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Taliesin Preservation announces Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center Designated to the State Register of Historic Places
Photo by Mike McDermott
Taliesin Preservation is proud to announce that the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places has recognized the architectural and historic significance of the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center (formerly known as The Spring Green Restaurant). The State Register of Historic Places is a list of approved places that are recognized and preserved due to their importance to our heritage. Joining the Wisconsin Register will assure aid for future preservation plans. For Taliesin Preservation, at a state level, this recognition of architectural significance not only protects the building for the future, but also allows for eligibility for state tax incentives, and increased state-wide recognition.
Designed by Wright as a part of the greater Taliesin campus, the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center was once dubbed the “gateway to Taliesin.” Before it became a visitor center in 1994, the building housed a restaurant, offices, and meeting spaces for the architects at Taliesin. The building’s construction and design are attributed to Wright, Taliesin Associated Architects (TAA), and Kraemer Brothers. In 1967 the building opened as The Spring Green Restaurant as part of an investment in developing an arts community in Spring Green along the Wisconsin River. The building was innovative within the modernist movement of the late 1960s for its use of stone, concrete, stucco, asphalt, and glass. The Visitor Center has always been an integral part of Wright’s vision for Taliesin and therefore are proud of its Wisconsin historic recognition.
Carrie Rodamaker, Executive Director of Taliesin Preservation, is “delighted to see the formal recognition of the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center on the State Register of Historic Places. From Wright’s original concept to being the “gateway to Taliesin” and houses the Riverview Terrace Cafe with our Food Artisan Immersion Students living onsite and working in the cafe, we feel exceptionally proud that Wright’s vision of the past is carried forward today and is recognized for its contribution to the Taliesin estate, surrounding Wisconsin communities and the greater architectural world.”
Taliesin Preservation is determined to leverage this recognition of architectural heritage to become a driving force in both the economic development as well as the recovery of the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. The Food Artisan Immersion Program (FAIP), which draws its inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision for Taliesin as a living laboratory where culture, architecture, agriculture, and the natural environment converge around the desire to explore everyday life, plans to continue the legacy of farming at Taliesin as well as the sustaining partnerships with other area farmers and artisans.
The Spring Green Restaurant was a popular Wisconsin Supper Club from the 1960s-1990s
Photo by Mike McDermott
