he West High Class of '52 will step into a slice of history when they gather at Monona Terrace for their 45th reunion. Frank Lloyd Wright himself was a familiar figure downtown when these classmates hung out on the Square in the late '40s and early '50s. Those were the days when people shopped on the Square, and there, in one of the windows of Manchester's department store, lay the model of an earlier incarnation of Monona Terrace. The Madison Opera's General Director Ann Stanke, who helped organize the reunion, says friends who have remained in Madison are eager, nearly a half-century later, to show off to their classmates the reality of Wright's vision. "In Mr. Wright's organic architecture, design and concept is based on a single idea that animates the whole design," says Aubrey Banks, an architect and former apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. "In this case, the idea was to unite the Capitol and the lake and to do it with this building, to give the people of Madison a sort of meeting ground." The culmination of Wright's cherished dream presents Monona Terrace as that and more: A meeting ground for Madisonians, a venue for their joyful celebrations, a place where they may welcome visitors from afar. From the bicycle path that runs along the lake side of the building to the Grand Terrace to the ballrooms and rooftop gardens, opportunities are legion for enjoying the cultural landmark of Monona Terrace. For some, the facility's elegance will be the primary draw; for others it will be the cultural significance. For locals, it may be the site itself that adds a special dimension. When Aime Craig and Kyle Meyers tie the knot in the center's Community Terrace in November, the backdrop of Lake Monona will add a thread of continuity to the fabric of their lives. Both are longtime Madisonians, and Aime, especially, remembers summers boating, swimming and picnicking on Lake Monona. Getting married on the lake -- literally, since Monona Terrace extends 90 feet over the water -- simply adds a more formal occasion to recreational family traditions. "It kind of ties everything together for us," says Pat Craig, the proud mom.