For Immediate Release 

Contact: Kara O’Keeffe
[email protected]
608-261-9596

April 3, 2019

The Madison Vocational School Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Madison, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced the listing of the Madison Vocational School in Madison, Dane County, in the National Register of Historic Places. National Register designation provides access to certain benefits, including qualification for grants and for rehabilitation income tax credits, while it does not restrict private property owners in the use of their property.

The Madison Vocational School is situated one block northwest of the Capitol Square, and one block north of State Street, in the heart of Madison’s traditional commercial district. Madison Vocational School was constructed in three phases: the four-story, Collegiate Gothic original section, designed by Madison architect Ferdinand Kronenberg and built in 1921; and the simpler addition, designed by Law, Law, Potter and Nystrom of Madison and constructed in 1949-1950 (four stories) and 1964 (fifth and sixth stories).

The Wisconsin legislature adopted the Continuation School Act in 1911, to enable the establishment of educational opportunities for employed youth who had not finished high school. Madison Continuation School opened in 1912, offering courses not only in trade subjects, but also in literature, math, social sciences, and the arts, and helping to fulfill a primary goal of public education: training for good citizenship. Renamed Madison Vocational School in 1916, the institution moved into the building that is the subject of this summary in 1921 and continued to serve the community on this site since through at least 2018. The school has and does serve the needs of the community and students, as well as those of workforce demands, as guided by input from employers, civic leaders, and the students themselves. Curriculum and program offerings have been adapted over time to reflect and accommodate changes in technology, and society, as well as landmark events, such as World War II. This institution was renamed Madison Area Technical College (MATC) in 1967, shortened to Madison College in 2009.

The register is the official national list of historic properties in America deemed worthy of preservation and is maintained by the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program within Wisconsin. It includes sites, buildings, structures, objects and districts that are significant in national, state or local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visitwww.wisconsinhistory.org.

About Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.

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