Lake State Park, but due to its remote location, the building fell into disrepair.

In 1989 a non-profit group formed to save the building which was in near ruins. After much fund-raising, the cottage was fully restored. It has received numerous architectural awards and recommendations for the stunning rehabilitation. The mission of the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy is one of preservation and education. But even more, it is one of opportunity, for it provides the opportunity to experience this unique building in an intimate setting, perhaps the exact setting Mr. Wright himself envisioned.

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Wingspread

by Bo Mackison on 06/09/2010

Wingspread in Racine Wisconsin, architect Frank Lloyd Wright

Wingspread © 2010 Bo Mackison

Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built Wingspread as a residence for Herbert F. Johnson and his family in 1938-39. It was his largest and last Prairie style building. Set on property near Lake Michigan in Racine, Wisconsin, the 14,000 square foot home is surrounded by lagoons and ponds, and the home eases gently into the open space. Multiple sculptures and gardens enhance the landscaped grounds.

Statue at Wingsread, Racine Wisconsin, architect Frank Lloyd Wright

Statue on Wingsread Grounds © 2010 Bo Mackison

The home is in the shape of a pinwheel – four wings stretch from the Great Hall, a huge space with floor to ceiling windows and a central fireplace that has five hearths on three different levels. There is also an aerie at the very top of the great room – a circular stairway rises next to the fireplace to reach the glass space – which was requested of Mr. Wright by Johnson’s son. He wanted to have a look out where he could watch for his father’s airplane as he returned home to the family from his many trips.

The pinwheel extensions split the home into zones and housed the bedrooms and the kitchen areas. Johnson’s daughter’s bedroom was in the extension seen in the background of the above photo.

Made almost entirely of natural, organic materials — a warm red brick, wood, quarried limestone, and stucco — the home emphasizes Wright’s embrace of the natural surrounding lands.

One of Extension Wings at Wingspread, Racine Wisconsin

Office Wing at Wingspread

The Johnson family (Herbert was the grandson of SC Johnson of Johnson Wax fame) lived in the home for over 20 years. In 1959, the Johnson’s moved into a smaller home (referred to as “The House”) on the property and gave Wingspread to the Johnson Foundation for use as a conference and education center. Since that time, it has served as a primary think tank for non-profit corporations, and is said to be the birthplace for the ideas for both National Public Radio and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Wingspread was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

The center was one of nine buildings in the Racine/Kenosha, Wisconsin area featured on this year’s Wright and Like Tour held on June 5th. The tour is sponsored by  Frank Lloyd Wright® Wisconsin, a non-profit organization devoted to preserving and sharing Wright’s Wisconsin heritage.

A second Wright landmark, the SC Johnson Administration Building, also a National Historic Landmark, was also featured. (Photos of the Johnson Administration Building including rare photos of the Penthouse floor to be posted soon.)

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Pew House by Wright

by Bo Mackison on 05/25/2010

On the Shore of Lake Mendota

Pew House by Wright © 2009 Bo Macksion

The Pew House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1938-40, is seldom available for public tours, so it was with great enthusiasm that I explored this home, inside and outside, during the Wright and Like Tour held in June, 2009. For those of you Wright fans who are in the Midwest, the next Wright and Like tour will be held in Racine/Kenosha, Wisconsin on June 4-6, 2010. There are great homes on the tour and an opportunity to see the Johnson Wax Company’s campus, one of Wright’s more iconic projects. For more information, contact the Wright and Like Tours.

Hidden from View

Hidden from View © 2009 Bo Mackison

Not much of a view of the Pew House from the dock or from Lake Mendota. The view from a boat on the lake would give no clue that a Wright home was tucked into this hillside.

The home is a two-story Usonian design, unusual but delightfully compact and full of Wright’s built-ins. In one of the small bedrooms, tiny in size, the room worked well because everything was built into the room – bed, desk, storage.

I read a delightful story about an interview with Ruth Pew who voiced unhappiness with the home for the first two years she lived there. It seems she felt that Mr. Wright did not take her wants and needs into consideration when he designed the home, and she was nearly ready to put the home on the market. Instead, she decided she would “give the house a year without struggling with it.” And in that year, she discovered that the home had been built not for the woman she was, but for “the woman I could become.” Talk about self-discovery!

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The Original Camp Randall

by Bo Mackison on 05/19/2010

Camp Randall, Civil war Monument in Madison Wisconsin

Camp Randall @ 2010 Bo Mackison

If you are familiar with Madison and the name Camp Randall comes up in conversation, You can be nearly sure this is NOT the Camp Randall being discussed. That Camp Randall, the home of the University of Wisconsin football team, the Badgers, is across the street. But this is the originail Camp Randall, and the namesake of the stadium.

Camp Randall served as a training grounds for 70,000 men who fought for the North in the Civil War. Later, the camp was utilized as a prison and hospital for Confederate soldiers.

Eagle atop the Camp Randall Arch in Madison Wisconsin

Old Abe, the Eagle, on Watch © 2010 Bo Mackison

This arch was built and dedicated in 1912 to the soldiers who fought in the Civil War. The land was deeded to the University of Wisconsin in 1893 and part of the land is used for athletic facilities. Camp Randall, the football stadium, was built in 1917.

The memorial area was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

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Lafayette County Courthouse

by Bo Mackison on 05/14/2010

Lafayette County Courthouse in Darlington Wisconsin

Lafayette County Courthouse © 2010 Bo Mackison

The Lafayette County Courthouse is in Darlington, the largest town in this south central county of Wisconsin. It was built between the years of 1905 and 1907 at a cost of over $136,000. The money for construction was bequeathed to the county by Matt Murphy of Benton, Wisconsin. In his will, he provided that 70% of his estate be used to construct a County Courthouse.

A note for historical trivia buffs: Lafayette County Courthouse is the only county courthouse in the United States fully funded by a single person.

The courthouse was designed by the architects Kinney & Detweiler from Minneapolis-St Paul, a team that designed many courthouses throughout the Midwest. These included Clay County Courthouse in Spencer, IA; Plymouth County Courthouse in La Mars, IA; Winneshiek County Courthouse in Decorah, IA; Beltrami County Courthouse in Bemidji, MN; Plymouth County Courthouse in Austin, MN; Brown County Courthouse in Aberdeen, SD and Langlade County Courthouse in Antigo WI.

Lafayette County Courthouse

Courthouse - Look Up © 2010 Bo Mackison

The courthouse was built in the Classical Revival style popular for government buildings, as it embodied the spirit of ancient Athenian democracy combined with aspects of Republican Rome. Columns were a must as were domes and entrances with many stairs. These buildings generally took on massive, mathematically precise proportions, what was then thought as fitting for the duties of the governing bodies.

The interior of the courthouse features marble walls, tiled flooring and a Tiffany glass rotunda. There are period murals and statues from the early 1900s throughout the building. There are also decorative copper and brass lighting fixtures on the grounds.

Tours are available on Mondays through Fridays from 8:oo am until 4:30 pm.

The Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.


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American Exchange Bank

by Bo Mackison on 05/06/2010

Historic Buildings on Madison's Capitol Square

American Exchange Bank © 2010 Bo Mackison

Built in 1871, the old American Exchange Bank is one of the last remnants of the three or more story sandstone block buildings that surrounded the Capitol Square from the 1850s to the 1950s. It was in this building that the first session of the Wisconsin Legislature was held.

The architect was Stephen V. Shipman; the architectural style of the building is Italian Renaissance Revival. The building originally extended over five store fronts along the Square (along Pinckney Street), but much of the structure was damaged by fire in the 1940s.

American Exchange Bank Historic Building, Madison Wisconsin

Founded 1871 © 2010 Bo Mackison

The pioneer bank opened its doors for business in 1871 and contributed greatly to the inital financial growth of the city. Throughout the years, the building has seen many tenants. It was  home to Park Savings Bank, insurance agencies and other businesses over the course of nearly 140 years.

The building is a Madison Landmark, and is on the National and Wisconsin Registers of Historic Places.

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