Seth Peterson Cottage facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Seth Peterson Cottage
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 Location in Wisconsin
Location in the United States
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| Location | Dell Ave. |
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| Nearest city | Lake Delton, Wisconsin |
| Built | 1958 |
| Architect | Wright, Frank Lloyd |
| Architectural style | Modern Movement |
| NRHP reference No. | 81000059 |
| Added to NRHP | November 9, 1981 |
The Seth Peterson Cottage is a small, two-room house located by a lake in Mirror Lake State Park. You can find it near Lake Delton, Wisconsin, in the United States. This special cottage was designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1958.
History of the Seth Peterson Cottage
In 1958, a man named Seth Peterson, who lived in Wisconsin, asked Frank Lloyd Wright to design a cottage for him. At the time, Wright was 90 years old! Sadly, Seth Peterson passed away before the cottage was finished. Other owners then helped complete the building.
Mirror Lake State Park was created nearby in 1962. A few years later, in 1966, the land where the cottage stood became part of the park. However, the cottage was far from the main parts of the park. Because of this, it was not taken care of and started to fall apart.
Saving the Cottage: A Community Effort
In the late 1980s, a local resident named Audrey Laatsch was canoeing on Mirror Lake. She noticed the old, run-down cottage and became curious about it. When she found out who designed it, she decided to help. Audrey started a group of local people and fans of Frank Lloyd Wright. Their goal was to save and fix up the cottage.
In 1989, they created a special group called the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy. This group worked hard to raise money. They collected $300,000 for the restoration project. The work took three years and included some parts of Wright's original design that had never been built. The restoration was finished in June 1992. This was also the 125th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright's birth.
A newspaper article in 1986 helped spread the word about the cottage's poor condition. The article, titled "What Would You Do If You Owned a Frank Lloyd Wright House? P.S. You Do," was in the Wisconsin State Journal. It was written by Joyce Rogell Kult, who loved Wright's work. This article helped get people excited about fixing up the cottage.
Visiting the Seth Peterson Cottage
Today, the Seth Peterson Cottage is a place people can visit and even stay overnight! Up to four guests can sleep there. It can also host small meetings for up to twelve people or events for 30 to 40 guests. If you want to see the cottage, it is open for public tours on the second Sunday of every month.
