Very few college towns across the nation gather nearly 20,000 students every year for a block party that gains national attention.

However, staying true to its reputation, Madison will host just such a party this Saturday.

Since 1969, the Mifflin Street Block Party has been an annual event in which University of Wisconsin students take a day off to relax, listen to music, drink alcohol and more recently, take pictures with local police officers.

But the party, which primarily takes place on the 400 and 500 blocks of Mifflin Street, was not always just about the alcohol.

“In the era of the student power movements and the anti-Vietnam protests, there were a number of spring block parties that students hosted throughout student neighborhoods,” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said.

Verveer said when residents of the neighborhood nicknamed “Miffland” wanted to throw a block party, city officials and police refused to give them a street-closure permit.

Thus, the first Mifflin party ever held turned into a violent standoff between students and the police.

“All sides acknowledge today that the first couple block parties turned violent,” Verveer said. “Not because of the residents, but because of the hard-line tactics utilized to try to … keep the street open and prevent residents from partying.”

Verveer said police officers “liberally” used force and tear gas to disperse revelers at the party, which lasted for a few days.

Downtown Madison Inc. president Susan Schmitz was a student in the early ’70s, and said while she did not attend the Mifflin Street Block Party, she believed the campus climate at the time was active enough to produce such a party.

“Students getting together and music were such a big parts of that time,” Schmitz said. “The climate in those days was so active; the students were right on top of and in touch with everything that was going on.”

While the block party started as a hybrid between anti-war protests and a time to enjoy alcohol and music, Verveer said he believed the focus has shifted to the latter.

“Many aspects of the original block parties certainly continued to the more present-day parties: a celebration of spring, the last chance to blow off steam before final exams,” Verveer said. “Alcohol and music were always involved, including the early days.”

But the block party has had its share of scarier moments.

When students took to the streets in 1996, they lit bonfires and threw glass bottles at police officers and firefighters.

Verveer called the 1996 riot “the most inhumane thing” he has witnessed, but noted the annual party has not encountered any incidents of that nature since then.

Madison Police Capt. Mary Schauf said the lack of such incidents is fortunate for a party that has been running for 37 years.

“You look at the problems in 1996 and that had the potential to get very ugly,” Schauf said. “It’s still a residential neighborhood with older housing. It’s not the ideal location for an event like that.”

The one beneficial change to the party Schauf mentioned is the implementation of the day-long glass-bottle ban.

“In 2003, the weather was one of those nice spring days,” she said. “I remember looking in the gutters of the street and seeing all kinds of broken glass.”

According to Schauf, the glass ban is a safety provision that is “one of the best improvements” made to the party.

Verveer agreed with Schauf, saying those at the party are very compliant with the ban, which was mostly created to prevent bottles from littering the streets.

Despite the lack of glass bottles, when the Mifflin Street Block Party comes to life, the annual party will be a physical display of the working relationship between the city, the police department and the community.

“That’s why UW is such a cool school to attend ’cause we know how to have a good time,” Verveer said. “It’s a totally unsponsored, unorganized annual student gathering that just happens because it’s tradition … and really has never missed a beat.”