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The history books record that MADISON
, just over an hour west of Milwaukee, was little more than a
wooded, mosquito-infested swamp when it was selected to be the
political nucleus of the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. Today this
stimulating, youthful metropolis is one of the most beautifully
set cities in the US, with a handful of diverting museums.
Downtown is neatly laid out on
an isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona, with the sumptuous
white granite State Capitol sitting benignly
on a hill at its center, surrounded by shady trees, lawns and
park benches. Capitol Square itself is the site of a fun farmers'
market (MayOct Sat 6am2pm); browse late for bargains.
Madison Civic Center , close by at 211 State St, houses
a professional repertory theater (box office tel 608/266-9055)
and art museum (tel 608/257-0158) and also presents
concerts and touring shows. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Unitarian
Meeting House , 900 University Bay Drive, in the late
1940s. With its sweeping, dramatically curved ceiling and triangle
motif, it's definitely worth a look (MayOct TuesFri 10am4pm, Sat
9amnoon; $3). The lakeside Monona Terrace Community and
Convention Center , 1 John Nolen Drive, is a more recently
realized example of Wright's grand vision (daily tours 11am &
1pm; $2, free Mon & Tues). Surprisingly intimate and full
of architectural detail, the Center, with its curves, arches and
domes, echoes the State Capitol building just a few blocks away.
If the capitol is the city's governmental heart,
the University of Wisconsin (average enrollment
46,000) is its spirited, liberal-thinking head, now mellowed since
its protest heyday in the late 1960s. The Memorial Union
, 800 Langdon St (tel 608/262-1583), holds a budget cafeteria
and pub, the Rathskeller , with tables strewn beneath huge, vaulted
ceilings and live music most nights. Out back, the spacious UW
Terrace offers beautiful sunset views over Lake Mendota.
Capitol and campus are arterially connected by State Street, eight
tree-lined, pedestrianized blocks of restaurants, cafs, bars and
funky stores. Williamson Street, on the city's near-east side
a few blocks from Monona Terrace, happily evinces its countercultural
community roots.
