Motoring Around Madison

By Chuck

We left Taliesin this morning, headed for Madison and its campus of the University of Wisconsin, a comfortable drive of less than an hour. After stopping at the campus information and parking center to find out the rules and costs of parking on campus, we headed to the Unitarian Universalist church designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. His parents were charter members of this congregation, which selected a lovely rural spot as the setting. No more. The entire community has grown up around the grounds and the parking lot is now shared by part of the U of W Medical Center.

I had actually only planned to do a drive-by; but, there was no street parking so we went into the church lot and I hustled inside to confirm available parking while Claire stayed behind to protect Cristina from marauding policemen. All was good: Turns out that there are tours at 10:30am daily--we had arrived at 10:22. And, they were able to provide a temporary parking pass.

Front of the Unitarian Meeting House, Madison, WI. It is hard to see in this picture; but, the church is supposed to be a ship plowing through the earth. Again, no separation between Man and Nature.

 

Our capable guide, Carolyn, gave us a customized tour that lasted 1.5 hours--we were the only tourists this morning. She even gave us the opportunity to tour the new extension, which is about 4 years old, architecturally harmonious with the original building, and has the LEED Gold rating for environmental efficiency--they were determined to have a green building. It features geothermal heating and a living green roof. The new structure is where the current religious services and classes are held, as the congregation had outgrown the old building. We were impressed that they now share the old building with the local Jewish community, as they needed a place to convene for their services.

Note the extensive use of triangles in the external structure of the Meeting House; this is repeated internally. FLW was fascinated with geometric shapes, especially diamonds, circles and triangles. Many of the inside tables were triangular, designed by him; they can be used individually for one or two persons, or combined, to accommodate larger groups. Also, he varies ceiling height a lot, internally, which is visually quite interesting. In addition, low ceilings contribute to the "sheltering" effect of his designs, along with the high windows, which preserve privacy. The double-seater, FLW-designed pews were moveable, folding wooden seats that were normally placed so the congregation could see one another--this is the same treatment used in the Theatre at Taliesin. They could be removed, as necessary, to create open space for social gatherings.

Side and entrance

This image captures one of FLW's famous features: the blending of nature and Man (construction, in this case) so they are not perceived as separate. This comes from his Unitarian background and respect for nature. You may not realize it, but there is glass abutting the stone in this picture, allowing you to see the outside from the inside without really being aware of the separation. The glass, and in other instances the wood, is incorporated right into the supporting material--leaving the latter as the defining contour of the building. Wright was also (one of?) the first to put two glass windows together at a 45° angle, virtually eliminating any sense of being inside, looking out. Unfortunately, I don't have an example from this site.

Next we drove to Washington Square and the Wisconsin State Capitol, to see the Farmer's Market held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and to eat lunch.

The Farmer's Market is, roughly, the equivalent of the one in Davis; but, the flowers were a lovely touch and I saw a number of people carrying bouquets back to their office. I had a delicious  strawberry-rhubarb turnover; but, I ate it so quickly, Claire did not have an opportunity to photograph it.

Claire was famished by now and we found a lovely Italian eatery down the street, near the Capitol. I had the healthy special of the day: Chicken, stuffed with cheese and asparagus, on a bed of potatoes, covered with gravy.

Claire had the Grilled Veggie Panino with Minestrone soup. She thought, incorrectly, that I got the worst of the bargain.

We loved this little corner of the Children's Museum on a corner near the Capitol.

We have noticed cows just about everywhere--including on the buildings. Sometimes there are plastic cows in fields along the roads, in spots you would expect to see actual heifers. But, let us not forget that one nickname for people from Wisconsin is 'Cheesehead,' and this comes from cows. I recall, as a child, being told that the reason we had to mix the yellow color packets into our margarine was that the Wisconsin cheese lobby insisted on this to prevent the public from confusing naturally yellow butter with white veggie lard. There may have been some economic incentive as well?

I have always loved houses with turrets. This is simply one near the center of Madison.

Davis can consider itself the bike capitol of the World (the U.S.?), but we don't have convenient rent-a-bike stands in town.

Another turret, this one at the Triangle Market, which advertises itself as an historical spot offering daily tours. We did not stop to corroborate this.

Another interesting building, encountered as we walked down State Street, which connects the Capitol to the U of W - Madison campus. This is somewhat reminiscent of structures encountered in Scandinavia; and many of their descendents have settled in the Midwestern part of the U.S.

Chuck, on a quest to find a cheap, used copy of Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage--an historical treatment of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Sadly, they are expensive, large and difficult to carry, and they are hard to find.

The U of W - Madison campus is beautiful; but, it does not have a single architectural theme. There are all kinds of buildings, here. This one caught our eye; it is the old gymnasium building.

We are about to enter the student union building.

The beautiful underside of the portico as we enter the student union.

Here is the lovely Terrace on the back of the student union building. Notice the colorful round tables and the iconic sunburst chairs.

Chuck on the upper Terrace of the student union building.

We are encountering our first active support for Obama-Biden in this State. These signs are posted in a local funky clothing shop, which doubles as a Democratic headquarters of sorts. I have also noticed far more support from editorials and readership in the Wisconsin State Journal than I expected; however, I think this is probably localized support. I doubt that the truly rural town outside the greater Madison area share the same level of enthusiasm for Democrats and their policies. Some of the signs we have seen are hand drawn. Others say things like: "All I want is the same healthcare plan that members of Congress have." "Corporate Plan for America: Loot it and leave it" "Obama '12/ Yes we can/ Tax the Rich"

 

 This is the classic Science Building, located atop a sloping hill.

It is interesting to note the contrast between the union-busting efforts of Governor Walker's administration and the historical contribution of Wisconsinites to establishing a role for government in "securing the well-being of its citizens." A plaque we discovered on campus commemorates the ideas of local academics in formulating the New Deal of the FDR administration. This school of thought "helped rewrite the nation's Labor Laws and brought about such programs as unemployment insurance and the minimum wage law.


Now, I'm off to the lobby to get my dinner--a pint of Edy's Cookie Dough ice cream and, from the car, our Costco chocolate hand-dipped shortbread cookies. Claire is following up with a diet Pepsi chaser. You have no idea how difficult it is to find healthy, affordable dining choices on the road.

I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.  ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Taliesin, Spring Green, WI

By Claire

Our abode for the night was the Spring Valley Inn, located 2.7 miles from our target site, Taliesin, architect Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio.  There were only six cars in the parking lot last night and we had the giant pool and enormous hot tub all to ourselves.  Breakfast was really nice, too, and again, we had the place to ourselves. We're very happy and comfortable here. In fact, either we're slowing down or we've gotten into a groove.  The pace seems far more leisurely to me now.  Spring Valley Inn was designed by a Taliesin architect.

Spring Valley Inn

 

Our 4 hour Estate Tour began at the visitor center at 9:30 am with our knowledgeable guide, Cyndi, who owns a dairy farm in the area with her husband.  We were driven a mile and a half to the family cemetery, where we were given some history and shown the pertinent grave sites.  

We then moved on to the Taliesin estate--this name is that of a Welsh bard whose name means 'shining brow'; this is how FLW honored his ancestry and it explains his use of FLLW as his initials: 'll' is a separate letter in the Welsh alphabet. For those who don't know or who haven't read the wonderful book, Loving Frank, a terrible event happened here.  Frank Lloyd Wright was married to his wife Kitty for 20 years and had 6 children when he fell in love with the wife of one of his clients.  Mamah Borthwick Cheney was a modern woman and early feminist with interests outside the home.  She and Frank each left their spouses and children and fled the scandal by moving to Europe.  Mamah was able to obtain a divorce but Frank's wife told him to give it a year and if he still felt the same way, she would give him a divorce.  He asked her again after a year but it would be several years before she would concede.

Frank and Mamah returned to the United States and he began work on what would become Taliesin in 1911.  They lived together in spite of the scandal of not being married; however, they did not care.  On August 15, 1914, while Frank was working in Chicago, a disgruntled male servant poured gasoline around the house, set it on fire then proceeded to kill seven people with an axe, including Mamah and her two children, who were visiting their mother.  The entire residential wing of the house was destroyed.  Frank would rebuild, endure another fire, and rebuild again.

This tree was planted on top of Mamah's grave by Frank and was the only marker at that time.

 

Frank's first wife, Kitty, finally gave him a divorce and he married his second wife, Miriam, a year later--he couldn't stand to be alone.  Due to her morphine addiction, that marriage lasted only a year. His third wife, Olga, eventually placed a marker on Mamah's grave site using her married name in all caps--even though Mamah had returned to her maiden name of Borthwick.

 

FLW died in 1959 at 91. Olga didn't want to be buried in the family cemetery so she had his remains exhumed one night and removed to Taliesin West in Arizona.  She then had his remains cremated so they could be mixed with her own ashes after her death.  For years, Wisconsonites had bumper stickers saying 'FLW GET YOUR ASH BACK HERE!'

The FLW memorial site at Taliesin

The surrounding vistas of this 600 acre estate are gorgeous.  There are views everywhere.  This farm belonged to Frank's uncle, Tom.

 

This is The Hillside School, where Frank's two maiden aunts gave their lives to teaching.  He designed the building and eventually turned it into an architectural school, with dormitory.   Our van dropped us here and we walked the rest of the tour.

This windmill was designed by Frank in 1896 for his two aunts, who needed it to pump water to the Hillside School.  Both his uncles told him it would never last, being made out of wood (cypress) rather than metal.  It lasted through 97 years of storms before the preservation society decided to reconstruct it due to some damage. After both uncles died, Frank noted that his structure was still vertical while its critics were horizontal.

 

This house was designed for his sister, Jane, but Frank never liked it.  She made it very clear that she didn't want one of those low ceiling prairie houses--this was to be her home.  When he took clients on a tour of the estate, he never showed them this house, and at one point threatened to burn it down.

 

Another beautiful vista

 

House on the property, converted from a farm utility building to house architectural students

 

Barn with classic FLW spire. Students sometimes live in the tower structure.

 

FLW designed all the roads on the property.

Taliesen

 

View showing Taliesin built into the hillside--the slope of the hills determined the slope of the roofs.

 

Frank selected his livestock based on aesthetic criteria.  He didn't care for the common white chickens which reminded him of crumpled newspapers flying around--so he brought in Rhode Island Reds because they were a better fit with the landscape.  The same went for the cows:  He did not like the typical black and white Holsteins, so he went with the brown Guernsey cows because they were more pleasing in the green landscape.  He was known for making many, many changes--one roof line was changed 20 times; he would often use his cane to draw a new idea in the dirt or a nail to scratch something on a shingle.  His contractors were so good they could determine dimensions from these rough sketches.

Courtyard where we were given hot drinks, muffins and scones on the terrace

 

A rear view of the property.  It is 37,000 sq. ft., according to FLW--this includes the gardens and terraces, as they are an integral part of the space.

 

Frank subscribed to the Unitarian emphasis on harmony and respect of nature. He was also influenced by Japanese and Chinese art.

 

Note the use of water pipes as a trellis.  He was known for recycling materials and rarely discarded anything. To obtain the desired color and texture for the stucco, he mixed Wisconsin River beach sand with some pigment for the effect you see here.

 

Waterfall, designed to bring "music" into nature--all the main rooms of the house have pianos.

 

Photography was not allowed in any of the buildings.  The interiors are beautiful, fascinating, inovative and inspiring.  I recommend you make a trip to Spring Green, Wisconsin and see for yourself.  The tour was $150 for the two of us and worth every penny.

We drove 3 miles to the town of Spring Green in search of lunch.  I had read about the Arcadia Bookstore and café.  As soon as I saw the menu, I knew this was the place.  I ordered the black bean soup with fire-roasted tomatoes, carrots, onions and garlic (Greenspirit Farm), vegetable stock, lemon drop peppers (Bulldog Gardens), canola oil and cumin.  Chuck ordered a cup of the soup and half an avacado vegetarian sandwich.  Organic farming is prominent in this part of the State. We both had a latté. 

 

What a nice bookstore, with very friendly people and fantastic food.  

 

That's the bookstore on the corner.  I don't know how they survive in such a tiny, quiet town.

 

Notice the wide, lovely streets.

 

We walked around the entire downtown, which involved a 4 block stroll.  This visitor center was interesting; it seems to mimic FLW's style and color scheme.

 

This is The Country Store Café, recommended to us by the guy at the organic food store back in Hillsboro.  They also offered great food, and we thought about coming back later for dinner; but they close at 6.  We never ate dinner last night and probably won't tonight.  Good food seems to stick with us longer. And, the chocolate covered coffee beans help sustain us.

 

Interesting bank, probably influenced by FLW. He might be rolling in his grave, except he isn't there, is he?

 

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Scenic Wisconsin

 By Claire

We began our journey through southwestern Wisconsin with an interesting sign warning us to be careful.  From there, we continued on the trail of horse droppings.  Sure enough, we passed a guy who gave us a friendly wave.

We weren't completely surprised by the beauty of this state; it's one of the reasons we wanted to see it.  The evidence of fall approaching, the rolling hills and the many trees and endless cornfields met our expectations.

 

Today was leisurely, with many stops along the way.  Our first was another state park, Wildcat Mountain.  We spent about 20 minutes with the ranger helping us pick out the best hike.  We were the only car in the parking lot and I have a feeling she had time on her hands.  The park and the hike were beautiful on this increasingly gray, 61° day.  Rain was predicted, along with thunderstorms.  Bring it on!  Here are some of the views we enjoyed on our hike.

 

 

Wildflowers?  Still?

 

 

 

 

 

Back on the road again, we meandered through tiny towns, suddenly finding ourselves in Hillsboro with an organic food store and a cafe called Holvy's.  We decided to stop for lunch.

Classic Wisconsin dairy barn

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I ordered the egg salad sandwich ($2.79) and a cup of homemade chili ($2.59).  The bread was homemade rye.

 

 

Chuck ordered the Shuleke soup (chicken and dumplings, $2.59).  We asked about the name and found out this is a Czechoslovakian area.

 

We've had requests for more dessert pictures, so Chuck volunteered to order the pie of the day, homemade banana cream ($2.79), delicious! I must observe that in towns like this it can be cheaper to eat out than to shop in grocery stores.

 

As we were getting ready to leave, an Amish couple came in with another couple, civilians.  The Amish woman was in black, with a black bonnet, which she removed--only to reveal yet another bonnet underneath, encasing her hair.  She and her husband (with broad-brimmed hat and typical beard, minus the mustache) were laughing and talking excitedly with their friends as they sat down for their meal.  I tried to keep my eyes in normal mode.

 After lunch, we walked down to the organic food store where I walked through the small aisles completely enraptured.  I quickly grabbed two packages of muesli (oh, how I have missed it).  We were about to grab a container of Greek yogurt when we realized we'd have to get some ice.  Chuck asked the owner where to get it just as I realized we have free breakfasts for another week.  I'll save the muesli for later but yogurt is another story.  We ended up in a long conversation with him about the town and the area.  He told us he was from central Indiana and has lived here for 9 years when I asked him if he was a native.  He said he loved it here but wouldn't come again for the same reasons he originally did.  He went on to explain that he came for religious reasons, but left the faith.  He told us it's a great town with 3 chiropractors, 2 doctors and a hospital.  Not only that, there is a town nearby that has an enormous farmer's market and a Whole Foods grocery store. He believes the harsh winters and the resulting difficulty of travel require self-contained communities. 

He also mentioned that the climate dictates special planning at intersections so that in the winter motor vehicles do not need to halt at stop signs if it's uphill--they'd never make it otherwise, with the slippery ice on the road.  We talked some more about food in general and I told him how thirsty I've been at night, probably caused by too much salt in restaurant food.  He quickly showed us a bottle of kombucha tea--slightly fermented and carbonated; it was his favorite flavor, gingerberry, has live cultures and is very thirst-quenching.  Without even asking what other flavors he had, I told him I'd take it.  He responded with "but you don't know what the price is!"  Actually, I had noticed the price of $4.19, but didn't care.  I wanted to try it.  Meanwhile, Chuck grabbed a large container of chocolate covered coffee beans.  That drink cost more than my sandwich but I loved it. I'm afraid I could become easily hooked but at that price I think I'll have to let it go.  Maybe just once in awhile--it's even more expensive than a cappuccino at Peet's!

Returning to our car, we were just in time to see the Amish couple get into a gigantic Chevy Suburban (I guess that's redundant) with the other couple.  We were too shocked to notice whether either one got into the driver's side or the passenger side.  I must say, this is my one and only exposure to anything Amish, and I was pleasantly surprised.  For some reason I was expecting very stern people with nose to the grindstone.  I guess you don't need TV or the Internet to be happy, not to mention clothes in differing styles, Temperpedic beds, movies, Kindles, iPhones, iPods, iPads or a car for road trips.  At A&W we ran into two more ladies in identically styled dresses but sporting different patterns (yes, another stop for Chuck--for his now traditional daily fix of root beer float).  I guess A&W is on the allowed list for the Amish.

Winding our way through the back roads, we came to Devil's Lake State Park, our next destination.  By now the rain had started; but the ranger was very nice and helpful, mapping out the route through the park and some back roads to get us to our present location, Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Back in civilization (towns of about 1,100), we have noticed quite a few Obama/Biden lawn signs and announcements for town meetings.  One sign advertising a meeting said "Who cares?  Obama cares."  Another said "Don't Give More to the 1%."  We haven't seen a single Romney sign--but perhaps this is due to strong support, rendering such signs unnecessary?

I love this sign on a truck with Wisconsin plates.  I have no idea who the ass is; but surely there are enough of them to cover several States.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.  ~Lao Tzu