Monona Terrace

Frank Lloyd Wright proposed Monona Terrace in 1938, but the Dane County development board rejected it by one vote. He kept seeking support and adjusting the design until his death in 1959. For the next four decades, other proposals for a convention center on the same land were considered and turned down, and sometimes events such as World War II pushed them aside.

In 1990 the city’s mayor revived Wright’s plan. Opponents argued that it was not a genuine Wright building, that it cost too much and that it would block the view of Lake Monona at street level on the south side of Capitol Square. The site also stands on historic Ho-Chunk Nation burial mounds. Voters approved the project in a referendum in 1992, construction began on January 25, 1995 and the building opened on July 18, 1997.

The exterior follows Wright’s design, while the interior was designed by a former Wright apprentice from Taliesin Associated Architects. The building has 250,000 square feet and sits on the shore of Lake Monona, two blocks from the Wisconsin State Capitol in downtown Madison. From the roof you can see downtown, the Capitol and the lake.

Monona Terrace hosts over 600 conventions, meetings and weddings a year, runs free community programs and offers guided tours, a gift shop and a rooftop cafe in warm months. It attracts nearly 400,000 visitors a year.