The University of Wisconsin Welcome Center opened its doors to the public Thursday, about a year after initially breaking ground.
The new Welcome Center is located on Park Street, which City Council President Austin King dubbed, "one of the main corridors to campus and to the downtown."
The Visitor Information Program, UW Transportation Services and the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau combined efforts to bring the Welcome Center to fruition. The goal of the Welcome Center differs from the Red Gym in that its information services are meant to reach tourists rather than students.
King said students might use the Welcome Center facilities during their first time in Madison but probably not much more after that.
"This isn't going to tell you where the best party is," King said. "But it will tell you where the Memorial Union is, … where Overture is and how to get between them."
Tim Hyland of GMCVC said the idea of the Welcome Center came about two years ago, and now all the hard work has paid off.
Hyland hopes the center will provide easy access to ample information for visitors to the UW campus and greater Madison.
"Everybody came together at once, worked together and brought their particular skills and strengths," Hyland said. "And here we have it."
The walls of the Welcome Center are adorned with historical and modern photographs of the UW campus that capture moments such as the Lake Mendota shore before Memorial Union was built and students in Library Mall.
Deb Archer, president and CEO of GMCVB said the combined efforts of VIP, UW Transportation Services, and GMCVB have created a "visionary" concept.
"This is just another great partnership that makes all sorts of sense," Archer said. "This is the place to tell a great story about Madison and the University of Wisconsin."
King said the Red Gym is a "wonderful" building, but the Welcome Center will better cater to the needs of visitors because Park Street is easier to access than Langdon Street, where the Red Gym is located.
If tourists are here for a UW function but also want to explore the greater Madison area, King said, the Welcome Center is a "one-stop shop."
"The Red Gym wasn't built as a welcome center — it was built as a gymnasium," he added.
