Monona, WI. – The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Kohl’s Food Store in Monona, Dane County, on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kohl’s Food Store was constructed in 1968 following a design by the Milwaukee firm of Rasche, Schroeder, Spransy & Associates. The building is an excellent representative of mid-century Contemporary architecture that utilizes glue-laminated arches to achieve its distinctive arched roof without the use of interior columns or other vertical supports. The building represents the signature design employed by Kohl’s Food Stores throughout the 1950s and 1960s and is one of the best remaining examples of the company’s standardized supermarket design remaining in the state.
Furthermore, the building is one of the most visible and distinctive examples of glue-laminated arch construction in the City of Monona. In addition to its signature arched roof, the building is characterized by an asymmetrical façade; front window-wall with a continuous, widely overhanging eave; prominent glue-laminated front arch that extends beyond the roofline to ground anchors on each side; projecting flat roof over the front entrance; and interior floor plan featuring a large, open sales floor. The building operated as a supermarket until ownership changes and the construction of additional supermarkets in the area led to its closure in 1985. In 2014, the building was purchased by Habitat for Humanity of Dane County and it currently serves as one of two Madison area Habitat ReStores.
Additional information for this theater is available at
To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit: www.wisconsinhistory.org.
About the Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.
