Located on Madison's southwest side, the Vilas neighborhood has a small-town atmosphere and an acute sense of history. And, as spring approaches, the neighborhood's natural and architectural variety is just beginning to flourish.
The neighborhood, which began developing in the late 1800s, was one of Madison's first suburbs. When an electric streetcar line was built west down Monroe Street, the neighborhood became an attractive home to Madison residents wanting to move away from the crowded isthmus.
The Edgewood schools, Henry Vilas Zoo, Randall Avenue, Regent Street and Monroe Street border the neighborhood. It has a great location within the city of Madison and is within walking distance of the UW-Madison campus, downtown Madison and Camp Randall stadium.
From the historic shops on Monroe Street to the Henry Vilas Park and Zoo to the neighborhood's distinct architectural designs, it is easy to admire the neighborhood's history.
In 1904, the Vilas family made a donation to the city of Madison of the land that is currently Henry Vilas Park and Zoo.
They made the stipulation that the land was a free park to the city of Madison,\ said Mark Schemmel, executive director for the Henry Vilas Park Zoological Society. The park is next to Lake Wingra and forms the southern border of the Vilas neighborhood.
The Henry Vilas Zoo, founded by accident in 1911 with the donation of five white tailed deer, is Dane County's most popular tourist attraction. It continues to expand as it approaches its 100-year anniversary.
""The zoo is one of the things that makes the city of Madison unique and that residents embrace as a symbol of what the city is all about,"" Schemmel said. Residents take advantage of the free park and zoo, which blends in nicely with the Vilas neighborhood.
""The park adds a tremendous amount of neighborhood quality,"" said Vilas neighborhood resident William Wright.
Next to the park is the UW-Madison Arboretum, a wilderness landscape established 70 years ago spanning 1200 acres. It was created to preserve land around the growing city of Madison. Scientists from the university also use the land for teaching and research.
The architecture found in Vilas is unique to the city of Madison. Many of the first houses were constructed in the late 1800s as summer homes overlooking Lake Wingra. The neighborhood is filled with bungalows; Victorian- and Queen Anne-style houses; and ones designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
""Most of the houses were built before 1920,"" Wright said. Wright, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 20 years, added that an aviation legend used to stop in his Vilas neighborhood home. In the early 1900s, aviator and UW-Madison student Charles Lindbergh used to meet friends at Wright's Vilas Street home.
Adding to the neighborhood's sense of history, the majority of streets in Vilas are named after U.S. presidents such as Adams, Jefferson and Lincoln.
At the middle of the neighborhood is the circular Bear Mound Park. ""Bear Mound Park is a really important thing,"" said Vilas Neighborhood Association President Julia Kerr. ""It's one of the burial mounds of the Ho Chunk tribe."" The park dates back as far as 600 A.D.
The neighborhood's many recreational areas and the nearby Edgewood schools also allow it to thrive.
""It's kind of like a little village,"" Kerr said. ""It's a great neighborhood to raise a family.""\
