The records of the Marquette Neighborhood Association (MNA) consist of correspondence, informal meeting notes, minutes, agendas, proposals and studies, UW-Madison student papers, city reports, maps, posters, newspaper clippings and one photograph. The records reach from March 1968, when members outlined their goals for a better neighborhood, to an Alternate Parade of Homes in 1986. Minutes, agendas and financial records are scattered or scarce after the first few years. Candid photographs or other similar ephemera are not found. The records are arranged in three series: ADMINISTRATIVE, ACTIVITIES, and PHOTOGRAPHS.
The ADMINISTRATIVE series includes the founding statement, by-laws, minutes, financial records, correspondence, membership and committee records, lists of officers, and newsletters, including those jointly produced with the Wil-Mar Center. This series is arranged chronologically and by importance.
The ACTIVITIES series comprises the heart of the collection and describes those subjects to which MNA devoted itself: Commercial Revitalization; Events; Homeless; Housing; Planning; Properties; Railroad Yards; Recreation, Parks and Libraries; Schools; Street Assessment; Third Lake Ridge Historic District; Traffic and Transportation; and Zoning. Except where noted, the folders within subseries are arranged alphabetically.
Commercial Revitalization was an early concern of MNA and includes material on the launch of Common Wealth Development Corporation. The Events subseries includes promotional, planning and financial materials for Orton Park festivals and Alternate Parades of Homes. Homeless deals with two shelters, one in 1971, and a proposal for another at 303 South Paterson Street in 1985. Housing includes material for a neighborhood promotional brochure, a study comparing properties in Marquette with ones of comparable size in Maple Bluff, and materials on UW student housing policies.
Planning, arranged chronologically, includes comprehensive plans, developed by MNA alone and with others. Rolled maps, some based on the 1966 Madison Area Transit Study (MATS) are found in this series. A further subseries, Resources, includes reports and studies from welfare and planning agencies and UW classes. Properties/Issues pertains to individual properties, organizations or businesses that became issues of note to MNA for zoning, sale, potential development, or other reasons. Railroad Yards consists of an illustrated report and other material regarding the tracks and adjacent land.
Recreation, Parks, Libraries concerns Children's House Mini Park, a joint project with the Wil-Mar Center; Hawthorne Library; Orton Park; and beautification efforts.
Schools consists primarily of material presented to the School Board to persuade them to keep the elementary school open. Street Assessment centers on a tax issue. Third Lake Ridge Historic District contains a brief description of that section of neighborhood. Traffic and Transportation contains materials on the Atwood Bypass, Blair intersection, Jenifer Street cul de sac and other traffic measures. Zoning centers on the down-zoning ordinances MNA sought to have passed to combat absentee landlords.
The PHOTOGRAPHS series is a single photograph of the Orton Park bandstand.
