These are the records of the Preservation Planner position within the City of Madison Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development. The position came into being at approximately the same time as the Landmarks Commission, in 1969. The position has been held by Lance Neckar and Katherine ‘Kitty’ Rankin. The main functions of the position were researching and designating the historic nature of various neighborhoods and buildings within the City of Madison, providing guidelines for their preservation, and providing outreach to the community. The most ambitious project of the position has been the as-yet-unfinished Intensive Survey of Madison. The position appears to have been primarily grant-funded, and documentation of that funding process, and the coordination between the position and the funders is demonstrated.
This collection is divided into six series: ADMINISTRATION, LANDMARKS COMMISSION, NATIONAL REGISTER PROGRAM, OTHER PRESERVATION ORGANIZATIONS, NON-PRESERVATION TOPICS, and PUBLIC EDUCATION. The series are arranged in alphabetical order.
The ADMINISTRATION series contains information related to the day to day activities of the Preservation Planner, such as Correspondence, Demolition, Historical Background Research, and Housing Rehabilitation. Demolition contains studies and their use in changes to the city’s ordinances, specifically the former practice of ‘demolition by neglect,’ practiced by some non-resident property owners. The Planner position was also involved in evaluating demolition requests to determine if the properties had historic value and would be candidates for rehabilitation instead, and overlaps with the materials under Environmental Review in the NATIONAL REGISTER PROGRAM series.
The LANDMARKS COMMISSION series contains documentation of the structure and function of the Commission and its daily activities, including information on the Historic Districts, which contains the background materials used in the designation of three neighborhoods as Historic Districts: Mansion Hill, Third Lake Ridge, and University Heights. The final application packages for each district are not included.
The NATIONAL REGISTER PROGRAM series contains information used to place various city neighborhoods on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The final applications are not included. Neighborhoods may be both part of the Madison Historic Districts and on the NRHP. Included in the series are Environmental Review, Grants, and the Tax Reform Act. Environmental Reviews involve evaluating City projects for their impact on the historic properties. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 made changes to the Federal Rehabilitation Tax credit program, which needed to be communicated to the public.
The OTHER PRESERVATION ORGANIZATIONS series contains information on three organizations: the Wisconsin Association of Historic Preservation Commissions, the Wisconsin Society of Architects, and the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The information is primarily related to Ms. Rankin’s involvement in those organizations, though there is some evidence of coordination between the organizations and the City.
The NON-PRESERVATION TOPICS series contains information on various city projects that needed the input of the Preservation Planner to determine potential impact on historic structures. This appears to be a less-formal version of the Environmental Review function.
The PUBLIC EDUCATION series documents efforts of the Preservation Planning function to educate the public on the historic nature of various buildings and neighborhoods through various efforts, as well as the benefits of rehabilitating older homes. Contained within this series are Awards, Exhibits and Special Projects, Preservation Week, Publications, Talks and Workshops, and Tours and Tour Booklets. The awards were given to the owners and developers of properties that adhered to the rehabilitation guidelines and produced work of historical integrity. Exhibits and special projects include work done by outside agencies that required the Preservation Planner’s input.
There are a large number of photographs, slides, negatives, and contact sheets distributed throughout the collection. They are primarily the result of ‘windshield surveys’ conducted by a number of different people.
