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So Long, Science House A humble but storied building with many CALS connections leaves a lasting legacy
A doorway stands ajar in the brick-walled basement.
Not long ago, an unassuming house stood at 1645 Linden Drive. Clearly in its twilight years, white paint had worn away from its wooden siding, and ivy smothered its nameplate. A series of renovations had morphed the building into a mishmash of architecture, dwarfed by the modern redbrick giants nearby. Its official university name was simply its address. Known to many as Science House, the building was the elder resident of its campus neighborhood. Just shy of 150 years old, it was once home to grand people and grand ideas. The building is gone now, but its long history weaves an intriguing thread through the origins of CALS, ghost lore, a statehouse ravaged by fire, an artist, and outer space. Formerly known as the Farm Superintendent’s House, UW Experimental Farm Residence, and the Artistin-Residence House, Science House was demolished in August to make way for a multimillion dollar update to Babcock Hall, including a renovation of the Babcock Hall Dairy Plant and a three-story addition for the Center for Dairy Research (see page 9). Despite its age, the building was not eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places because of past remodeling projects and a relocation. “Unfortunately, the ability of the building to tell its story was so compromised that it no longer met the eligibility criteria set by the National Park Service,” says Daniel Einstein, historic and cultural resources manager at the UW–Madison Division of Facilities Planning and Management.
THE FOUNDATION When Science House was built in 1868, the University of Wisconsin (now UW–Madison) had only three instructional buildings: North, South, and University (now Bascom) Halls. The Morrill Land-Grant Act had passed in 1862, and UW, Ripon College, and Lawrence University all com6
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peted to be the state’s land-grant institution. Tipping the scales in Madison’s favor was a pledge by Dane County to purchase 200 acres of land for an experimental farm. It would be the seed for the College of Agriculture, now CALS. The first two buildings on the farm were a barn (now the Horse Barn at 520 Elm Drive) and a farmhouse that eventually became Science House. Though it seemed abundantly ordinary at first glance, Science House was designed by prominent Madison architect August Kutzbock. It was perhaps the final project of the German immigrant’s life, as his career was in precipitous decline. He had designed several Madison landmarks, including Gates of Heaven Synagogue and the Pierce House (now Mansion Hill Inn). A decade before the university farmhouse project, he was chosen as the architect for Wisconsin’s third state Capitol building, the second built in Madison. Nearing the final stages of construction, he sparred with politicians over the size and design of the Capitol’s dome. Kutzbock resigned from the project and, for a fresh start, moved to California, where he fell seriously ill. He returned to Madison in 1867 and had difficulty finding work. Accustomed to designing grander buildings, Kutzbock accepted a modest $50 commission to draw up the architectural plans for Science House. Before construction was complete, he drowned himself in the waters of Lake Mendota off Picnic Point. Adherents of the paranormal say an occasional mist drifting from the point toward downtown Madison is Kutzbock’s spirit. The third Capitol — along with its dome designed by another architect — would ultimately perish in a fire in 1904, necessitating the construction of today’s iconic statehouse.
EARLY OCCUPANTS Science House was originally a farmhouse situated just east of the Horse Barn, where, at the time, it
View a gallery of Science House photos at grow.cals.wisc.edu/science-house
