But Why is It Round?

In the early 1970s, MPLC member Burt Blomgren remembers driving back from a trip to Madison and spotting an usual, round building in Johnson Creek. It was The Gobbler, a motel, supper club and roadside attraction that had opened in 1967. He knew that MPLC was seeking an architect for a new church building, so why not include that building's designer, architect Helmut Ajango?

Image from a period brochure for the Hartwig Gobbler, a motel-bar-restaurant off I-94 in Wisconsin.

The firm of Gene LaMuro & Helmut Ajango was one of seven architectural firms interviewed by the Building Committee in 1973, and was the firm the committee finally recommended to the Council. In late 1973, Ajango began designing his building plans.

In his Building Committee report to the congregation for 1974, Chairman Robert Bohm wrote about seeing Ajango's design for the first time that January: "To say that this somewhat startling new design concept compared to the little old wooden building we were used to, was immediately accepted by the Building Committee, would not quite be accurate. However, as the total concept was unfolded and the Building Committee began to visualize the structure, the enthusiasm began to grow." The round church building idea was born.

As Bohm described the building in his report, "Three low wing walls extend out and away from the building creating the effect of an open arm invitation to come and worship no matter from which direction the building was approached." According to Burt Blomgren, the building's three-entrance design was meant to demonstrate the church’s welcome to all our neighbors living around us, with no especially designated “front” side. (The current atrium/entryway was a later addition.) New apartments and homes were springing up around the neighborhood, and many were drawn to check out this “unusually shaped building”.

"Floor Plan" image of sanctuary level from Dedication Service bulletin, Nov. 9, 1975.

So which came first…the idea of a round building or a design to reflect the “crown of thorns” that Jesus was made to wear at his crucifixion? Apparently, the choice of architect came first…and Mr. Ajango brought his round design—and a faith-connected reason for it—along with it!