Reckoning and Preserving: Historic Preservation, Public History, and Legacies of Racism in Madison
This fall the Chazen Art Museum is hosting "Sifting and Reckoning: UW-Madison's History of Exclusion and Resistance." The exhibit is the culmination of the university's three-year Public History Project to examine legacies of racism on and near campus. Our Community Education Committee Chair, Kevin Walters, provides an overview of the project and explains why anyone interested in historic preservation should take the time to visit. It's free and open to the public during museum hours from September 12th to December 23rd.
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St. John’s: Constancy and Change
In 1951 St. John’s Lutheran Church in Madison, “established the principle that any expansion of facilities should be at our present location. We would be a central city congregation, attempting in as many ways as possible to serve people in the central city.” At the time of this declaration, the congregation was nearly 100 years old and had been at home at the corner of East Washington Avenue and North Hancock Street for 83 years. Today, 71 years later, St. John’s is on the same site with big plans to remain. If the future unfolds according to a proposal in the works, as soon at 2025 St. John’s would be housed in a new, ten-story high-rise with space for local nonprofits and more than 100 affordable housing units.
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Silver Linings
We all know that places hold an incredible power. The stories told by our older places are what make our communities distinctive, give them unique character, and make them a someplace instead of an anyplace. We all have places that mean the world to us personally, and we’ve all felt the power of being in the very spot where something significant happened to change the course of history. No book or image can quite capture being there. When we lose these places, however, we lose not only that history, but the ability of today’s and future generations to access those stories. We lose not just the past but the future.
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Castles
One upon a time, a castle stood on East Gorham Street. It was built by Benjamin Walker who had come to Madison with his family in 1861 and who, as the story is told, longed for a home that connected him to his native England. Learn more about this unique style in Wisconsin.
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Strolling at Forest Hill Cemetery
There was a time, before public parks were commonplace, when Americans would routinely visit cemeteries as picturesque retreats. This was especially true of so-called rural cemeteries that became popular in the 19th century. In the spirit of our ancestors, I recently took a leisurely walk through Forest Hill Cemetery, paying special attention to the design of gravestones, which don’t usually get much attention when we think of the built environment. Yet the ways we mark places for the dead, whether conventional or unusual, are devised very intentionally.
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Trachte Buildings
Trachte buildings are a common site across the Madison area. Vintage Trachtes are easy-to-identify corrugated steel buildings with vertical walls and an arched roof that were used as garages, utility sheds, gas stations, boathouses, or commercial buildings.
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Stone-Faced
From the earliest days of building in stone, the human figure has often been part of these structures. People are attracted to artistic representation of the human form, particularly the face. A human likeness on a building can be somber or playful, explicitly instructive or merely decorative. And buildings—at least the exteriors—are the most public of art.
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New to the National and State Registers
Two years ago, I wrote about additions to the National and State Registers of Historic Places. Identifying and recognizing worthy properties is an ongoing activity, so an update is in order. In 2020 and 2021, there were five additions to the registers in Madison and Dane County—two houses and three historic districts. Read on to learn more.
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Raising the Roof
For a design that was born in 16th century France, the mansard roof has had remarkable staying power. In its 400-year history the distinctive roof has adorned everything from grand French chateaux to Gilded Age hotels and American fast-food restaurants.
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Gifts of the Season
This holiday season promises renewed opportunities to gather with friends and family. And while supply chain problems may persist, they won’t interfere with purchasing a gift from the Madison Trust, where we think a gift of history and preservation is always in season! Read on for a number of thoughtful suggestions for your holiday giving.
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Update from the Community Education Committee
Throughout 2021, the Madison Trust’s Community Education Committee has continued our work to respond to two pressing questions: How can the Trust broaden our engagement with communities long underrepresented in historic preservation efforts? And, how can we ensure diversity and inclusion are embedded within the Madison Trust’s mission, rather than limited to special occasions?
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Schubert Building
This month, I look back only a few years to 2012 when a hot topic was redevelopment of the block across from the Overture Center bounded by State, Fairchild and Mifflin Streets. Plans were advanced by the 100 Block Foundation, created by Jerome Frautschi and Pleasant Rowland, and challenged by city planners, preservationists and citizens. After debate, compromise and a revised plan, the redevelopment moved ahead and has now become a settled part of the urban landscape. One of the survivors of the fracas was the Schubert Building at 120 W. Mifflin St., which had been designated a city landmark.
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Alvan Small, Architect | Part 2: Designs for Education and Business
Last month, I introduced Madison architect Alvan Small, focusing on his designs for houses. This month I highlight his non-residential designs including schools, commercial buildings, and structures for manufacturing and warehousing. Different in scale, requirements, and cost than his domestic jobs, these projects were, for the most part, no less successful than Small’s residential work.
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Alvan Small, Architect | Part 1: Residential Designs
Alvan Small was a confident practitioner, especially of Prairie-style designs. He used a strong sense of geometry, proportion, and composition to make buildings that are distinctive and appealing. Learn more about Small in part one of a two-part post.
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Hail, Palladio!
The Palladian window has been used for nearly 500 years in Western architecture. It first appeared in Renaissance Italy and continues to be applied—in many variations—on buildings across the country, especially houses. Any style element that has endured for centuries is worth our attention.
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Art Nouveau Architecture
The term “Art Nouveau,” as used in the United States, describes a design style that is represented in many different art forms. The terms sinuous, flowing, dynamic, and natural are often used to describe the forms the style inspires. Learn more about this fascinating style.
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Make it a Bungalow Summer
The 2021 season of Madison Trust for Historic Preservation historic architecture walking tours begins May 27 and tickets are now on sale. Why not make it a Bungalow summer? After all, bungalows are ubiquitous. That also means they can be overlooked, even though there are good reasons to give them your attention. Read Michael's May post to learn more about Bungalows you can see this summer!
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Master Hall & Private Dorms
Master Hall caught my eye not long after I moved to Madison in the early 1980s. I was struck by its sculptural presence, the most modern building on a quiet, one-way stretch of Gilman Street between University Avenue and State Street. Nearly forty years, later I still like Master Hall. It’s both a reminder of its period and a point of reference for what has happened since it was built.
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Manchester’s, Before, and After
A few months ago, I came across a photograph I took in 1985 of the partially demolished Manchester’s building on the Capitol Square. The department store, long a premiere shopping destination, had closed not too long before I moved here. Still, I was sorry to see it go. The forgotten photo prompted me to look at what has stood on this corner over the last 200 years and what I might learn about Madison.
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Celebrating Madison Black History
This February, like every February, is Black History Month in the United States, and the Madison Trust’s Community Education Committee is using the occasion to spread the word about activities and programs that honor the contributions of Black Madisonians to our shared history. Just as important, we want to draw attention to the many Black-led organizations that are doing great work in our area. (Image: NAACP Protest in the Capitol Rotunda in 1961. Photo from the Underrepresented Communities Historic Resources Survey courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society. WHS# 84375.)
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