Was there ever a Jell-O-eating gargoyle atop the Overture Center? Did Sparky the Gargoyle really make the Orpheum Theatre marquee his home?
Jim Good and Bob Kann ask, “Why not?” in their self-published satirical book, “The Gallery of Lost Gargoyles: A Laugh-Out-Loud, Too-Good-to-be-True History of Madison’s Art, Architecture, and Nonsense, All Mixed in a Blender and Served Hot.” It’s available now for $25.
In their colorful 124-page book, Good and Kann posit that at least 21 Madison buildings were once adorned with ornate statues befitting the buildings.
“History is what we choose out of the true pile, whatever survives political changes, natural disasters, floods, termites — all that,” Good said on a walking tour of some of the more centralized buildings featured, including Monona Terrace, the Capitol and Cornish pasty carryout restaurant Teddywedgers…