Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace: The Enduring Power of a Civic Vision

by David V. Mollenhoff and Mary Jane Hamilton

With sumptuous illustrations and superb documentation, the extraordinary story of the epic fifty-nine-year civic battle to build one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most important designs is finally told in Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace: The Enduring Power of a Civic Vision, by David Mollenhoff and Mary Jane Hamilton.

Opened in the summer of 1997 as a convention and community center, Monona Terrace was first conceived by Wright in 1938...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0299155005
• ISBN13: 9780299155001
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 3.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 8.8" x 11.3"

Customer Reviews

Splendid Contribution to Wright Literature

The story of Monona Terrace, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and updated by Taliesin Architects (led by Wright apprentice Tony Puttnam) to conform to current code and requirements, here receives the sensitive and perceptive treatment it deserves. The book's many excellent features include clear and graceful writing, beautiful illustrations integrated aptly into the text, and balanced consideration of controversial subjects. The authors' account of the life of Frank Lloyd Wright and their treatment of the political history of Madison provide the context that make the Monona Terrace story so fascinating. This is a valuable book indeed.

Good book describing the entire history of Monona Terrace

Mollenhoff and Hamilton have done a great job doing research for this book. The background on how Monona Terrace came to be is fascinating. The people and relationships important in Madison's architecture and politics eventually get discussed in this book. About the only thing you could possibly criticize is the rehash of FLLW biography which doesn't need to appear here. This is a minor criticism, as I realize that for some readers this may be the only FLLW book they own.