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Spring Green Restaurant Listed in the State Register of Historic Place | Wisconsin Historical Society

News Release

Spring Green Restaurant Listed in the State Register of Historic Places

For Immediate Release (December 15, 2023)

Spring Green Restaurant Listed in the State Register of Historic Place | Wisconsin Historical Society
EnlargeSpring Green Restaurant in Iowa County.

SPRING GREEN, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Spring Green Restaurant in the Town of Wyoming (Iowa County) on the State Register of Historic Places. The building now serves as the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center for Taliesin, Wright’s Wisconsin home near Spring Green. The Visitor Center includes the Taliesin Gift Shop, the starting point for tours of Taliesin, and the Café. State Historic Preservation Officer Daina Penkiunas presented a certificate to Carrie Rodamaker, Executive Director of Taliesin Preservation, and Adam Voltz, project architect at The Kubala Washatko Architects.

In 1953, when the 86-year-old Wright was having a busy and fruitful culminating period of his long career, he designed a restaurant that would be owned by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, operated by the Taliesin Fellowship, and serve visitors to the area. Wright continued to refine his plans until construction began under his direction in 1957.

The building was modified for subsequent owners by Taliesin Associated Architects, the firm that continued Wright’s practice after his death. Nonetheless, Wright’s design forms the physical core of the present-day building. Clad in masonry and stucco, the building has a low profile and a massive chimney. The main dining area of the restaurant still occupies a bridge-like structure that commands wide views of the Wisconsin River.

The State Register is Wisconsin's official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin's heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and the National Register in Wisconsin.

Additional information for the Spring Green Restaurant is available at:

https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI28741

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit: www.wisconsinhistory.org.

 

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.