Thursday, October 26, 2023

Construction to begin on Wisconsin History Center on the Capitol Square in 2024

Headline and renderingWisconsin State Journal, 10/26/2023
he State Building Commission on Wednesday gave final unanimous approval to the long-awaited, $160.5 million Wisconsin History Center at the top of State Street Downtown. 
The Wisconsin Historical Society's five-story, 100,000-square-foot History Center will provide unprecedented access to the state's vast collection while sharing regional stories in the context of American history. 
The History Center, which will rise on the site of the former, undersized museum site at 30 N. Carroll St. and adjacent properties at 20 and 22 N. Carroll St., will feature a façade with rotated top floors to offer differing views and interpretations from various vantage points.  
Inside, a glassy, transparent lobby will feature an expansive wooden staircase echoing an ancient dugout canoe, inspired by the region's long history of water travel and the recent recovery of two Native American dugout canoes from Lake Mendota.

3/28/2022 update starts here

Headline from Wisconsin State Journal, 3/28/2022
The SmithGroup will join the effort to replace the existing, undersized Wisconsin Historical Museum at 30 N. Carroll St. on Capitol Square with a four-story, 100,000-square-foot museum that has a construction date slated for early 2024, said Kendall Poltzer, a spokesperson for the historical society. 
An award-winning firm, the SmithGroup has in its portfolio cultural projects both nationally and in Wisconsin, from the National Museum of African History and Culture in Washington, D.C., to Alumni Park at UW-Madison.

Original 5/16/2019 post, "Greatly expanded Wisconsin Historical Society Museum planned for Capitol Square mixed-use development", starts here.

View of the site from 3rd floor of Madison Central Library

Photos by Retiring Guy

The back of the historical society museum is at left.  The 9-story Churchill Building, completed in 1915, is at right and is included within the redevelopment site.

Wisconsin Historical Society museum seeks to 'wow'.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 5/13/2019)
After two decades of planning, the vision for a new $120 million, 100,000-square-foot Wisconsin Historical Society museum Downtown is taking shape, fueled by an unprecedented outreach effort to communities across the state, American Indian tribes and generations of Wisconsinites. 
The state, the Historical Society, developer Hovde Properties and landowner Fred Mohs have long seen part of the block that fronts Capitol Square and holds the current, undersized museum and surrounding properties for a joint redevelopment that could be the largest project in city history with total costs approaching $255 million.

A longer view from the top of the Overture parking ramp.


'The Museum They Deserve': Capital Budget Includes Funds For Historical Museum Rebuild.  (Wisconsin Public Radio, 3/15/2019)
The museum currently has about 17,000 square feet of exhibition space, according to Overland. The new 100,000-square-foot museum will have about 40,000 square feet of permanent exhibition space, along with 3,500 square feet for temporary installations, as well as classrooms. They intend to keep their current location and expand into the adjacent plot.


The Churchill's darkest hour.  (Isthmus, 3/21/2019)
The Gay building, later renamed the Churchill building, sits on the Capitol Square near the head of State Street. At nine stories tall, it stirred a mixture of civic pride and horror that may sound familiar. Some saw it as a sign of vitality while others worried that it and other skyscrapers that might follow would obscure the view of the grand new Capitol building still under construction right across the street.


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