Property Record
W7670 US HIGHWAY 10
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | The Silver Dome Ballroom |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 26880 |
| Location (Address): | W7670 US HIGHWAY 10 |
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| County: | Clark |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Hewett |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 24 |
| Range: | 3 |
| Direction: | W |
| Section: | 13 |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1933 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1993 |
| Historic Use: | dance hall |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Wood |
| Architect: | Cornel Moen |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Silver Dome Ballroom, The |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 6/27/1997 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/17/1997 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. According to one observer, driving up to the Silver Dome Ballroom for the first time at night “is like discovering an abandoned space ship in the middle of nowhere.” The elliptical building employs a lamella truss structure, representing an early engineering experiment with structural geometry. German inventor Friedrich Zollinger first designed the roof system in 1908 and registered the U.S. patent for it in 1924 (subsequently reassigning the patent to Lamella Roof Syndicate, Inc.). The internationally renowned architect R. Buckminster Fuller later refined this type of structure in his invention of the geodesic dome. But before Fuller did so, local builder Cornel Moen modified Zollinger’s design to create a domed effect at the ends. The lamella truss system employs a self-bracing method requiring no internal support posts. Its triangulated frame creates a large open span, supported only at the junction of the roof and walls. Relatively short segments of wood called lamellas are laid slightly askew from one another to form a network of intersecting arches, which frames the curved roof. Each angle is intersected by two adjacent lamellas at midpoint to form a series of interlocking diamond shapes. The intersection of arches in two directions adds structural stability. Construction required precision in placing the beams to form the domed ceiling but used standard dimensions of wood cut with a stencil. The ballroom opened with much fanfare in July 1933. As many as 1,000 dancing couples whirled the night away in a clear space with no posts to offer obstructions. The ballroom also had splendid acoustical qualities. The Keller Brothers, local musicians and impresarios, owned the hall until they sold it in 1940. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Date of construction, designer: NR questionnaire Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |