Madison Road Trip: Part I

Driving Up I-39

Toll Booth just north of Rockford at the Illinois/Wisconsin Border

Passing through the Cheddar Curtain


Passing through a small river valley.


a lake.


almost to Madison.


after a 3 hour drive... finally near Madison


and I'm there....


One thing that becomes apparent as you enter town is that the major roads in the older part of town (before suburban sprawl took over the extremities of town) is that the major avenues all orient towards the state capital.


An intersection at the edge of the campus and downtown area.


Newer looking building near campus.


getting closer to campus, railroad bridge over the avenue.


bike lanes are found throughout the Madison area... in many cases, such as this one, the curb lane is reserved for bikes and right-hand turns.


From the top of the parking deck near campus looking east towards the capital.


from the parking deck looking southeast..


Looking to the south from the top of the parking structure.


The densification of urban centers...
New multipurpose building located across the street from older 2 story commercial structures. This is located in the "State Street" district, which is located between downtown and the campus. This neighborhood is very college-oriented and has a number of bars and shops aimed towards young adults. This part of town is doing well, and this new 13 story building is proof.


looking to the northwest. I think this building on the left is the Main Library. (our library is better!)


Looking east down State Street. The road is a pedestrian-only thoroughfare, and is open only to emergency vehicles, buses, and little other traffic.


the "Red Gym"... this is the oldest gymnasium on campus, and served as the Armory and from what I was told the original home to the basketball team.


looking to the west, the red building is called "Science Hall".


Bascom Hall, which is probably the iconic building on the UW-Madison Campus. It is located at the top of a rather long and steep hill (at least long and steep in the eyes of someone who lived in East Central Illinois for 4 years)


The green space in front of Bascom Hall is called the Bascom Mall. It empties out into State Street, and offers a view straight down to the capital rotunda. The rest of the campus is much more compact and less formal, but this space is very well oriented.


Old Music Building. I was in town early to look into Graduate School options, and the department I would be in is located in a wing of this building.


details on one of the buildings. I think that is the State Seal, which would explain those stupid "Forward. Thinking." commercials Wisconsin has.


I think this is the back end of Science Hall.


switchback in a road leading up a hill. You can see Lake Mendota in the background. More on the lakes later.


public hearing notice in front of one of the buildings.


Looking out over Lake Mendota.


A small natural park is wedged up against the lake at this point in campus.
There are three lakes that are close to downtown Madison: Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, and Lake Wingra. Lake Mendota is the largest lake and is located to the north of downtown and the Campus. The entire UW Campus overlooks Lake Mendota, and part of the lake is called University Bay.

Downtown Madison itself is wedged in between Lake Mendota to the north and Lake Monona to the South. The capital is located at the center of a narrow isthmus... more pics of that later. Lake Wingra is smaller and located SW of downtown and south of campus... I didn't really see it.


Bus service on Campus.


the College of Business.

I think this is called the "Humanities Building"... although i'm not sure, and I'm too lazy to look it up. This is a fine example of 1960's Brutalist Architecture... and a fine example of kinda-interesting but not functionally good architecture being thrown up in the middle of college campuses next to older clasically proportioned buildings.... which happened everywhere.


back to the tall multipurpose building I walked by earlier... with a paratransit bus driving down University Avenue.


closeup of the shops and upper floors.


looking down the street towards downtown Madison.


The end of Part I of my ridiculously long photo tour of Madison.... the front steps to the Kohl Center.