Cowliseum

The story of the building of the Monona Terrace is the story of the building of Madison itself.  The torch for the idea of creating a dynamic civic space became a generations' old series of what-ifs and why-nots.  One of the great early examples was the UW Stock Pavilion, essentially a largely

proportioned barn, show ring and classroom for the pioneering UW Agriculture department that also, by near accident, became Madison's premier concert hall: it could seat more than 3,000 people in bleachers and 1,500 on folded chairs.  The problem with this multi-function center was that it had huge columns jutting up from the floor which blocked the view of many attendees.  "Freight trains on a

Stock Pavilion nicknamed the 'Cowliseum'

track next to the building would sometimes rumble by in the middle of a contralto's Ave Maria, radiators hissed, and steam pipes chugged....then there was the smell.  Before concerts, crews with shovels would pick up anything obvious and then cover the dirt floor with a thick blanket of sawdust...chairs would sink in several inches as the audience sat down, most would list a little to one side, and patrons would often go home with sawdust in their shoes."  As city historians observe, Madison had a somewhat peculiar dilemma, based on its surprising rising needs as an urban center, but with competing intentions of somewhat overachieving city leaders who had, like Frank Lloyd Wright himself, very potent vision but not always the means or management to build the dream venue.