The Edgewater (Madison, Wisconsin)

The Edgewater
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
The Edgewater Hotel
Location	642 Wisconsin Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin
Coordinates	43°04′45.2″N 89°23′24.2″W
Architect	Lawrence Monberg
Architectural style	Art Moderne
Part of	Mansion Hill Historic District (ID97000552)
Designated CP	June 4, 1997

Located on the shore of Lake Mendota near the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin State Capitol, the Edgewater Hotel was originally built as the Edgewater Apartment and Hotel in 1946–48. Greatly expanded by additions in 1973 and 2014, the original building is a contributing structure in the Mansion Hill Historic District, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1997. It was listed as a Historic Hotels of America by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2015.

Designed by the Danish-born architect Lawrence Monberg, the original building has been described as a fine example of Streamline or Art Moderne architecture. Its NRHP nomination states:

There are five Art Moderne buildings in the Mansion Hill district.... In Wisconsin, Art Moderne was built between 1930 and 1950. Inspired by advances in technology and industrialization, Art Moderne has a horizonal, streamlined appearance. This look is achieved through the use of smooth wall finishes, flat roofs, curving walls and horizontal bands of windows. Three of the Art Moderne buildings in Mansion Hill are superb examples of the style. All three were designed by Lawrence Monberg, then living in Kenosha. The Quisling Towers Apartments at 1 East Gilman Street (1937, NRHP) is veneered with buff brick and displays horizontal bands of windows at the corners, surmounted by long, narrow canopies. The upper floors have curving walls with a sculptural quality. The Quisling Clinic at 2 West Gorham Street (1945) features curving walls with parapets, horizontal bands of windows with long, narrow canopies, round windows and a canopy over the east corner entrance that curves downward, sweeping to the ground. The horizontal lines of the Edgewater Apartments and Hotel at 642 Wisconsin Avenue (1946) are emphasized with bands of windows with continuous sills and lintels at each floor, corner windows, and parapets at the tops of the walls.

The rounded 11-story tower of the 2014 addition to the Edgewater seen from Lake Mendota

In 2010, it was slated for a $98 million redevelopment. The City of Madison was to contribute $16 million to the renovation. In 2014, Whitney Gould described the latest expansion:

Alas, a 1973 addition to the hotel—a graceless horizontal slab—was an insult, cheapening the original. The latest proposed expansion, designed by the Boston firm of Elkus Manfredi for the Hammes Co., is not in that dismal rank, thank goodness, but it's far from inspired. Rather, it's timid and nostalgic. Surely these otherwise talented architects, and Madison, can do better. The $109 million project envisions a landscaped public plaza atop the '70s addition, with a staircase down to the lake, and an 11-story tower at the east end of the property. The old Edgewater would be restored. Three cheers for the restoration. But so far the design for the plaza looks generic; the architects say it is undergoing revisions. One can only hope the result will be greener and more inventive. Imagine what a world-class landscape architect like Kathryn Gustafson, who designed the lush, evocative Lurie Garden at Chicago's Millennium Park, could do with such a space.

The Edgewater reopened in September 2014 to generally positive reviews.