Anniversary Items collection

A brief history note and pictures


"The Usonian Inn LLC, originally named the Rest Haven Motel, 

was the first Highway lodging between Madison and LaCrosse WI on US Hwy 14. Our Hotel was conceived in 1950, open for business in 1952, refurbished in 1992, and went through a designer makeover in 2008.

The Usonian style, as conceived by Frank Lloyd Wright, is "architecture for everyone," combining readily available materials and straight-forward construction in harmony with the natural settings; nowadays known as green, sustainable concept. We are one of the very few, if not the only, Usonian motels in the world."

"***Now the Hotel was listed - under the original name of Rest Haven Motel and registered on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places and on the National Register of the Historic Places as well. ***"

(From the business web page)

It's been a life time since the building was established here; immediately after construction it made history and for more then one reason.

Designed by one of the most famous architect of the world Frank Lloyd Wright's apprentice - J.C. Caraway - a prairie style, the building was a landmark for many on the road.

Also, it was the first Lodging on the US Highway 14 on a big stretch between Madison and La Crosse, Wisconsin. The distance amounts to 127 miles.

The building went from being called Rest Haven Motel to a more appropriate name to reflect the design influence and the origin or the style - was renamed The Usonian Inn.

When we took ownership of the property all we can think about was - green, sustainable, environmentally friendly; we needed some substantial finances and with hard work, we were able to replace windows with a great R value/double pane system. It's not easy to make a historic place green; we had the inn listed on Travel Green Wisconsin and featured on ABC news, our WKOWTV channel 27 

Here are some of the before renovation pictures

Since the property got an upgrade, the much needed - one of a kind - designer makeover; Bathrooms have been remodeled/upgraded also we made room for new flat panel TV sets

Even more significant things happened and one of them is that in 2005 was listed on the Sauk County Registrar of Historic places;  with more paper, patience and fees we we able to accomplish a greater nomination -so the property was listed on the National and State Register of Historic Places

The establishment changed many hands of ownership a few times but now it's our time to celebrate!

60 years in business; what a great time for us to be here and enjoy these type of achievements! 

We would like to invite you to be part of our joyful time and try to preserve history with us.

We like to present our anniversary items and we hope you enjoy some items from our memorabilia collection! Visit our Design on line page on facebook; to see our full collection click here

Thank you for being  part of our business journey!