List of tallest buildings in Madison

Madison skyline looking north

This is a list of the tallest buildings in Madison, Wisconsin.^[1] The Wisconsin State Capitol is the tallest building in Madison. The tallest building in Madison's central business district is the State Office Building. In the mid- to late-2000s more high-rise buildings were constructed.^[2] A height restriction on the Madison Isthmus protects views of the Wisconsin State Capitol. The law restricts buildings to be no taller than the base of the pillars surrounding the dome (about 187 feet).^[3]

The history of skyscrapers in Madison begins with the Churchill Building, completed in 1915. The current State Capitol was completed in 1917, and was the third built in Madison, replacing the previous one which was destroyed in a fire on February 27, 1904.^[4] Because of Madison's height restriction, buildings rarely exceed over 160 feet in height. This may change in the next few years during the redevelopment of E. Washington Ave. The tallest building ever proposed was the Archipelago Village Tower, a 27-story, 570-foot-tall (170 m) office and condominium tower, however it is unlikely to ever be constructed because of the city's height restriction.^[5]

This list includes all known high-rise buildings (over 35 meters).

Tallest buildings

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft / m	Floors	Year	Note
1	Wisconsin State Capitol		284 / 86	5	1917	Tallest building in Madison, and tallest building in the state outside of Milwaukee
2	Van Hise Hall		243 / 74	19	1967	Tallest building on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, and the highest building in the city based on elevation. One of the 50 tallest education buildings in the world, it is slated to be demolished in 2025 per the university's master plan.[6]
3	UW Engineering Research Building		184[7] / 56	14	1968
4	UW Atmospheric Oceanic & Space Sciences Building		180 / 55	15	1966	The height of the building does not reflect the GOES satellite dishes, weather stations, power/communication units and workstations, or a POES satellite receiver located on the top of the building.[8][9]
5	State Office Building		177 / 54	13	1939	Tallest office building on the Madison isthmus[10]
6	University Square Office Building		164 / 50	12	2008
7	The Constellation Apartments		158[11] / 48	14	2014
8	One Hundred Wisconsin Avenue		157.07 / 47.8 [12]	12	2004	Located on the capitol square, this mixed-use building features retail, office (floors 1-4), and luxury condominiums (floors 5-12). Received the highest ratings ever given by the city's Urban Design Commission. The design includes white bethel granite (the same as the state Capitol Building), limestone from a Mississippi River ledge, floor to ceiling glass, and copper.[12] Town Bank occupies a portion of the lower level.
9	Nolen Shore		149 / 45	12	2006	Named for John Nolen, Madison's landscape architect in the early 20th century.
10	The Loraine		143 / 43	10	1925	Originally built as a hotel, the building now houses condos. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
11	Belmont Hotel		140 / 42	11	1924	The building's height instigated Madison's current height restriction.[13]
12	Metropolitan Place 2		135 / 41	13	2007
13	Hovde Building		134 / 41	10	1928
14	Churchill Building		134 / 41	9	1915	Madison's first skyscraper and at the time of its construction the tallest building in Wisconsin outside of Milwaukee. Its erection led to a 90-foot (27 m) height limit for buildings around the Capitol that was struck down by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1923, allowing for the construction of the Belmont Hotel.[14]
15	309 West Washington		133 / 41	11	2008
16	Hyatt Place Madison Downtown		126 / 38	11	2010
17	Tenney Plaza (aka The Tenney Building)		125 / 38	10	1929	A 10-story art deco building designed by Law, Law & Potter that was Madison's first steel building.[15][16]
18	Weston Place		122/37	12	2005	High-rise condo building on Madison's west side.
19	Edgewater Hotel		119 / 36	10	1945	A remodeling of the Edgewater has begun and will be completed in 2014. The new height will be 160 feet, which will make it the 7th tallest building in Madison.
20	Capitol Centre Apartments building I & 2		119 / 36	16	1982	High-rise apartment building in downtown Madison.
21	Oakwood Village tower		118 / 36	15	1975

References