The first annual Yum Yum Fest held forth in the newly opened Central Park as members of the Madison Area Chefs Network offered their most creative dishes to attendees. The event was created to highlight the strong connection many Madison restaurants have with local food vendors.
Along with the food were four strong musical acts to entertain the throng on a glorious late summer Sunday afternoon.
1018 Williamson may be demolished and turned into greenspace.
Petinary owner Dr. Mike Kohn has has applied for a demolition permit for 1018 Williamson Street, a circa 1895 home that has not been occupied since he purchased it in 1992. The application will be discussed at the Marquette Neighborhood Association Preservation & Development meeting Tuesday September 9 at 5:30 p.m.
In the application, Jim Glueck, of Glueck Architects who represents Kohn, outlined several seemingly fatal flaws with the building that render it unusable an impractical for restoration. Glueck noted in the application and also confirmed to Willy Street Blog that the site will be restored to greenspace with no further plans to develop.
Courtesy: Yum Yum Fest 2014
Some may think Madison is one of the snobbiest cities in the land, but there is one thing we won’t apologize for: the festivals. This city packs an incredible amount of these celebrations in our small window of temperature appropriate weather each year. One more event has been added to the summer lineup with tomorrow’s Yum Yum Fest in Central Park.
Created by the newly formed Madison Area Chefs Network; the festival will highlight the incredible, and nationally recognized, dining options that have emerged here in Madison and their kitchen leaders who have committed to sourcing much of their food locally.
The next phase of progress in the Capital East District will begin ceremonially on September 16 as city leaders and developers will break ground on the $90 million Galaxie, a 14-story 670,000 square foot mixed-use development that will transform the 800 block on the north side of East Washington Avenue.
It is almost a shame that this space will be disrupted since a lovely carpet of green grass has grown over the former Don Miller site following a soil remediation project. But it seems to be a worthwhile disruption as the new complex will address many of the goals of the City of Madison, the adjoining neighborhoods, and the growing demand for housing in the city core.
Lydia Loveless plays a late afternoon set at the 49th Orton Park Festival.
The Orton Park Festival was the same as just about every other year and to many that was just fine. After many wonderful years under the management of a few dedicated volunteers, the Marquette Neighborhood Association has spread out the roles in the past two years and guess what?
No one noticed, and that is a good thing.
From the music, to the food, to the activities, the festival was a familiar, comfortable and felt a bit more like the original picnic that started it all nearly five decades ago. While much did not change, at least one change did stand out a bit, the music did end much earlier but no one seemed to mind.
The subtle changes will have their own review when the fundraising receipts are tallied; but we have tallied images that show that many had a great time, which is by far the most important benchmark.
Related: Orton Fest to Celebrate Survival
Anders Osborn during the 2012 Orton Park Festival.
In its long history, Orton Park has had to survive many threats. In 1924 the City of Madison proposed a boulevard with a 12-foot median that would bisect the park. Proponents argued this would improve traffic flow from King Street to the Eastside following the recently opened Rutledge Street bridge across the Yahara. It seems that this route had become a very popular artery for “far” Eastsiders who wanted to avoid railroad crossings at Williamson Street and Atwood Avenue.
The opposition to that project ninety years ago echoes the same reasons why today’s residents guard the tranquility of Madison’s oldest park: its too popular with children. The festival, begun in the middle 1960s, is in its 49th year and grew out of general neighborhood organizing against various development schemes and for neighborhood strength and cohesion.
In the last days of spring, despite rabid stewardship over the years by park lovers including the Friends of Orton Park, Mother Nature also attempted to remake the land when an EF-1 tornado barreled through the Marquette neighborhood early on June 17. While some trees were lost, the park never lost face with even the fallen trees repurposed in a resourceful way.
The near Eastside of Madison has it pretty good when it comes to food and resources: the Willy Street Co-op, copious amounts of restaurants, multi-faceted transportation options. The choices are so good that it has spurred Marquette Neighborhood Association President Michael Jacob to float the idea of MNA officially supporting a south side location for the proposed Public Market.
Recently, the City of Madison Local Food Committee recommended a site at the corner of East Washington Avenue and First Street, saying the location had the best combination of population density, high traffic volume and proximity to the now rapidly developing Capitol East Corridor.
But some in Madison feel that the location doesn’t address the relative food deserts that exist on the north and south sides, two locations that were also considered by the committee. This sentiment led Jacob to propose, in an email to the neighborhood listserv, throwing MNA support behind the Park Street location.
Gateway tree just after installation was completed. Courtesy: Facebook
The long awaited Williamson Gateway Tree, created by metal artist Erica Koivunen with assistance from her husband welder and blacksmith Aaron Howard, began to take shape on the median of the 600 block of Williamson this morning (August 3).
The 32-foot sculpture is a welding tour-de force involved both rough and finite touches from the trunk to the over 200 flowers that will form the canopy. Koivunen even included insects and birds throughout the tree.
The $60,000 tree is one of several signature art projects forwarded by the MNA Arts & Culture Committee with support from several benefactors including the Madison Arts Commission.
You can view the progress at the Williamson Gateway Tree Facebook page.
Sculpture artist Erica Koivunen with blacksmith and husband Aaron Howard.
MNA voted to affirm Red Caboose’s importance to the community as the center appeals its license revocation.
The Marquette Neighborhood Association Board has voted to issue a statement of support for Red Caboose Day Care Center which is appealing last week’s revocation of its license to operate by the State of Wisconsin. The statement, introduced at last night’s meeting (July 24) by Board member Lynn Lee, is intended to affirm the institutional importance of the child care center in the neighborhood but not pass judgement on specific matters raised by the Department of Children and Families.
“The Marquette Neighborhood Association would like to affirm the special place that Red Caboose Daycare has in our neighborhood and for many in the city of Madison,” the statement begins.
Lee, who serves on the center’s board and his daughter attends the center’s after school program, felt the statement was needed because of the concern among parents over the future of the facility in light of the sudden revocation which he felt was a severe reaction.
The proposed boring route for a power line to upgrade electrical service to the Orton Park gazebo. Courtesy: MG&E
Madison Gas & Electric (MG&E) has significantly reworked two electrical projects it proposed last winter to improve lighting as well as new electrical service to the gazebo in Orton park. Marquette Neighborhood Association President Michael Jacob said park neighbors had objected to the original proposal and because they were not consulted at the outset.
The first project will move the utility light pole 10 feet west (towards Ingersoll Street) and replace it with an LED light that according to the utility will “cast a cooler blue light, giving truer colors compared to the yellow light cast by a high pressure sodium fixture (HPS).” The light is the only illumination in the central portion of the park.
