About Us
The Madison Trust for Historic Preservation celebrates and advocates for the preservation of historic places in the Madison, Wisconsin, area.
We believe that historic places are cultural resources and that their rehabilitation, restoration and preservation are vital to a sustainable approach to redevelopment of older parts of our community. We believe historic places are critical to cultivating a civic identity and sense of place.
The Madison Trust provides opportunities for community members and visitors to learn about the cultural, social and economic benefits of historic preservation.
The Madison Trust defines the Madison area as Madison, Wisconsin and contiguous cities.
What We Do
The Madison Trust for Historic Preservation works every day to do the following:
Provide opportunities to explore, learn about, and appreciate Madison’s history, architectural and cultural.
Promote revitalization of Madison, Wisconsin’s old and historic neighborhoods in ways that retain their character.
Promote and support the continued viability of Madison’s historic places and traditional neighborhoods.
Recognize and support projects that preserve, restore and reuse existing and historic buildings in the Madison area.
Assist other organizations with preservation efforts.
Facilitate communication about planning and development proposals that affect Madison’s historic places.
Who We Are
The Madison Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization operating in Madison, Wisconsin. We are not a city agency, though we work closely with the Madison Landmarks Commission and other municipal agencies to advance our goals.
The Madison Trust for Historic Preservation is a local partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. We are also a member of the National Preservation Partners Network that provides a forum for sharing model practices, solving organizational problems, and improving our effectiveness.
Our local partners include:
Board of trustees
Click on the photo of a trustee to view their Spotlight interview.
Are you interested in attending a board meeting or presenting information to the board? Click here to view meeting dates and learn how you might attend.
Program Director
Jennifer Gurske
Jennifer Gurske serves as the point of contact for the organization while coordinating and assisting in efforts with fundraising, marketing, event planning, membership, and information technology management. Her diverse background includes a BA in Journalism and a MS in CRM Archaeology as well as experience in the legal field and web design.
Jennifer is currently the Regional Representative for the Capital region on the Wisconsin Council for Local History. The Council is an association of over 400 local, county, and specialized historical and heritage societies and organizations that are affiliated with the Wisconsin Historical Society.
She is also a board member of WiLS, a nonprofit member organization serving libraries and cultural institutions, primarily in Wisconsin.
current working Committees
Advocacy Committee
Communications & Community Engagement Committee
Development Committee
Events Committee
Governance Committee
Tour Committee
*See our volunteer page if you would like to inquire about participating in a committee.
Our Story
The Madison Trust for Historic Preservation was founded in 1974 in the wake of two events that affected prominent historic places:
The demolition of the Gilman Street home of William F. Vilas, replaced by a modern commercial building in the middle of what is now the Mansion Hill Historic District.
The 1971 demolition of the Mapleside farmhouse on University Avenue, replaced by a Burger King restaurant.
New York Times architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable wrote a column criticizing the trend of demolition in the name of urban renewal and blight remediation. She led with a report of Mapleside’s demolition, calling out Madison in the national newspaper for not caring for its historic places.
Originally the Madison Trust’s mission was to operate a revolving fund to purchase, rehabilitate, and resell historic properties. As the organization grew, our mission shifted toward advocacy for and education about Madison’s historic places.
For four decades the Madison Trust operated as a community-based advocacy organization with a volunteer board of trustees and the help of many volunteers to whom historic places matter. Jason Tish served as executive director from 2010-14. The organization is now managed by the board and one part-time staff member. Our annual income comes from membership dues, tours, sponsorships, and events.