On the corner of West Washington Avenue and Park Street, a 4-foot-tall sign serves as a reminder of the flourishing, diverse Greenbush neighborhood that vanished approximately 40 years ago. Over time, neighborhoods and their residents come and go, but this was no ordinary place.
Greenbush neighborhood, affectionately called the 'old 'Bush,' existed in Madison from 1900 to the early '60s until a national urban renewal trend wiped out the neighborhood and its thriving culture.
Yet, during its six decades of existence, it was socially and culturally like no other neighborhood in Madison. The bulldozers have been gone for 40 years, but they cannot destroy the memories of the old 'Bush.
The Greenbush neighborhood, a triangle-shaped district bordered by Park and Regent streets and West Washington Avenue, was home to a large and vibrant Italian American population. Many residents emigrated from a certain part of Italy near Sicily, strengthening community bonds, UW-Madison professor Chris Kleinhenz said.
'People [in Greenbush] worked their way up through the American dream: You got nothing, you work hard and you got something,' said Tony Bruno, vice president of the Italian Workman's Club.
The Italian community brought distinct cultural elements to the Madison area, including food and music. On any night on the corner of Park and Regent Streets'once known as Spaghetti Corner'home to authentic Italian restaurants including Josie's Spaghetti House, makeshift bands marched throughout the old 'Bush and played their accordions, adding to the local flavor.
The Greenbush area, in addition to having a vast Italian American population, 'was a shining example of integration,' said Alder Austin King, District 8.
Madison was a stop on the Underground Railroad in the 19th century and also had large Jewish and Irish American settlements. These immigrants and minorities found the Greenbush neighborhood to be a refuge from prejudice, thus the old 'Bush became the most diverse community in Madison.
'We got along down there because we were all in the same background, and the name of the boat was poverty,' former resident Bruno said. Even during the turbulent years preceding the Civil Rights Era the different groups found ways to get along, each adding their own piece to the culture surrounding the Greenbush area.
In 1962, urban renewal tore apart the neighborhood and forced Italian Americans to disperse throughout Madison.
'It was part of a national trend at the time, which was dismantling functional neighborhoods and replacing them with project-based housing that made all of the worst mistakes of urban planning,' King said.
Forty years later, the Italian American community is still dispersed. Yet, not all is lost. A number of local organizations continue to carry on the dream of further unifying the Italian community and have gained greater influence in recent years.
Although the destruction of the Greenbush neighborhood broke apart the Italian community 40 years ago, new programs promise to strengthen the Italian community in Wisconsin. The Italian Workman's Club, founded in 1912 and located at 914 Regent St., provides invaluable opportunities for Madison residents of Italian descent.
Today, the WisItalia program has successfully encouraged the teaching of Italian in schools across the state. UW-Madison, also has the No. 1 Italian language program in the country. The WisItalia program also instituted a sister-city agreement in Montova, Italy, for student exchanges.
'The mission of the Italian Workman's Club is the preservation of Italian history and language,' said Vice President Bruno. 'We're always trying to increase the awareness of people in the Madison community of the accomplishments of Italian Americans.'
