Boathouse dreams
Yes, Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1893 Lake Monona boathouse would be a terrific counterpoint to Monona Terrace, as David Mollenhoff suggests in Marc Eisen’s “Lake Effects” (10/13/2016). I well remember telling David in the 1980s about pinning down the then forgotten location of the boathouse, and I remember, too, his instant enthusiasm about seeing it built.
But since then the owner of the design, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, has sometimes been diffident about giving permission for building hitherto unbuilt Wright designs, especially if they are going to be used for purposes other than those originally intended.
And what would the boathouse’s purpose be in 2016 or 2020? Certainly not to house boats and canoes as Wright envisioned in 1893, snugged into place with his nifty crane invention. Certainly not to offer an outlook over the lake via its circular, open promenade, now vastly superseded by the Terrace itself, and adjoining parks and paths.
Wright also had clearly envisioned it as a beacon for travelers coming by train into Madison, a large, welcoming tourist attraction that advertised the city’s lakes and recreational potential. But travelers don’t arrive by train anymore. Some will come by car along the causeway, and Wright’s Monona Terrace serves the beacon function better than the boathouse ever could.
I had suggested to David that it become a Wright-related visitor and orientation center, but that function is met in part by the Terrace and would require creation of a city or county bureau and considerable funding. I also thought the boathouse could house models of Wright’s numerous buildings and unrealized projects for Dane County — well over 30 of them. These would be costly, running $30K or $40K each, depending on size and complexity.
Obviously, the boathouse could combine a lot of functions. But its purpose has to be thought through carefully before the city or county seeks permission from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to build it. And the architect must be chosen with equal care should this dream be realized. And I hope it is.
May I live to see the boathouse built, and may I be granted permission by my physicians and the municipal authorities who run the place to take a sip of champagne on the upper deck while watching sailboats race on Lake Monona as Frank Lloyd Wright intended way back in 1893.
Jack Holzhueter, Historian
