A Look at Madison Parks

Lagoon in Tenney Park

At this point in winter, I am starting to think about how excited I am for summer to come so I can spend some lazy summer days in Madison's beautiful parks.  But I've never thought about how those parks came to be. Recently we went live with a collection dedicated to the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association, these are the people who helped create the parks we have today.

Maple Bluff, Farewell Drive

The Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association Reports and Related Materials collection provides accessibility to early information about the City of Madison around the turn of the 20th century.  The reports detail money coming in and going out and work done on various parks and pleasure drives. The drives and parks that this group helped create are an integral part of our Madison community. 


During the turn of the 20th century, the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association wanted to attract attention to this cities beautiful lakes. They wanted to make Madison a popular place for summer vacation homes and visitors. 


If you've ever wondered how our parks and pleasure drives were constructed take a look at this new collection.  And cross your fingers that we will be able to enjoy our Madison parks soon.