Architecture in Oak Park

By Claire

We've been relaxing and recovering from nonstop travel for the last two days.  Time to recharge our batteries and get ready for the next thing.  We arrived in Milwaukee on Saturday, in the rain.  Neither of us was terribly interested in doing anything; so we made the decision to kick back and do some research on Chicago, our present location.

It was just what we needed, except that we also needed to buy breakfast items for 5 days.  We had spotted a Trader Joe's where we could pick up trail bars; they also carry fruit; but when we saw the prices and tiny amounts, we immediately went to Google to find the nearest Costco.  Besides, it seemed like a good idea to get gas as well, and Costco always has the cheapest price.  Wrong.  I punched in the information I found online and off we went.  It promised to be a mere 10 mile journey; but somehow the internet let us down.  I can't blame Vicky, since all she did was take us to the address we entered.  To make a long story short, our journey for cheap gas and fruit turned into a 45 mile trek!  Our first attempt took us to a lovely wooded area--but no Costco.  Once we found another address, the gas price was only 2 cents less than every other gas station around.  On the other hand, we're very glad we filled up; gas prices in Illinois are hovering around $4.35.  This is the highest we've seen on the trip.  Costco was "only" $3.87. 

 
We left Milwaukee this morning, to drive to Chicago.  With extremely intelligent planning, we decided to first go to Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago where Frank Lloyd Wright's original home and studio are located, as well as many of his other early works.  That way, we could continue on to our hotel in downtown Chicago, park the car and do no more driving until we leave Chicago.  It was a good decision.  We did an inside guided tour of the home and studio, then an outside guided tour of many of his works in the neighborhood.  And what a neighborhood it is! Most of these homes are mansions; and yet as we drove in, Oak Park had a seedy, run down feeling to it.  The town had a population of 8,000 in 1901 when FLW began building.  It is 52,000 now.  But, as soon as we came to FLW's house, the neighborhood became beautiful with wide, tree-lined streets.

FLW Home

 

 FLW Studio at side of home

 

The interior of the home was really interesting.  This was the first home he had built and I could see that, in some ways, it was experimental.  Apparently he tinkered with this one many times, as he would with future homes.  It is a Shingle House, similar to the style of homes on the East Coast and far more traditional than his future buildings.  We liked the way he put a grand piano in the children's playroom by inserting only the keyboard into the room, leaving the rest hanging over the stairway, held up by a hook.  We had to duck under it going down the stairs.  The studio was added on later.  When he left his wife and abandoned his 6 children, he was in debt, living beyond his means.  His wife had to beg money from friends in order to pay the bills.  Ultimately, the house had to be sold.

This was another of his early works, his version of a Victorian--stripped down style, with larger than usual windows wrapping around the porch and the second floor.

 

Another early work

 

This was his version of a tudor style house.  The windows have a Japanese influence and there are Gothic windows as well.  The house is huge and stretches down the block.  He was famous for hidden doorways and this is the side of the house.  The door below looks like the front entrance but it is not.

 

Front view

 

Japanese inspired design--note the pagoda look

 

This house had the front door around on the left side.  The curved doorway you can see was to the maid's quarters.  The purpose was to keep door-to-door salesmen from coming to the front door.

 

This bust is next to a park, across from the house above.  The windows on the right side of the house were positioned to look out on the park.

 

This is the view from the house, above. FLW took advantage of the park to effectively extend the view from the house. Unfortunately, this wedding gift was not appreciated and the owners moved out after a year. I suspect the father-in-law (donor) was not pleased. It may be that the house was too different from the expected Victorian residences of the era.

 

More

 

This house was built while the owner was in Michigan at her summer cabin.  The neighbors were outraged by it and she received numerous complaints from them.  She loved it.  We thought it was an eyesore.

 

This is the beginning of his Prairie House phase.

 

We walked over to the Unity Temple after the tour ended.  It was mildly interesting on the outside--3 connected boxes of different sizes.  The inside is the big draw; but we were getting tired, didn't want to spend another $10 each, and still had Ernest Hemingway's home to tour.  That ended up being somewhat excruciating; the guide was really into his topic and the 30 minute tour ran to over an hour.  We were really tired by then, but glad we saw it.  It's a lovely home.  Hemingway only lived here the first 6 years of his life.  I found it interesting that the guide talked about what an idyllic childhood he had, and how smoking and drinking was done only in the library, only by men, and away from the children.  He had wonderful role models, including a grandfather who took care of the children while his parents worked--father as a doctor, mother as a music teacher.  How'd that work out for him?  He left as soon as he could at age 18. When mentioning Oak Park he said, "The lawns are wide and the minds are narrow." 

 

I thought this was a sweet picture of Ernest (on the left) and two of his sisters and his grandfather. His mother always wanted twins; since she didn't have them, she improvised. She held back his older sister one year and entered them both in school together, dressing them the same--in male attire and with identical haircuts.  I cannot help but wonder what effect this had on Hemingway's masculine personality.

 

Finally, desperate to be finished for the day--at our hotel, checked in, with dinner behind us--we made our way over to Mamah Cheney's home.  This is the house that FLW designed for her and her husband, Edwin, before he stole her away.

 

 

 At last, driving into Chicago.  This was our first view.  We have lots of plans for the next 4 days.

 

Our hotel is fantastic--right downtown with a nice view from our window on the top floor.  It's strange being in a big city after all the countryside we've been seeing.  This will take some getting used to. I'm hearing bongo drums, sirens, honking cars and people.  Earplugs will be in use tonight.

 

The reality of the building is the space within. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Madison Again

By Claire

I didn't think there would be anything to say about our second leisurely day in Madison.  Wrong.  Chuck had planned several things to do today, starting with a walk to Picnic Point, located on Lake Mendota.  It's part of the UW campus.  I'm surprised at how easy it's been to get around by car and to find parking.  This is not a loud, busy city--rather, a nice, tidy, polite town of 234,000.  We began our walk down the trail at about 9:30am and it was destined to be a beautiful day with a slight breeze.  It turned out to be 74°.

Picnic Point

 

Next up:  a drive to the Monona Terrace Community Convention Center, another Frank Lloyd Wright design.  Did you know that he is a University of Wisconsin alum?  He has strong ties to this area.  We noticed the theme of circles and domes right away and wondered if there was a connection with the view of the capitol dome.  This is from literature about the site:

Frank Lloyd Wright originally proposed a design for the Monona Terrace in 1938. His architectural vision for the City of Madison – a curvilinear gathering place that would link the shore of Lake Monona to the State Capitol. Monona Terrace spans ninety feet out over shimmering waters, incorporating thoroughly modern technology and amenities with the architect´s signature organic design.

 

Parking structure

 

 

 

 

We had decided to do a quick tour of the Capitol Building.  It's so beautiful and we have walked past it and around it several times.  Beautiful inside--very stately, and best of all, great bathrooms!  We walked back to State Street, which connects with the Capitol, where there are many, many coffee houses, ethnic eateries and shops. Chuck needed coffee and something sweet and I needed something good.  I had a vegan sandwich--Chuck had a sandwich and a delicious brownie.  We both had cappuccinos and just relaxed.  After lunch we browsed through a book store and then filled up on fresh squeezed orange juice.  We had another walk ahead of us, the Ollrich Botanical Gardens which includes a Thai Pavilion that was a gift to UW.  They didn't have a place for it so it ended up here.  The trick was figuring out which tropical plants could survive the Wisconsin winters.  It was a perfect day for strolling around and taking in the gorgeous plants.  We enjoyed a few of the nicely placed benches too.

 

 

 

 

 

 Inside a curly weeping willow

 

Statue just before the bridge leading to the Thai Pavilion

 

 There are numerous signs warning you not to touch the building--it's the gold leaf

 

 

More gardens

 

 

 

 Sunken Garden

 

 

 

Madison is a great city.  The university campus is huge and sprawling and beautiful and a distinct part of the city.  There are lots of things to see and do and most of the students seem to travel by bicycle or scooter; so we would fit right in.  I think I could live here...except for the winters.  

We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfilment. ~  Hilaire Belloc

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