Property Record
MIRROR LAKE STATE PARK
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Seth Peterson Cottage |
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| Other Name: | SETH PETERSON COTTAGE (DNR) |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 27789 |
| Location (Address): | MIRROR LAKE STATE PARK |
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| County: | Sauk |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Delton |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 13 |
| Range: | 6 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 31 |
| Quarter Section: | NE |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: | SW |
| Year Built: | 1958 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1975 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Usonian |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stone - Unspecified |
| Architect: | FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Peterson, Seth, Cottage |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | 11/9/1981 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. This building serves as one of Wright’s final statements in his effort to develop Organic architecture. Wright signed the drawings for the Peterson Cottage only six months before his death in April 1959. The drawings borrowed from a plan he had created in the 1930s, when Wright emphasized rectangular modules, rather than the circular or triangular ones of his late years. Nestled in the woods on the south shore of Mirror Lake, the cottage appears to emerge from the slope of the ground, its randomly laid walls of thin sandstone ashlar punctuated by projecting slabs to suggest a natural outcropping. From the one-story flat-roof module to the north, the building steps up in two stages to the wide chimney, the design’s fulcrum. To the south, the roof sweeps up dramatically, revealing a wall of glass windows and doors, looking out over the lake. Wright often employed wide roof overhangs, here with a broad pine fascia shading the glass. Geometric ornamentation along the clerestory creates interesting patterns of shadows and light. The one-room cottage has only 880 square feet of living space, but the open plan and glass walls lend a sense of spaciousness, even though this was the smallest Wright house in the state and one of the smallest of his career. The flagstone floor extends from the living area to the outside, forming a walled patio and blurring the boundary between indoors and out--a hallmark of Wright's residential work. Seth Peterson, who commissioned the hideaway, died tragically before the house was finished. Owen Pritchard acquired it and completed the construction, but did not live here long before the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources acquired the house in the 1960s and its lot for Mirror Lake State Park. Vacant for many years, the house was rescued and restored by the nonprofit Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy, now the official custodian of this rental cabin. PHOTOS 3/23-25 ARE FILED WITH THE STATE FACILITY NEGATIVES. A Historic Structure Report of this building can be found in Room 312 at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Covenant/Easement: From 12/20/1990 to 12/20/1995. A 'covenant file' exists for this property. It may contain additional information such as photos, drawings and correspondence. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. |
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| Bibliographic References: | MIRROR LAKE STATE PARK VISITOR. THE NEW YORK TIMES 6/2/1994 SECTION B1. WISCONSIN DELLS EVENTS 6/9/1994. SHEBOYGAN PRESS 3/5/1995. WISCONSIN DELLS EVENTS 5/25/1995. BARABOO NEWS REPUBLIC 9/29/1995. Portage Daily Register 7/17/1997. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin Heritage Tour Guide |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |