In 1987, Madison chose to rename a street located in the heart of its government district in honor of Martin Luther King

At left edge:  City-County Building.  At center:  Wisconsin State Capitol.  At right edge:  Madison Municipal Building.

Photo by Retiring Guy

Whose Neighborhood Should Get a Street Named for Dr. King?  (The New York Times, 4/15/2018)

At least 955 streets in the United States have been named after Dr. King, and they tend to be in lower-income areas with predominantly black populations, said Derek H. Alderman, a professor of geography at the University of Tennessee. But the idea that placing Dr. King’s name on a street somehow causes a community to decline is inaccurate, Dr. Alderman said. It is more likely the other way around.

Related reading:
Madison's Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. re-dedicated 50 years after the civil rights leader's death.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 4/5/2018)

Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was originally called Monona Avenue, but was renamed to honor the civil rights leader in 1987.

Reimagining the Madison Municipal Building.  (Isthmus, 7/30/2014)

The building opened in 1929 as a courthouse and post office, and the city bought it in 1979.