Property Record
5903 WINNEQUAH RD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Charles Wright and Ednah Shepard Thomas House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 24898 |
| Location (Address): | 5903 WINNEQUAH RD |
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| County: | Dane |
| City: | Monona |
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| Year Built: | 1931 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 198920182022 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | International Style |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stucco |
| Architect: | HAMILTON BEATTY |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | The earliest International style house in Frost Woods was also the first in Wisconsin. The Wright and Ednah Thomas House, built in 1931, was designed by Beatty and Beatty in collaboration with the Thomases, both English professors. The house is a stuccoed box whose circular form of the lakeside porch is clearly influenced by Le Corbusier's work of the same period, such as the Villa Planeix of 1927. 2018 - The house was constructed in 1931 and designed by architects Hamilton Beatty and Allen Strang for Charles Wright Thomas and his wife Ednah Shepard. Beatty and Strang designed several other International style homes in Frost Woods and along Winnequah Road. The asymmetrical house rests on a poured-concrete foundation and its footprint consists of two interconnected one- and two-story cubic portions that give the building voluminous massing. It has a flat roof and no eaves. The residence is constructed of concrete blocks and exterior walls are clad in smooth white cementitious stucco. Fenestration consists of fixed-frame and one-beside-one sliding sash windows. An interior concrete chimney protrudes from the two-story portion. The exterior has no decorative features. Two garage bays are located at the exposed basement level underneath the one-story mass. The voluminous massing, lack of ornamentation, and sleek exterior finishes are character-defining features of the International style. 2022 - Resurveyed for district DOE |
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| Bibliographic References: | ARCHITECTURAL FORUM, SEPT. 1932. MONONA COMMUNITY HERALD 8/7/1996. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. Bill Thomas, “Wright & Ednah Thomas House Information,” June 6, 2009, Historic Blooming Grove Historical Society, Monona, Wis. Monona Landmarks Commission. City of Monona: Its Heritage and Landmarks. 2nd ed. Monona Wis.: Monona Landmarks Commission, 2011. 55. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |