The City of Madison is updating its Downtown Plan (last adopted in 2012), with work continuing through 2027. The plan will guide future development, public investment, and policies affecting housing, transportation, economic growth, and historic preservation. The Madison Trust aims to stay actively involved, emphasizing the importance of historic preservation and maintaining downtown’s unique character, especially along State Street.

Modernist Master Hall, along with three neighboring buildings on the 400 block of West Gilman Street, faces potential demolition to make way for a 16-story student apartment complex known as The Standard. The Landmarks Commission assigned Category A (historic value) to both Master Hall and the Stratford Atrium Apartments. The proposal advances next to the Plan Commission, where the future of these architecturally and culturally significant buildings will be decided.

Madison’s historic water pumping stations have long stood as quiet symbols of civic pride and progressive design. In this month’s Advocacy News, John Rolling explores the origins, architecture and uncertain future of these distinctive neighborhood buildings, from early 20th-century Prairie-style structures to the last remaining midcentury wellhouse on Whitney Way. As preservation and modernization interests meet, Madison faces important decisions about how best to honor its municipal heritage.

Recent additions to the National Register of Historic Places highlight four Madison sites recognized for their architectural, cultural, and archaeological significance. Newly listed are the 1966 Mackenzie House, a Modern Movement residence in the UW Arboretum; the Italian Workmen’s Club on Regent Street, a longtime social hub for Madison’s Italian-American community; the Gay Building on the Capitol Square, the city’s first “skyscraper” and a touchstone in early 20th-century development debates; and the Willow Drive Mounds and Habitation Site, an ancient archaeological complex along Lake Mendota now added to the National Register. Together, these listings reflect Madison’s diverse history, from Indigenous lifeways to modern architecture and immigrant community life.

The historic State Office Building at 1 West Wilson Street is being put up for sale as part of Wisconsin’s “Vision 2030” plan to shrink the state’s downtown office footprint amid increased remote work. These changes prompt a timely re-visit of the Old SOB, inviting readers to take another look at its Art Deco design and enduring presence as it heads into a new chapter.

Our latest blog post wraps up a three-part series exploring Madison's concrete block homes, this time focusing on the post-World War II era. From modest Ranches to Usonian gems and bold Contemporary designs, these houses reveal how visible concrete block structures helped shape mid-century residential architecture. Learn how builders balanced form and function, and how these enduring materials continue to tell stories of innovation, aesthetics, and changing tastes.