City skyline over Lake Monona.
Planning

University Heights

History

One of the city's earliest suburbs, the University Heights Company platted this 106-acre neighborhood in 1893.

The curvilinear plan was the first neighborhood in the city to not use the traditional grid-style neighborhood design. Due to its proximity to the university, many staff and students lived here.

This district features some of Madison's most significant Queen Anne, Prairie, and Period Revival style homes. In addition to houses designed by noted Madison architects, there are also homes designed by nationally-significant architects: Keck & Keck, George W. Maher, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

University Heights became our third local historic district in 1985.

Map of University Heights local historic district

Historic Designation

The University Heights Historic District reflects a pattern in the broad social history of Madison and in the state and the nation and in that elements within the district meet the other three designation criteria, namely that many of the structures in the district:

  • Are identified with historic personages or with important events in national, state, or local history
  • Embody the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type specimen, inherently valuable for a study of a period, style, method of construction, or of local or craftsmanship
  • Are representative of the notable work of a builder, designer, or architect of note whose individual genius influenced their age

Architecture

University Heights was a neighborhood that primarily housed faculty and staff employed at the University of Wisconsin. The neighborhood features high style structures, some of which were designed by noted architects. There is a diversity of architectural styles with most of the resources being single-family residences, interspersed with apartments and limited commercial. The significant architectural styles found in the district include:

  • Arts & Crafts 
  • Colonial Revival 
  • Early 20th Century Commercial 
  • Dutch Colonial Revival 
  • Mediterranean Revival 
  • Prairie 
  • Queen Anne 
  • Romanesque Revival 
  • Tudor Revival

Historic Materials

  • Brick 
  • Stone 
  • Stucco 
  • Wood clapboard (4" exposure) 
  • Wood Shingle

Historic Resources

  • Landmarks 
  • Landmark sites 
  • Properties constructed during the period of significance, 1893-1928
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