It was a cold fall afternoon in 2004 when I happened to overhear the conversation of two alumni who sat down next to me in the Main Lounge of the Memorial Union. The husband and wife had flown in from Boston to visit the university they attended during the early 1950s. I hardly recognize it,"" the old man commented to his wife.
Thirty years, six presidents, and multiple renovations had passed since their last visit to Madison. ""Even the Union has changed,"" the husband continued, as he cast a glance in the direction of his old studying spot. ""I used to study right there in that corner. I don't remember the place ever looking so nice.""
Although my time here at the university has totaled less than five years, the sentiments expressed by the aging couple are becoming more relevant sooner to me than I would have expected.
As an alumnus of the Southeast dorms,
the most notable transformation has taken place through the East Campus Gateway development. The old University Square only lives on in memory. Gone is the movie theatre where I watched the original ""Saw"" in an empty room. Gone is the bar where I bought my first drink in college and spent multiple Fridays after class. But while those establishments have closed down, the East Campus Gateway area has never looked so nice.
The seven-block pedestrian mall that had been long forgotten since it was proposed a century ago in the campus' 1908 master plan is transforming the heart of UW-Madison's campus. The cost of these building and redevlopment programs exceed $400 million. Nearly one third of that total will be put towards the improvement of arts facilities on campus.
The Chazen Museum of Art will undergo an expansion that will add more than 60,000 square feet to the building. A new music performance facility to the east of the Murray Street will undoubtedly be the punctuation mark to a revitalized promenade.
The George L. Mosse Humanities building, the UW-Extension building and storefronts along the 700 block of University Avenue will be leveled in order to make way for the project. Brothers Bar and Grill will be allowed to keep their alcohol license, but the owners will have to go before the Alcohol License Review Committee in order to obtain a license transfer. Patrons of the popular downtown bar may be upset with the decision to shut down the University Avenue fixture, but sacrifice is needed in order to create a more aesthetically pleasing downtown.
I was personally upset when Madhatter's closed down to make way for the Lucky complex several years ago, but the new bar is far better than the old one ever was. I assume this will be the case with Brothers as well.
An arts and humanities ""district"" will improve the downtown area of Madison immensely. New buildings for the history, art, and music departments will frame a tree-lined walkway that will stretch from the Kohl Center to Library Mall. Art galleries, an outdoor sculpture garden and the new music performance center will serve as a complement to the already vibrant State Street scene.
""The East Campus Mall, 20 or 30 years from now, will be the part of the campus that alumni and visitors to campus will remember as being the visually most appealing, most breathtaking part of the campus,"" former chancellor John Wiley said.
Change has been continuous since I first set foot on this campus just over four years ago. Grainger was expanded, the capitol building was restored, Ogg Hall moved across the street and State Street underwent major improvements. The Morgridge Center, The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery and new Union South facility will help transform the community even further.
If the past four years are any indicator, this campus will be reborn by the time this year's freshman class prepares for commencement. 50 years from now, when I return to visit Madison with my wife to reminisce about my years in college, I will be reminded of the conversation I overheard on that cold November afternoon and the experience will come full circle.
Tom Hart is a senior majoring in political science and history. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
