Just a couple closing thoughts on Taliesen…we’re really glad we saw it, since it’s such an important piece of FLW history, but overall, the house is poorly constructed (his students built a lot of it, and plywood was often the material of choice) and not in the best shape (maybe because there’s a limit to how much they can do since it has several elderly residents). The architecture and the setting are the impressive components, but we’ve definitely seen better condition/quality homes of his elsewhere. Perhaps he was too cheap (or too broke) to invest in the same quality as his clients did.

And, while we were at Devil’s Lake State Park, we saw this menu and knew for sure we were in Wisconsin…

On Thursday, we made a ‘kitschy’ stop at the National Mustard Museum in Middleton WI, not far from Madison. Who knew there was an entire museum devoted to mustard?!? And who knew there are so many varieties of mustard?!? We learned, we laughed, we tasted…all in all, a fun stop on our journey!

After lunch at the local diner in Middleton, we headed into Madison to check out another Frank Lloyd Wright building…Monona Terrace. It’s a community and convention center on the shores of Lake Monona, just down the street from the state capitol building. Wright loved the city of Madison and was anxious to design a government building for them. He worked on and refined the design until just a few weeks before his death. The best view of the building is surely from the lake, and since we didn’t charter a boat to get that view, I borrowed an image from the Internet. Inside, the windows are pretty impressive, as is the view. The parking ramp garages on either side definitely resemble The Guggenheim, FLW’s famous NYC museum. We loved the rooftop garden – it’s beautiful and would have been a great place to sit for a while if it hadn’t been 90 degrees with no breeze!

We stopped by the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus, located on the shores of Lake Mendota. It’s a very typical college campus, with really old buildings and really new buildings and a bunch from the 80s that are not at all attractive – a complete mélange of architectural styles. We were really impressed with the student union, situated on the lake, and offering loads of outdoor seating. There were lots of students sunbathing…seems a bit odd to think, I’m going to school at the U of Wisconsin…better pack my bikini! Oh, and I have to give a shout-out to Mark and his impressive parallel-parking job near campus – not an easy feat in a Ford F-150, but the parking garage wasn’t tall enough for us to enter so street parking was the only option!

Our last stop of the day was, you guessed it…a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright…but unique in that it is a Unitarian Meeting House…not someone’s home. It’s a National Historic Landmark located in Madison and so beautiful with its angles and wall of glass. Several of the details were reminiscent of the Usonian home we visited in St. Louis – parallelograms on the Cherokee Red floor and radiant floor heating, for example. It’s another one of his architectural WOW moments…although the stories the tour guide shared about getting it built and the cost issues were fascinating (and not unusual for Wright). It’s one of ten Wright-designed churches that were built, and is considered one of the world’s most innovative examples of church architecture.

As the congregation grew over the years, they needed more space and have done an amazing job adding a VERY green atrium building that works perfectly next to Wright’s design. It’s so different and modern, but still very organic and complementary!

Friday, we packed up in Spring Green and headed East to Racine, just south of Milwaukee. We spent two nights at the Cliffside Campground, a county park on the shores of Lake Michigan. It’s a beautiful campground with lots of mature trees…and finally some cooler temperatures (70s instead of 90!). Friday evening, Connor joined us; he took Amtrak from Union Station in Chicago to a train station about 20 minutes from the campground – about a one-hour trip. His girlfriend had five friends visiting for the weekend, so they both thought it would be a good idea for him to “disappear” – and a perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with his parents and a nice campfire!

Saturday, we decided it was time to introduce Connor to the cult of Frank Lloyd Wright enthusiasts…and Racine Wisconsin is home to several of his designs. Most famously is the SC Johnson Research Tower and Administration Building, a National Historic Landmark and amazing example of his work. The third-generation CEO of SC Johnson (Johnson Wax at the time) hired Wright in 1936 to design the administration building, and it’s the only corporate headquarters designed by Wright that is still operational. It’s been celebrated as one of the top 25 buildings of the 20^th century. We couldn’t take any photos inside, so I’ve included a couple interior photos from the SC Johnson website. Throughout the first floor, there are columns shaped like lily pads; they increase in diameter from just 9 inches at the base to almost 19 feet at the top. The “Great Workroom” is a VERY open floor plan and he designed more than 40 pieces of modular furniture. Only a portion of the building is still utilized, and the current CEO/5^th-generation Johnson has his office there.

A few years later, the company decided they needed space for research & development, and once again decided to work with Wright even though the first project had gone significantly over budget (spoiler alert…the 2^nd building did, too!). Wright designed a 15-story tower that is one of the tallest structures built on the cantilever principle. There’s a 13-foot diameter ‘core’ that supports the entire building and contains the round elevator and restrooms. The building was in use from 1950 to 1982 and it was in that building that Raid, Glade, OFF!, and Pledge were developed…cornerstones of SC Johnson’s business.

Both buildings use miles of Pyrex glass tubes in place of windows, to provide light (and, of course, they clean them with Windex, an SC Johnson product!). They’re both absolute WOW buildings, and so interesting to see how Wright used many of the same ideas & principles in corporate designs as in his homes. And it’s wonderful that SC Johnson is committed to preserving these buildings, even though they’re not fully utilized, and allowing the public to view them (and for free, no less!). Connor was pretty impressed, but we told him we can’t teach him the secret handshake until he visits a few more FLW-designed buildings!

We stopped lakeside to eat our lunches, and swung by a local bakery to pick up a “Wisconsin State Pastry”, a kringle. We chose apple cinnamon, and it’s unbelievably yummy! Then it was north to Milwaukee. When we parked the truck, we needed the license plate number for the pay station, and we realized the front license plate is GONE. We have no idea when or where it fell off, but getting a replacement should be a fun little project! We decided to check out the Milwaukee Public Market. It was SOO busy, being midday on a Saturday and a beautiful day, but we could tell it was a fantastic market with a huge variety of food, drink, and merchandise. It would be great to go back sometime when it’s a little less crazy. Then we hopped on the “HOP”, Milwaukee’s free streetcar for a ride to the lakefront. We walked along Lake Michigan and enjoyed the amazing weather.

After a walk back to the public market area, it was time to visit another kitschy place – the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame & Museum! They have the world’s largest collection of Bobbleheads – thousands and thousands! Who knew there were so many, and that they go far beyond the typical sports ones we all think of first!

So this was truly a “Wright” trip, encompassing a bit of everything…a home, a school, a government/public building, a meeting house/church, and buildings designed for corporate use. Combined with the beauty of Wisconsin, some fun & unusual stops, and time with Connor, it was really a perfect trip! We have a bit of a break coming up, and then we’ll be headed to Michigan at the end of July.