The words “historic preservation” in Madison likely bring to
mind iconic buildings on the University of Wisconsin campus or
grand Victorian houses downtown. But a west side neighborhood so
much newer that it seems ordinary is seeking recognition for the
remarkable historic place it is.

The neighborhood association in University Hill Farms has asked
the city to apply for federal grant money to assist in research for
nomination of the neighborhood — just over a half-century old — to
be on the National Register of Historic Places.

University Hill Farms, just southwest of the Hilldale Shopping
Center at University Avenue and Midvale Boulevard, is one of
several mid-20th century Madison neighborhoods whose moment to be
recognized for design or cultural significance may be arriving.
Preservationists say officially listing the districts is the best
way to preserve them and their property values.

It’s not only the houses of University Hill Farms that are
significant, but also the way that the neighborhood was developed.
Hill Farms includes many houses typical of post-World War II
architectural design, and is an unusually complete planned
neighborhood.

“We’re a prime example of a close neighborhood of ranch-style
houses,” says Joe Keyes, president of the University Hill Farms
Neighborhood Association.

Single-story ranch houses with their eaves and bands of windows
rambled across so many suburban tracts carved from farmland in the
1950s and 1960s as to become a design icon of the era. Hill Farms
also has high-end houses designed by architects, says Daina
Penkiunas, National Register coordinator for the Wisconsin
Historical Society, providing a mix of housing not seen in many
subdivisions of the time.

Even more unusual is Hill Farms’ origin.

The neighborhood was developed in a city-university partnership
on the site of the University of Wisconsin’s research farms. After
World War II, Madison had a shortage of housing, so the farms were
moved north of the city to make way for the construction of new
housing on what was then the city’s western edge. With its houses
and apartments, schools, parks, corporate and state offices and
regional shopping center, the development was designed to meet all
the needs of young professionals and their families. “It was a
planned city within the city of Madison,” says Penkiunas, who lives
in the neighborhood herself.

The neighborhood association has held two meetings this year to
educate property owners about what it would mean for them if their
properties were listed on the National Register and the Wisconsin
Register for Historic Places, for which nomination is made
concurrently. “We’ve had to dispel myths of what might go along
with the program. People don’t want to give up their property
rights,” Keyes says.

No rights are lost by listing properties on the National
Register, because it puts no restrictions on alterations and does
not require preservation of historical character, preservationists
say. But owners can get tax credits of 20 to 25 percent on the cost
of work that preserves the exterior condition of properties on a
national or state register of historic places.

In contrast, designation of an area as a Madison local historic
district puts restrictions on the alteration of exteriors, which
must be approved by the city Landmarks Commission, with possible
appeal to the City Council.

“It’s the carrot and the stick,” says Jason Tish, executive
director of the nonprofit Madison Trust for Historic Preservation.
“The National Register provides a carrot in terms of the tax
credits and the honor of the designation. A local designation is
the stick because it puts zoning restrictions on all properties in
the district and essentially compels preservation.”

Hill Farms property owners aren’t looking for designation as a
local historic district. And in their letter asking the city to
seek funding for a nomination to the National Register,
neighborhood association leaders caution that if the national
designation could lead to restrictions on the properties in the
future, they will withdraw their request.

“We’d want to look at that further first,” says Tom Favour,
chairman of the Hill Farms architectural review committee, a
long-standing panel that reviews plans for additions and other
changes as required by deed restriction on most of the properties
in the neighborhood.

National designation of a historic district does not lead to a
local designation, says city preservation planner Amy Scanlon. That
requires a separate nomination, which typically is made by a
neighborhood group or city planners who work with property owners
on guidelines for preservation of properties in the district. The
City Council ultimately decides whether to designate an area as a
historic district. The city has five local historic districts,
while 14 Madison districts are listed on the National Register of
Historic Places.

One of the Madison historic districts, Mansion Hill, has been
much in the news recently because of the impact of the local
designation on two properties located there. Part of the protracted
controversy over the planned redevelopment of the Edgewater hotel
on Lake Mendota last year involved violations of architectural
guidelines for the historic district, while the difficulty of
relocating the Victorian-era Steensland House currently is stalling
plans by Bethel Lutheran Church to expand on its North Carroll
Street property.

Scanlon says she understands why property owners may be
reluctant to embrace restrictions on the renovation of their
properties, but she says local designation protects property values
by preserving what makes a neighborhood unique. That’s the finding
of at least one national study, although no research of the impact
of historic designation on Madison properties has been done.

But without local historic designation, property owners can’t
protect their properties from whatever neighbors might decide to do
to theirs, Scanlon says. Someone can buy three houses and tear them
down and make a green space, she says – or put up a McMansion.

Other city neighborhoods are being eyed for historic
designation. The city has applied for a federal grant to inventory
properties in the west side Hoyt Park, Westmorland and Sunset
Village neighborhoods to identify those worthy of preservation,
Scanlon says. City planners also are looking at an area in Eken
Park on the east side.

Fifty years is the minimum age generally required for nomination
to the National Register, and the first house in Hill Farms was
built in 1956. As more districts across the country become
eligible, debate in preservation circles is continuing on what
rises to the top in mid-20th century design and development, says
the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation’s Tish.

Would a cluster of ranch houses, period architect-designed
houses, or a planned, self-sustaining community warrant listing
Hill Farms? “It depends on what trend of history you are trying to
illustrate,” he says.

Favour, a retired Dane County regional planner who has lived in
Hill Farms for 40 years, sees a value beyond healthy property
values or the prestige of historic designation. “It has grown over
time to have a strong sense of neighborhood. That is what gives the
area its flavor,” he says.