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Preservation was a popular theme during Tuesday’s City Council meeting as the council approved four proposals to maintain some of Madison’s most valuable land.
The council granted landmark status to preserve the 19th– and early 20th-century architectural style of three sites on the first block of North Pinckney Street and passed the funding needed to preserve 263 acres of Cherokee Marshland.
“These are some of the few remaining landmark blocks in Madison,” said Carolyn Freiwald of the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation, referring to the buildings on North Pinckney Street.
Freiwald said she supports the grant to preserve these sites based on their aesthetically pleasing architecture, historical significance and support of local business.
The landmark status will preserve the Mediterranean Revival architecture of The Hobbins Block/Olson and Veerhusen building at 7 N. Pinckney St., honoring the construction of well renowned architects Louis Claude and Edward Starck. The Neoclassical Revival architecture, current home of Wait Chiropractic at 9 N. Pinckney St., is now safe from reconstruction as well.
The Neoclassical Revival and Italianate architecture of The Maeder Building/Ellsworth Block, which contains the Harvest restaurant and the Old Fashioned at 21 and 25 N. Pinckney St., will too be protected from reconstruction.
The council also voted to protect the Richardsonian Romanesque architecture of the Winterbotham building at 27 N. Pinckney St. built in 1897 by Starck and home to L’Etoile and Cafe Soleil.
Ledell Zellers, a supporter of the landmarks and president of Capitol Neighborhoods Inc., added these “historic buildings [will] help us tap into stories about the city, the people and the events that occur … and can provide a link to the past long after the people are gone.”
In celebration of Earth Day, the council went on to grant the funding needed to preserve the largest wetland in Dane County.
The 263 acres of Cherokee Marsh “acts as a high quality nutrient sponge in storm water storage area,” said Stefanie Brouwer, community service specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The land has been a focus of conservation for the DNR since the 1960s, Brouwer added, and its value derives from its diverse recreational potential and accessibility to citizens in a densely populated area.
The Dane County Conservation fund from the DNR, Wisconsin’s Knowles/Nelson Stewardship Fund and the city of Madison all contributed to $3 million in funding towards the Cherokee Marsh, Brouwer said.
According to a statement from the city, a bicycle and pedestrian trail is planned for the upland area. The trail will connect the north and south parts of the Cherokee Marsh.
“This historic acquisition is only possible thanks to an unprecedented partnership between the city, the county, the state, the non-profit community and the property owner,” said Mayor Dave Cieslewicz in a statement.
Cieslewicz said he could not think of a better way to celebrate the day honoring environmental conservation than moving forward “with the largest land conservation purchase in city history.”
