Gobbler Supperclub

This week's adventure took place in Johnsons Creek, WI. Our class met at the Gobbler Supper Club located just off Interstate 94. Fifty years ago this location was a prime spot for travelers to take a mid=trip pitstop on their drive between Madison and Milwaukee. The supper club was also the place for people to come eat, drink, and socialize. Today the luxurious purple chairs are empty. After the death of the original owner in 1979, the site saw a number of owners and their personal incarnations before finally closing in 2002. The building is currently for sale at around $2,000,000.

Architect Helmut Ajango met with us to answer some of our questions and to discuss some of the concepts and materials put into this elaborate design. He described to us his architectural process of allowing the materials to speak to him. If the steel support beams told him they wanted to bend in a certain way he would listen and construct them accordingly. The exterior is constructed of different rock and wood materials, including quartz, amethyst, and even petrified wood that is now on the endangered list.

The inside had a striking purple theme, with the interior architecture being designed with mostly circular shapes. The bar in the center was circular, and in its prime would rotate, customers and all. The purple shag carpeting that once covered the floors and even some of the walls has since been removed. The building has undergone many renovations since its inception. Although I was never around to see it, the loss of the shag carpet must be the most disappointing.

The current owner is set on turning the once supper club into a modern sports bar. He plans to cover the walls in HD televisions, catering to the popular and excessive need for sports and entertainment while eating and socializing. I guess it really isn't that excessive if you consider what the club used to be like. Rotating bars and amethyst stone siding isn't really my idea of a minimalistic design.