SC Johnson Racine Wisconsin
The tour is absolutely free. Amazing given the high quality of the experience.
The SC Johnson Headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin is by far the most interesting Wright building series in the Milwaukee / Racine area. H. F. "Hib" Johnson and his board selected Wright over many others.
Some would say that by the 1930's many considered Wright a washed-up "has been" with few decent prospects. He had certainly produced Fallingwater but his career hadn't yet really skyrocketed yet.
In 1936 the work began. Wright was dubious about building in the city. Today Racine, especially this area, is still quite stark. Worse the parking lots and buildings surrounding the headquarters though historic give it a very forboding appearance.
Bizarrely the SC Johnson Company owns an incredible amount of land around Racine, some of it prime farm land, some of it quite suburban.
We were given a tour by a twenty year veteran whose name I forget. We were not allowed to take photos inside. Supposedly because there were confidential documents everywhere. Odd given the nature of today's world. Strangely "old world".
The main building is kept in nearly pristine condition though repairs to the building do seem selective in nature.
The Headquarters Building
The SC Johnson Headquarters and Tower with Globe
We entered the building fairly quickly with a guard who had to escort us. We called ahead to say we were running late. In joining the group we were quickly introduced to the Great Workroom. The Great Workroom, the hub of the building, is still gorgeous. One has almost a religious experience. We joined late and so it was ruined for us. We underestimated the time required to reach the headquarters.
The light and beauty of the towering columns and lily pads is breathtaking. Still they leaked terribly and the invention of silicon was far off. Wright's leaking roof would be the bane of the Johnson family's existence for years to come as they coped with it not only in their offices but at home.
The Great Workroom, sadly, is broken up by modern enclosures as the exterior of the room was enclosed and doors that fit in with the look and feel were put into place.
We were taken upstairs to the Executive Suite which includes H. F. Johnson's office. It was beautiful but surprisingly humble. Many of the offices are still in use and so were closed off.
The tubes used in the building give it a glow that is indeed gorgeous. And finally with the invention of silicon in the late 1930's the company was able to seal up the tubes. Wright had used another material and the tubes weren't as transluscent and this dismayed Wright. He didn't like this at all.
The floors of the building were still coated with seven layers of wax so they shone brilliantly - Cherokee red as hey had been since the 1930's. A restoration took place in the 1980's to restore the building to its grandeur though it had been changed little.
We had to take circular stairs to the second floor. We were not allowed farther - not into the newer part of the building. One exit led to the former squash court which H. F. loved. The CEO's office included a veranda which was still quite beautiful but with no furniture.
The hallway included shelves with product on it. The tour guide indicated that these probably weren't original to the building.
The Research Tower
The Research Tower is incredibly small. Two floors were open to the public. One looked like a functioning research floor in its heydey. It appeared the 2nd floor was full of product which I found odd. The third floor contained an interesting display.
I met a researcher from a school in Switzerland, I believe it was Lugano. The professor was so charming and his students and the other professor were so serious.
The bathroom was absolutely tiny I couldn't have used it if I had wanted to. The curving stairway was also very, very small. Barely large enough for a regular sized person little alone me.
The light streaming in resulted in superb design and I can imagine the researchers working there. Several products were developed there. Among them were: RAID, Glade, OFF! and Pledge. Early versions of the packaging appeared on the research floor.
When they reconstructed the space and refurbished it for visitors they said that the drawers were not fully functional. They purposely made them about 1/2 to 1/4 length rather than full length. If you pulled them too hard they fell off their tracks. But the lower doors were just fine. Wright designed a full ledge above it all which was just perfect.
The elevator in the tower was round and this was a problem. Couldn't it be square, Hib wrote Wright.
Absolutely, positively not, Hib, Wright wrote back. There will barely be enough room as it is. Hib consulted another architect who reaffirmed that a square elevator wouldn't work in the space so Wright won. He was furious that Johnson had consulted another architect.