Holiday Gift Guide 2023
By Michael Bridgeman & Jennifer Gurske
Celebrating Madison’s historic places is at the heart of our mission at Madison Trust for Historic Preservation. Since this is a season full of celebrations, there is no better time to spread the joy to be found in vintage buildings than with a gift from the Madison Trust—an annual membership, private or summer walking tour tickets, and note cards, oh my! We also have further suggestions for locally focused gifts, including books, ornaments and even a typewriter mug, that spotlight the places that make not only Madison, but Wisconsin special.
Madison Trust for Historic Preservation
Membership includes discount tickets to events such as our Historic Preservation Awards. Above photo is from our 2023 Awards event.
Annual Membership
Number one on our gift list is an annual membership in the Madison Trust. It’s a gift to enjoy all year long with free admission to our seasonal historic architecture walking tours, discounts on events and tours throughout the year, and more. Click here to buy this special gift and share your love for Madison’s historic architecture.
Private Historic Architecture Walking Tour Tickets
If you are having a family gathering, planning a company event, or looking to treat friends, booking a private walking tour can be the perfect activity. Visit our private tours page to read about the over 20 tours we have available to choose from on private tours. Once you’re ready, purchase your private tour gift tickets online. You can make final arrangements like choosing a tour and the date when your plans come together next year.
*Private tour gift certificates must be used during the 2024 tour season.
Historic Architecture Walking Tours Tickets
Thinking your recipient may enjoy one of our walking tours, but wouldn’t mind joining other guests in the experience? Purchasing a gift card for our Historic Architecture Walking Tours is a terrific option. A gift of tickets to these tours provides the recipients with an enjoyable walk through the neighborhoods of Madison where our docents will showcase Madison’s historic architecture and illuminate local history and heritage. We run eight tours each summer from May through September on Thursdays night and Saturday mornings. Purchase tour gift tickets online.
*Tour gift certificates must be used during the 2024 tour season.
Madison Architecture Note Cards - on sale!
Send notes with a Madison touch by using note cards featuring distinctive Madison buildings that show your support for the Madison Trust. The blank cards (with envelopes) are available in three bundles of ten cards each, and shipping is included. Check our website for selections and ordering information. Please place your order by Dec. 15 for delivery before Dec. 23. We also have a great sale happening right now! When you spend $50 you’ll receive 50% off your order with coupon code “HOLIDAY50” when you check out!
Books
One recent book that highlights important Madison architecture is Frank Lloyd Wright's Jacobs Houses: Experiments in Modern Living. The first house for Herbert and Katherine Jacobs (441 Toepfer Ave.) dates to 1936-1937 and it was the first of Wright’s Usonian houses to be built. The second Jacobs house (3995 Shawn Trail) is a passive solar design from 1943-1949. The book was edited by noted author Neil Levine and features essays by all three Jacobs children (Susan, Elizabeth, and William), as well as new scholarly essays by Levine and Michael Desmond. There are many illustrations including never-before-published photographs and drawings of both Jacobs Houses.
While it encompasses Wright’s buildings in Madison, the focus of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wisconsin by Kristine Hansen covers the range of Wright’s work in the state, from public sites to private homes, some of which are available for overnight stays. A handful of buildings by architects other than Wright are included. The approach is journalistic, which makes for an easy introduction to each building that may spark further exploration online, in books, or with in-person visits. Photos give a good sense of each place that is profiled.
Thompson Mayes offers a useful overview of key ideas in historic preservation in Why Old Places Matter. Mayes, who is chief legal officer and general counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, articulates the ways old places can be important to us and our communities. Fourteen illustrated essays explore a range of topics including continuity, beauty, sustainability, and economics. You can see Mayes’s topics and sample the photos at the National Trust website.
UW-Madison Professor Stephen Kantrowitz has written Citizens of a Stolen Land: A Ho-Chunk History of the Nineteenth-Century United States. The Ho-Chunk inhabited a wide area around the place now called Madison. As described on Prof. Kantrowitz’s website: “This history of Ho-Chunk sovereignty and citizenship offers a bracing new perspective on citizenship’s perils and promises, the way the broader nineteenth-century conflict between ‘free soil’ and slaveholding expansion shaped Indigenous life, and the continuing impact of Native people’s struggles and claims on U.S. politics and society.” To read more about this book and where to purchase click here.
More Madison Gifts
The Wisconsin Historical Society has an array of Wisconsin gifts including a trove of items featuring Madison icons and images. Visit the WHS website, select the shop page, and search for “Madison.” There you’ll find this year’s Wisconsin State Capitol ornament, which commemorates 40 years of Concerts on the Square with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. The proceeds from ornament sales go to the State Capitol Restoration fund. Also available are fridge magnets, coasters, playing cards, hats, books, and a perennial favorite: a miniature model of the capitol.
History Maker Space
With work soon underway on the new Wisconsin History Center, the downtown retail shop is now part of the History Maker Space located in the U.S Bank Plaza at 1 S. Pinckney St. So, if you prefer in-person shopping, head to the “glass bank” on the Capitol Square.
Madison Serving Tray
Orange Tree Imports
It's always a good idea to “Shop Local,” especially during the holiday season, which is so important to small retailers. There are numerous local businesses with gifts that say “Madison.” One is Orange Tree Imports, which has been on Monroe Street for more than 45 years. OTI always has a selection of Wisconsin items at their shop and online (search for “Madison”) including a serving tray.
Anthology
Another Madison shop with lots of Madison goods is Anthology on State Street which describes itself as “a paper and craft shop.” The store is stocked with supplies, but there are plenty of finished goods, too, such as cards, maps, small posters, and tote bags--printed on canvas not paper.
Around Wisconsin
Historic Milwaukee
Our local partner Historic Milwaukee, Inc. has a terrific online shop that includes everything from an Old Fashioned ornament and Wisconsin-opoly to a Milwaukee flask and a typewriter mug. They also provide an easy-to-navigate Holiday E-Catalog where you can locate items on their website by clicking the links embedded in the book, or search by SKU at the upper right search button on the site. If you happen to be in Milwaukee, stop by the Historic Milwaukee Shop for unique Milwaukee and Wisconsin themed gifts for everyone on your list!
Taliesin Preservation
The Taliesin Preservation store features home décor, garden, statuary, kitchen, apparel, jewelry, books, accessories, and art that not only celebrate Frank Lloyd Wright, but also the work he has inspired. Popular gifts include the booklet “I Feel My Roots in These Hillsides…” various earring designs.
Image courtesy of PAL
Preservation Alliance of La Crosse
If you’ve visited La Crosse, you have seen their success at saving and reusing their historic buildings. In 1991, The Preservation Alliance of La Crosse introduced the first collectible gold-plated ornament in its “Treasures of the Past” series (now named “Treasures of La Crosse”). The series was intended to depict old familiar landmarks and nostalgic reminders of La Crosse’s rich history. You can order any of their ornaments going back to 2001 as well as a 2023 calendar highlighting architecture in La Crosse.
We send our very best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and happy new year to all!