Wright's Monona Terrace

On July 18, 1997, Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center opened its doors after nearly 60 years of debate. It was first designed by Wisconsin native and internationally renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1938 as a cultural, governmental and recreational building. Wright reworked the design several times between 1938 and 1958 before signing off on the final plans seven weeks before his death in 1959.

In 1992, Madison voters approved referenda to construct Monona Terrace—on the same site Wright had originally proposed—as a community and convention center. While Wright's design was used for the building's exterior, the interior was redesigned by Wright apprentice and Taliesin architect Tony Puttnam to house state-of-the-art exhibition, meeting and public space.