Madison in the Sixties – the first week of June, 1961
Two months after businessman Henry Reynolds was elected mayor on a platform of killing the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Monona Terrace civic center, the Auditorium Committee dominated by his appointees votes to do just that. With pro-Monona Terrace members appointed by former mayor Ivan Nestingen now in the minority, Reynolds and his appointees vote 6-3 to terminate the contract with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and start from scratch.
Although the sharpest attacks on the project have involved criticism of Wright’s politics, lifestyle and business practices, Reynolds and his allies on the committee argue exclusively that the project as designed is just too expensive. The 1956 contract between the Foundation and the city set a limit of five and a half million dollars for the project which would combine an auditorium, exhibition hall, art gallery and community center; but when construction bids went out earlier this year, the only bid that was returned was for more than twice the budget. “What the city wants is a Cadillac auditorium for a Ford price,” observed Ald. Richard Kopp.