Madison Trust for Historic Preservation

The Madison Trust for Historic Preservation was founded in 1974 in the wake of two events that affected prominent historic places. In the mid-1960s the Gilman St. mansion of home of William F. Vilas was demolished to build a modern commercial building in the middle of what is now the Mansion Hill historic district. In 1971 an old stone farmhouse called ‘Mapleside’ on University Avenue was demolished to build 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 mission was to operate a revolving fund to purchase, rehabilitate and resell old and historic properties. Since then it has shifted toward advocacy for and education about Madison’s historic places.

The Madison Trust for Historic Preservation is the local partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Madison, Wisconsin.