| East Wilson Street Historic District | |
| Coordinates: | 43.0767°N -89.3761°W |
| Added: | April 3, 1986 |
| Refnum: | 86000618 |
The East Wilson Street Historic District includes remnants of businesses that grew around two railroad depots a half mile east of the capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, starting in the 1860s. A cluster of the hotel and saloon buildings from this district are still fairly intact, in contrast to Madison's other railroad station on West Washington. In 1986 the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the State Register of Historic Places in 1989.[1] [2]
A mania for railroad-building swept the U.S. in the second half of the 1800s, before the automobile. The first railroad to reach Madison was the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, crossing the state westward. In 1854 it began to provide service at a large stone depot six blocks west of the capitol. In 1864 the Chicago and North Western Railway built a line into Madison from Beloit to the south, crossing Monona Bay. The C&NW tried to persuade the earlier Milwaukee Road to build a union depot on Blair Street, but Milwaukee declined. Instead in 1869 it built a small passenger depot on East Wilson. In 1871 the C&NW built passenger and freight depots nearby, east of Blair Street. Three more rail lines entered Madison by 1871, passing through this east-side depot area: one from Sun Prairie, one from Portage/Green Bay, and one from Baraboo.[2]
Businesses grew in the area to serve railroad men and passengers. In 1867 Prussian immigrant Herman Klueter opened a wooden grocery store on E. Wilson. Four years later he built a two-story brick building for his grocery, added a feed business, and rented his old store to a butcher. In 1872 William Schumacher built the two-story Germania House Hotel – still existing at 510 E. Wilson St. In 1873 August Ramthun built the Madison house hotel and saloon at 520–524 E. Wilson. In 1875 George Schlotthauer added the Lake City House at 502 E. Wilson. In 1885 the C&NW built a bigger 2-story brick depot, which housed a small hotel and dining room. Also nearby by that time there were another grocer, two tobacco shops, several barbers, and three small saloons. (The 600 block of East Wilson and Williamson Streets nearby was heavily German, and it shows in the names of these early businessmen.)[2]
In 1886 the Milwaukee Road built a new Victorian Gothic train station nearby. Hotels continued to expand and other businesses started. "By the 1890s, the east and west depot areas were among the liveliest spots in town." In 1899 148 trains passed through Madison each day. The five-story Cardinal Hotel was added in 1908 and 1909. The C&NW had hoped to build a grand depot on Blair Street, but it would have required closing Blount Street, which was opposed by local interests, so they scaled back their plans and built the smaller but elegant depot described below in 1915. Prohibition in 1916 forced most of the saloons to either close or shift to selling meals or soft drinks for twenty years. Even with increasing automobiles, rail traffic continued until after WWII, when passenger traffic began to decline. The Milwaukee Road shut down its east side depot in 1952 and the C&NW stopped passenger service in 1965.[2]
Lacking lodging traffic from the railroads, the hotels switched to rent rooms weekly and monthly. Bars continued business, but the neighborhood declined. Prospects turned in 1980 when a luxury condominium was built east of the district. In 1982 the Cardinal Hotel was bought to be rehabilitated as an apartment building. And in 1983 Madison Gas and Electric built their new headquarters behind the C&NW station, incorporating the depots into their new complex.[2]
These are some of the surviving historic contributing buildings in the district, listed in roughly the order built: