417 E Johnson Street-1908
Our tour now brings us to a series of family houses. Walking through downtown it seems like almost every other house in this area is a Queen Anne like the one seen here. Today many of these houses interiors have been alterd are rented for student housing. In 1866 following the civil war, Madison opened the University of Wisconsin. Over the next series of years Madison gained a culture of a friendly, educated, great place to live. Adults seeking further education with families moved to houses like this close to downtown and the campus. Pictured below is a landscape portrait of Madison, WI in 1908 showing sailboats and a developed city. This was a place with a growing workforce with room for opportunity. The Sanborn Fire Map below shows the residential area in 1908. The long single family houses create a neighborhood feel still very close to the center of downtown.
745 E Gorham-1931
The further you get from downtown the more Tudor and Neoclassical houses you see. This large Tudor house was built in 1931. The family who built this house had to be very well off considering this date is in the time period that The Great Depression took place. There had previously been large economic growth throughout the nation though and it is important to notice as we move outward from the capitol through time, large family houses become more appealing. During this time period and after the end of The Great Depression many lakefront suburbs and romantic neighborhoods started to form. Areas with country clubs and immaculate houses with winding driveways were formed. Many of these lakefront mansions are still there today in the higher class neighborhoods of Madison like Shorewood Hills, Maple Bluff, Bishops Bay, and many others. The idea of merging nature into family lifestyle was important and a key reason many of these families took off to be lakeside.
1900's- Families and Their Homes
