July 11: Madison to La Crosse, Wisconsin
Today we were in transit from Madison to La Crosse, Wisconsin, after a night of very good and restorative sleep. After getting ready and packing, we went upstairs to meet our landlady and have muffins, fruit, yogurt, orange juice, and coffee for breakfast. Our landlady stayed with us while we ate. We were introduced to her two cats (see one in the lineup of photos for today), and to her various projects and hobbies. After breakfast, we stowed luggage in the car and proceeded from Madison on Rte. 14 through the towns of Cross Plains, Black Earth, Mazomanie (where we photographed St. Barnabas Catholic Church and its manse—see 6 photographs); Arena, and from there to Spring Green, Wisconsin. Frank Lloyd Wright chose this farming community on the Wisconsin River as the site for his home, Taliesin, and for his architectural school. His primary home and studio were designed in 1902 out of sandstone and native oak. Wright enhanced the site throughout his life. Included on the grounds are a school, small theater, living and dining rooms, drafting studios, a gallery containing furniture which FLW designed, artwork from his Asian collection and photograph murals and models of buildings he designed.
Our first stop was the Visitor Center, designed by Wright in 1953, overlooking the Wisconsin River and the origination point of Taliesin’s various guided tours. We explored the Taliesin bookstore, asked about the tours (no vacancies, and anyway, the prices of the tours were atrociously high, so we took pictures of the school and house from the road). We had an excellent lunch at the River Terrace Cafe overlooking the Wisconsin River. Maureen had a flatbread with a thin schmear of pesto and radicchio salad; lightly steamed yellow squash and zucchini; squash blossoms, garlic scapes (the green on top of the garlic), and goat cheese. I had a wonderful bowl of soup incorporating pork and various vegetables, and served with sea salt flatbreads.
After that we got back in the car and drove into the town of Spring Green, where we saw several buildings designed by Wright and by his son-in-law, William Wesley Peters, chief architect of the Taliesin Associated Architects of the FLW Foundation. The ocher-colored BMO Harris Bank in my photo lineup was built in 1972, and the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church was built in 1988–both designed by Peters, probably the most outstanding student of FLW. The bank was open and I got to look inside, but photography inside was not permitted, so I could only take outdoor shots. However, the St. John Church was open, and I was able to gain an insight into the beauty which was passed down from from the brilliant FLW to future generations of architects, especially the very talented William Wesley Peters.
From Spring Green we traveled further west to the town of Richland Center, settled in 1849. It is the birthplace of FLW, whose fine early work is represented by the 1915design of the A.D. German Warehouse in the downtown area. It is currently still standing, although in quite a dilapidated condition, with much work required to be done to bring it back to life. Let’s hope that will actually become a reality in the near future. We also inspected the beautiful red sandstone Courthouse, built in 1889, with a beautiful loggia and interesting window framings. Our third and last stop was the Masonic Temple across from the A.D. German Warehouse, built in the late 1800s.
Our final leg from there to La Crosse took about 40 minutes, and while on the way we stopped for vanilla ice cream at Culver’s, and then in Coon Valley, originally a Scandinavian settlement, where we photographed a lovely church, the cemetery and hills behind it, luminous in the late afternoon sun.
We are now at Gundersen Hotel. Maureen and I have just returned from dinner at Huck Finn’s, where I had cocoanut shrimp and a green salad and Maureen had a sandwich wrap with chicken, greens, and strawberries. We have returned, and I am so tired I could fall asleep over this keyboard. Great day for FLW finds! More tomorrow! Bye, SV
Our first stop was the Visitor Center, designed by Wright in 1953, overlooking the Wisconsin River and the origination point of Taliesin’s various guided tours. We explored the Taliesin bookstore, asked about the tours (no vacancies, and anyway, the prices of the tours were atrociously high, so we took pictures of the school and house from the road). We had an excellent lunch at the River Terrace Cafe overlooking the Wisconsin River. Maureen had a flatbread with a thin schmear of pesto and radicchio salad; lightly steamed yellow squash and zucchini; squash blossoms, garlic scapes (the green on top of the garlic), and goat cheese. I had a wonderful bowl of soup incorporating pork and various vegetables, and served with sea salt flatbreads.
After that we got back in the car and drove into the town of Spring Green, where we saw several buildings designed by Wright and by his son-in-law, William Wesley Peters, chief architect of the Taliesin Associated Architects of the FLW Foundation. The ocher-colored BMO Harris Bank in my photo lineup was built in 1972, and the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church was built in 1988–both designed by Peters, probably the most outstanding student of FLW. The bank was open and I got to look inside, but photography inside was not permitted, so I could only take outdoor shots. However, the St. John Church was open, and I was able to gain an insight into the beauty which was passed down from from the brilliant FLW to future generations of architects, especially the very talented William Wesley Peters.
From Spring Green we traveled further west to the town of Richland Center, settled in 1849. It is the birthplace of FLW, whose fine early work is represented by the 1915design of the A.D. German Warehouse in the downtown area. It is currently still standing, although in quite a dilapidated condition, with much work required to be done to bring it back to life. Let’s hope that will actually become a reality in the near future. We also inspected the beautiful red sandstone Courthouse, built in 1889, with a beautiful loggia and interesting window framings. Our third and last stop was the Masonic Temple across from the A.D. German Warehouse, built in the late 1800s.
Our final leg from there to La Crosse took about 40 minutes, and while on the way we stopped for vanilla ice cream at Culver’s, and then in Coon Valley, originally a Scandinavian settlement, where we photographed a lovely church, the cemetery and hills behind it, luminous in the late afternoon sun.
We are now at Gundersen Hotel. Maureen and I have just returned from dinner at Huck Finn’s, where I had cocoanut shrimp and a green salad and Maureen had a sandwich wrap with chicken, greens, and strawberries. We have returned, and I am so tired I could fall asleep over this keyboard. Great day for FLW finds! More tomorrow! Bye, SV
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