Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center
State Street and Museum Mile
BookendedbytheCapitolononeendandtheuniversityontheother,StateStreetisaquasi-
pedestrian mall full of shops, boutiques, coffeehouses, restaurants, bookstores, museums,
culturalcenters,andmuchofthedowntown'scharacter.People-watchingalongtheseseven
blocks is a long-standing tradition.
The
Madison Arts District
takes up the 100 block of State Street, along with a few
blocks on either side of it, to make up a zone of galleries, art spaces, museums, and per-
formance venues. It was brought about by the amazingly generous donation of $50 mil-
lion—later increased—by a local Madtown philanthropist. This being Madison, it didn't
come without vocal opponents. Did Madison really need an arts venue for wine-sipping
yuppies? The original plans had, quite unbelievably, planned on gutting the memorable Os-
car Mayer Theater inside the Civic Center. They were later scaled back, but not enough for
some.
Six museums and a couple of other highlights lie along State Street and Capitol Square.
On the State Street corner of Capitol Square, the
Wisconsin Historical Museum
(30 N.
