West Madison

West Madison

Earlier this week I had the good fortune to spend some time in Madison WI, specifically West Madison in and around the Rocky Bluff neighborhood by Hoyt Park. The area is largely residential, made primarily of small, detached homes with streets that follow the contours of the area's hilly topography, resulting in few through streets and a number of dead-ends. Sidewalks, while usually present, often only occupy one side of the street. 

From a planning standpoint the area is not particularly walkable, mostly because of the infrequency of sidewalks, although Madison’s omnipresent bike infrastructure and friendliness seem to more-or-less make up for it. The area also defies its otherwise suburban layout by feeling truly lived in. Many houses, both modest and large, sport elaborate plantings in defiance of the usual flat, grassy square, and small garden plots are common.

West Madison also sports some interesting architecture:

Lustron Homes in West Madison

The first sites visited were four Lustron Homes located in the Sunset Village neighborhood. Lustron Homes were small prefabricated houses produced from 1948 to 1950 to meet soaring post-war demand for housing. Until the company's bankruptcy in 1950 some 2,680 of these unique houses were produced and built throughout the country, of which around 1,500 are thought to still exist. My first exposure to these buildings came a couple years ago when I was researching the Louisiana Landmarks Society’s annual list of New Orleans’ most endangered buildings, one of which was a Lustron Home located in the Gentilly Terrace Neighborhood.

Lustron in New Orleans

The core appeal of the Lustron Homes would have to be those properties that make them such wonderful cultural time capsules. Their bright, pastel-porcelain exteriors, spacey design and resemblance to contemporaneous kitchen appliances perfectly capture the spirit and aesthetic of post-war America. They embody an age replete with optimism and consumerism; where anything from a blender to a house could be ordered from a catalogue, and both came in powder-blue.

Gilmore House

The next building I saw was the Gilmore House located in the Regent neighborhood, one of four Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in and around West Madison that I visited. Built in 1908 the Gilbert House is an example of Prairie School architecture.

Harold C. Bradley House

Located just a few Streets over is the Harold C. Bradley House, which was built just one year later in 1909. This building is also Prairie School, with its broad roofs, side entrance, stained glass, and thick brick buttresses. While attributed to Wright's mentor, Louis Sullivan, it is debatable how much actual input he had on the building's design.

Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House

The next Frank Lloyd Wright I visited was the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House (Jacobs I) located in the Westmorland Neighborhood and built in 1937. Given the home's small size, low profile, flat/broad roof, and side carport, it is considered by many to be Wright's first Usonian house.

John Pew House

Located along Lake Mendota the John Pew house was built in 1940. Unfortunately I was only able to see the road-facing side of the house, which seems to be the least interesting. Apparently the lake-side is set into a rather steep slope and looks much more dramatic. 

First Unitarian Society Meeting House

The final Frank Lloyd Wright site I visited was the First Unitarian Society Meeting House in Shorewood Hills, a small village on Lake Mendota located just North of the Sunset Village, Rocky Bluff and Regent neighborhoods. Built between 1947 and 1951 this is the most contemporary of Wright's works in West Madison and is the only non-residential building. The church features many of the elements you would expect to see in a Frank Lloyd Wright design: large, broad roofs, emphasis on the horizontal access, and car oriented entrance. The building's most striking feature would have to be the dramatic glass prow that houses the church's 847 pipe organ.

Hoyt Park

The final site I visited was Hoyt Park, a 23 acre park located in the heart of West Madison. Specifically, I visited to see the park's stone hospitality shelters which were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's. Hoyt is one of a number of moderately sized parks located throughout West Madison. Particularly charming was Sunset Park which was built down the center of a block with homes on either side, creating a kind of backyard commons.

Special Thanks to Michele, Ryan and Paige for hosting me.