Madison Tour: A Guide from Monona Terrace to Memorial Union – Madison, Wisconsin

EXPERIENCE

Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, is a city with many names. It’s been called Madtown and the People’s Republic of Madison. It’s also been known as the Berkeley of the Midwest and the City of Four Lakes. On this walking tour, you’ll step back in time and relive the city’s rich history through the ages. You’ll hear about the Native Americans who first inhabited this land before jumping forward in time to the Civil War. I’ll also tell you about the riots of the 1960s, and the very different atmosphere that characterized the 1970s, when the city’s annual pink flamingo prank originated.

This hour-long tour starts on Monona Terrace overlooking Lake Monona. You’ll stroll around the Wisconsin State Capitol and the Dane County Farmers Market before heading down popular State Street. Finally, you’ll make your way through the University of Wisconsin-Madison Campus to end the tour on Memorial Union Terrace, overlooking Lake Mendota. Along the way, I’ll tell you about the Wakandjaga people who built the area’s effigy mounds, and how Camp Randall got its start as a Civil War training camp. You’ll see Elizabeth Link Peace Park, named after a prominent Madison peace activist, and hear about the mass student protests that took place here in the 1960s. You’ll also see architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s greatest masterpiece within Madison and hear how it led to a 60-year debate about whether it was too grand for such a modest city.

On this Madison walking tour, you’ll also have the opportunity to:

• Find out how the plastic pink flamingo became Madison city’s official bird
• Hear how the 1960s changed the city – and the country
• Discover the meaning behind the Memorial Union Terrace chairs
• Relive the Mifflin Street Block Party and hear how it first began
• Listen to the story of Otis Redding’s tragic death
• Get to the bottom of Madison’s official motto, “77 square miles surrounded by reality”
• Pop into Der Rathskeller restaurant which first allowed women inside in the 1940s
• Become familiar with Madison’s literary legacy
• Unlock the secrets hidden under the surface of Lake Mendota

Join writer Frank Bures for this walk through the city’s past, for a glimpse of how modern Madison came to be.

HIGHLIGHTS

Take in this State Capitol’s glory as you make your way from one lake to another
Hear from tour producer Frank Bures, an award-winning writer and essayist
Do it all in an hour or linger at stops along the way
Get unlimited use before your booking date and after it
Use the virtual tour option at home

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