Tour Information
Notice:
Due to parking lot construction, parking at the Meeting House as of July 7 and through Friday, July 11, is extremely restricted. Visitors to the meeting House are encouraged to use alternate means of transportation and to carpool as much possible. Because of the sandy conditions in our lot and the construction, access by those with difficulty walking and in wheel chairs is very difficult. We apologize for the this temporary situation.• Guided tours of our National Historic Landmark building are available Monday through Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. and on Sundays after services (about 12:15) until 2 p.m. from May through October. Guided tours are not available without an appointment November through April.
• The suggested donation is $3 for preservation of the historic building.
• There are no Saturday tours, guided or unguided.
• Unguided tours are possible Monday through Friday during business hours, depending on what is going on in the facility. We strongly encourage you to call ahead before coming to be sure you can have access to the building.
• Special guided tours for groups of 10 or more are available by appointment only. To make an appointment, please call 608 233-9774 x 110.
The Unitarian Meeting House
The architectural treasure that we call home was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, a member of the congregation, and was completed in 1951.
Members of the congregation (affectionately remembered as "The Stonehaulers") trucked and carried limestone from a quarry 30 miles away and performed numerous other tasks in order to defray expenses and assist construction. Some women in the congregation hauled stone while others wove beautiful curtains which originally separated the Auditorium proper from the Hearth Room.
The Unitarian Meeting House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Two major additions were designed by Taliesin Associated Architects: a religious education wing, built in 1964, and the Lower Meeting House, built in 1990. The Meeting House was declared as a National Historic Landmark in 2004 by the National Park Service.
A third addition to the campus is now under construction, designed by the Kubala-Washatko architects of Cedarberg, Wisconsin. It will include a 500 seat auditorium and a large community space. A new generation of society members are helping with numerous tasks.
An association of members and enthusiasts, Friends of the Meeting House was formed in 1976 to "restore and enhance the special architectural character of the building." In recent years this group has contributed time and resources to several congregational restoration projects.
