HISTORY HIGHLIGHT

PLEASANT PRAIRIE'S DOME HOMES

In 1954, R. Buckminster Fuller received the U.S. Patent for a style of construction that he would refer to as a geodesic dome. Although not the first to work with geodesic domes, Fuller is generally credited with the creation of the term, as well as popularizing their construction in the United States for a variety of purposes, including housing.  

First page of R. Buckminster Fuller's 1954 Patent

Two of these so called “Dome Homes” have been built in Pleasant Prairie. The first was constructed in 1979 by artists Dennis and Margaret Haag near Edithton Beach. The home was constructed by Mr. Haag and two friends, using a framework purchased at the 1977 Milwaukee Home Show. Reportedly, the home was so well insulated that heat to the upstairs rooms only turned on when the outdoor temperature reached -30 degrees.

The second Dome Home was built in 1987 by golfer and painter Jack Thomsen. This dome was built adjacent to Transcendental Golf, Thomsen’s golf range, and included both a living space, and a basement golf shop for working with golf clubs. Thomsen was known for blending golf with Asian and European spiritualist beliefs. He believed that the geodesic dome “embodies the whole of golf,” and, in combination with a Chinese pagoda constructed nearby, represented the blending of “the best of the Occidental (western) mind, and the Oriental (eastern) mind.”

Jack Thomsen's Geodesic Dome at Transcendental Golf