Draft:William V. Kaeser

William V. Kaeser (1906-1995) was an American architect and the first city planner for the city of Madison, Wisconsin. A contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright, Kaeser designed in the Usonian style, drafting buildings that appear to spring organically from the terrain. His buildings are found primarily in the area surrounding Madison, Wisconsin, with a number of his works contributing to the National Register of Historic Places. He has repeatedly been called "one of the cities most distinguished modern architects." Kaeser's work contributes to multiple historic districts, including the College Hills Historic District, Shorewood Historic District, Nakoma Historic District, and Sunset Hills District. His work is mainly residential, although he also designed churches, a Hillel International building, the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, multiple schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District, and the park shelter for Tenney Park , among others.

=Architecture= Kaeser houses are often made of limestone walls with horizontal board and batton. He favored dark brown wood for accents. Molding his designs in the vein of Frank Lloyd Wright, he tended to employ geometric designs like triangles and squares, repeating them throughout his houses and eaves. Kaeser paid special attention to Terrace d landscaping outside of the structures, ensuring the structures appear to grow organically from the earth. They often feature bands of windows, wide overhanging eaves, shallow-pitched hip main roofs, and massive masonry chimneys.

Notable houses include the Philip H. and Margaret Gray Jr. House, which is on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places. The house was constructed in 1940 and was described as "the largest and one of the finest Modern Movement style houses" in its nomination to the state. Other houses, including the Kaeser house at 3505 Blackhawk can be found in the Shorewood Historic District.

=Personal Life= Kaeser was born on a farm in Greenvillie, Illinois to his father William G. and mother Clara (Vogt) Kaeser. Graduating from Greenville High School in 1924. He studied architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign while spending summers working under architect Frank M. Riley. He graduated in 1931 with a Bachelors degree. Afterwards, he obtained his masters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before working for Eliel Saarinen at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. He moved to Madison in 1935, where he opened up the architectural practice where he would work until his death in 1995. In 1951, Kaeser affiliated with Arthur McLeod, a structural engineer, in the firm of Kaeser & McLeod, later Kaeser, McLeod, & Weston. Kaeser was a director of the Wisconsin Architects Association. The Center for Limnology has a scholarship named after him.

=Selected Works=


 * The Philip H. and Margaret Gray Jr. House, 6115 N. Highlands Ave (1940) Listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places.
 * Hasler Laboratory of Limnology (1958), 680 N Park St
 * Credit Union National Association (CUNA) building
 * The Porter Butts house, 2900 Hunter Hill Road, Contributing to the College Hills Historic District.
 * Covenant Presbyterian Church, 326 S SEGOE RD (1957) Contributes to the University Hill Farms Historic District
 * La Maison Francaise (The French House), 633 N FRANCES. contributes to the Langdon Street Historic District.
 * The Kaeser House, 3505 Blackhawk


 * Dr. James & Jane Wilkie House (1938), 3909 Euclid Ave.
 * Russel Hibbard House (1939), 1505 Wood Ln.
 * 3408 Circle Close
 * 3830 Cherokee Drive (1936)
 * Tenney Pavillion
 * Vilas Pavillion
 * 2715 Van Hise Ave (1942)
 * Raymond P. and Marianne Sweeney House; 4306 Waite Cir, (1960)
 * Fred Runkel House