Letter from Madison Trust for Historic Preservation re: Houses in James Madison Park

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz
City-CountyBuilding, Room 403
210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Madison WI 53703

Re: James Madison Park houses

August 25, 2006

Dear Mayor Cieslewicz:

The members of the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation appreciate your commitment to a healthy and vibrant city for all our current and future residents. We feel strongly that one of the contributing factors to Madison’s unique appeal is the irreplaceable aesthetic and sense of place provided by our historic architecture.

The James Madison Park houses, at 640, 646, and 704 East Gorham Street, are individual city landmarks and along with the Lincoln School building make an important historic grouping. Protecting landmarks on site is a fundamental principle of historic preservation.

Moving the structures would reduce their status and provide a grim precedent for the treatment of other landmarked structures in our community. For this reason we cannot support moving these houses from their original sites. The Trust would appreciate being part of the continuing dialogue on the topic.

Respectfully,
James Westring
President
Madison Trust for Historic Preservation