Architectural Terra Cotta of Wisconsin
IN PROGRESS, Coming soon!
An architectural survey on the use of architectural terra cotta on approximately 1050 buildings across 95 cities in Wisconsin, built primarily between the 1860s to the 1960s. The book reveals how this fascinating craft evolved through the decades in various styles and by the vision of various architects. Accompanying may photographs are featured buildings and architects. The book is essentially the second edition to Tyjeski's first book, Architectural Terra Cotta of Milwaukee County, but encompasses the entire State of Wisconsin.
The phoenix of masonry, architectural terra cotta, changed the designed world by making our cities taller and more colorful. This "baked earth" material shaped the walls of buildings with fascinating patterns, sculptures, and colorfully textured surfaces. These handmade buildings championed the collaboration of the artist, the architect, and the engineer, and in many cases these buildings sustain superior status as landmarks in our communities.