Will Madison Turn Down A $100 Million Art Center Gift?

Can a big-name architect and a $100 million gift put Madison, Wisconsin on the urban design map?

1 minute read

June 28, 2001, 10:00 AM PDT

"In 1998 a Madison, Wisconsin, businessman named Jerry Frautschi did something remarkable. The textbook-printing magnate announced that he would provide funding--eventually totaling $100 million--for the construction of an arts complex on a mostly city-owned block downtown. The gift is huge: it equals the NEA's entire budget, or two-thirds of Madison's annual tax revenues. But it is not quite a no-strings-attached donation. In truth, it dangles from one rather large rope: Frautschi is the sole donor, and he has given the money to his own organization, the Overture Foundation, which will determine how it is spent."

Thanks to Congress on the New Urbanism

FULL STORY: Cesar's Palance

Wednesday, June 27, 2001 in MetropolisMag.com

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