Take a look back at what life in Madison was like in the 1950s with this collection of Wisconsin Historical Society photos.
Support Local Journalism
View the other entries in the Wisconsin State Journal's "Life in Madison" photo series documenting life in the second half of the 20th century.
1950 - Aerial view of isthmus
A north-facing aerial photo from 1950 shows the Madison isthmus.
1950 - Class presidents
Discussing the Big Eight Conference sportsmanship code in November 1950 are the three senior class presidents of the Madison high schools. From left are Reed Coleman, West; Bill Day, East; and Joe Pellitteri, Central.
1950 - First baby born
Arnold and Evelyn Morris, parents of the first baby born in Madison in 1950, are shown at Madison General Hospital in this photo from Jan. 1, 1950.
1950 - Gladiolus Society
Jean Lucey of Mazomanie stands next to a basket of gladiolus on July 30, 1950, in the lobby of the First National Bank during the annual show of the Madison Gladiolus Society.
1950 - Heart Fund Drive
Audrey Walsh and Ruth Mayer attach plastic heart coin containers to posters for the Madison Heart Fund Drive in January 1950.
1950 - Ice skating
Madison Skating Club's Junior Club members Venita Plazewski and Barbara Rieman skate on one leg while holding hands in January 1950.
1950 - Inland Lakes Regatta
Madison teenagers Judith Rendall and Gina Johnson stand on board Rendall's Class-C sailboat, "Nite-Hawk," in July 1950 on Lake Mendota.
1950 - Madison Home Show
Three men stand at the microphone in 1950 during a WIBA Radio broadcast from the Madison Home Show.
1950 - Parking ticket
A man removes a parking ticket from his car in 1950.
1950 - Printed circuit board
Jean Hoffman looks over a printed circuit board in 1950 with a map of Madison on the wall behind her.
1950 - Public housing hearing
Members of the Madison Common Council and other speakers attend a hearing in June 1950 on the Madison Housing Authority's proposed public housing project. The hearing concerned 300 units of low-rent housing designed by Madison architect John Flad.
1950 - Sorority pledges
Pledges of the Delta Gamma sorority gather around the piano in October 1950 as Harriet Kirchhoff sits at the piano. From the left are Joan Sexton, Mary Sisk, Virginia Bowman, Rosamond Ross, Joan Grove, and D'Arcy Timmons.
1950 - Speed limit sign
A highway speed limit sign on Olin Ave. in Madison displays the urban speed limit of 25 mph prior to leaving the Madison city limits in September 1950.
1950 - TV demonstration
Television was a feature enjoyed by children and adults at the Madison Home Show in September 1950. The fascination with new improvements, many of them on display in Madison for the first time, set many a householder thinking on how they could be incorporated into their home.
1950 - VFW Drum and Bugle Corps
Madison VFW Drum and Bugle Corps officials Gilbert Dennis (from left), musical director; A.J. Taff, corps president, and Galen Day, color bearer, play cymbals in October 1950.
1950 - Wisconsin Telephone Exchange picket
A group of Western Electric workers picket the Wisconsin Telephone Exchange at 122 W. Main St. off the Capitol Square in Madison on Nov. 14, 1950.Â
1951 - Boxing match
Charles Hopkins, a former Madison Central High School athlete, boxes in the all-university tournament on Feb. 7, 1951, at the University of Wisconsin Field House.
1951 - Boys basketball tournament
This photo from March 17, 1951, shows the championship game between Wisconsin Rapids and Madison West during the state boys high school basketball tournament at the University of Wisconsin Field House.
1951 - Hobby show
Mary Huber and her son, Jim, pose Feb. 20, 1951, with clay models he planned to enter in the Madison Catholic Women's Club hobby show.
1951 - Hospital volunteer
Madison General Hospital Auxillary volunteer worker Mabel Lewis reads to Billy McCord in 1951.
1951 - Oscilloscope
Madison West High School physics teacher Frederick Schuler works with an oscilloscope in 1951.
1951 - Police boat
Marine servicemen Al Reque and John Daugherty prepare one of the Madison Police Department's two boats in April 1951 for emergency service on city lakes, with police officer Norman Ehle looking on.
1951 - Saddle Club horse show
Contenders in the western class of the Madison Saddle Club horse show in July 1951 are Nancy Timmons, from left, Janet Marlett, and Colleen Houghton.
1951 - Woodworking
Four men complete woodworking tasks in 1951 at Neighborhood House, which was established in 1916 and was the oldest community center in Madison at the time.Â
1952 - Director and accompanist
Director of the Madison Maennerchor Alexius Baas confers with accompanist Grace Snell in February 1952 prior to the group's centennial concert.
1952 - Eisenhower/Nixon supporters
Madison supporters for the Republican presidential ticket of Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon work a phone bank in 1952.
1952 - Madison newcomers
Madison newcomers Mrs. Edward Jacobs and her 14-months-old son, Mark, are shown in this picture from January 1952.
1952 - Madison Reserve Seabee Company 9-49
Members of Madison Reserve Seabee Company 9-49 stand at attention for a group photo on June 19, 1952, at the Naval Reserve Training Station, 1046 E. Washington Ave.
1952 - Memorial Union Terrace
This 1952 photo shows the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union Terrace with Lake Mendota in the background.
1952 - Soap box derby sponsor
Madison Soap Box Derby racer Billy West, 11, sits behind the wheel of a Willys car, while O.D. Smart, president of Smart Motor Co. and Billy's sponsor in the derby, shows him some features of the car in July 1952.
1953 - Haase Gift Shop
A merchandise display is shown in September 1953 in Haase Gift Shop at the new Madison East Shopping Center on E. Washington Ave.
1953 - Library record collection
Ruth Anderson, the music librarian at the Madison Public Library, adds another phonograph record to the library's phonographic record collection in November 1953.
1953 - Madison Art Foundation
Philip Falk, superintendent of Madison schools, shows a piece of artwork to Ruth Allcott (center), director of art for Madison schools and Dorothy Frautschi, Madison Art Foundation director, on Aug. 11, 1953.
1953 - Madison East Shopping Center
The exterior of Brickner's Applinaces & TV is shown on Sept. 28, 1953, at the new Madison East Shopping Center on E. Washington Ave.
1953 - Madison Gas & Electric
The Madison Gas & Electric Company Steam Turbine Station and Substation, 115 South Blount St., is shown in August 1953.
1953 - Newspaper carriers
Forty-six Wisconsin State Journal newspaper carriers, all winners of a magazine subscription contest, get ready to leave Madison by bus on June 16, 1953, for a three-day trip to Chicago and Milwaukee.
1953 - Track meet
Hurdlers clear the first hurdle during a race on May 11, 1953, in a track meet between Madison East High School and Richland Center.
1953 - Working with dad
Madison city engineer John G. Thompson and his three sons, Jim, Douglas and Tom, and daughter, Margaret, inspect fishing tackle on June 16, 1953.
1954 - Boarding a plane
A group of men pose in front of a Capital Airlines airplane at Madison Municipal Airport - Truax Field on Sept. 27, 1954.
1954 - Camp Randall Stadium
This aerial photograph from 1954 shows Camp Randall Stadium.Â
1954 - Grad dance
Madison West High School junior Mary McKenzie and senior Judy Bruce get ready on June 8, 1954, for the "Grad Dance" that was given by the junior class in honor of the graduating seniors.
1954 - Labor Day Queen
Labor Day Queen Evelyn Gotzion, of Madison, shows her ring to Orla Coleman, president of the Madison Federation of Labor, in September 1954.
1954 - Madison Advertising Club
This photo from March 1954 shows the Madison Advertising Club having dinner.
1954 - Madison Sports Car Club
L. W. Schouppner, left, of Melrose Park, Illinois, and Don Doman, of Janesville, inspect a British-built MG at a Madison Sports Car Club event in September 1954.
1954 - Rose society
Jessie DeWoody, president of the Madison Garden Club, and her son Ralph work on a flower arrangement on May 31, 1954, for the Madison Rose Society exhibit.
1954 - Soap box derby race
Racers wait their turn at the top of Midvale Blvd. on July 25, 1954, to race in the Madison soap box derby. Larry Meicher of Madison stands by his racer, "The Iceberg."
1955 - Monona Terrace plans
This composite from 1955 shows how the proposed Monona Terrace Auditorium would look against the Madison skyline.
1955 - Road work
A construction crew lays blacktop on a residential street in 1955.
1955 - Water skiing
A man and a woman water ski behind a boat June on 12, 1955, on an unidentified Madison lake.
1955 - Wisconsin graduation
The University of Wisconsin holds its graduation ceremony on June 16, 1955, at Camp Randall Stadium.
1955 - Youthful Madison Artists Exhibit
Webb Spraetz and Bruce Taylor sort watercolor paintings at Grace Episcopal Church for the Youthful Madison Artists Exhibit in 1955.
1956 - Frank Lloyd Wright
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Madison Mayor Ivan A. Nestingen sit down to sign a contract between the City of Madison and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in July 1956.
1956 - Madison West vs. Madison East
Madison West High School player Don Quam (81) crowns the homecoming queen, Joan Herreid, at the Madison West High School vs. Madison East football game in November 1956. The queen's attendants include Diane Fellows, left, and Kay Johnson. The other players in the picture are Ken Johnson (60) and John McKenna (85).
1956 - Swim meet
Keith Anderson, left, and Tom Foseid are Madison swimming meet first place winners among boys ages 9 and under in July 1956.Â
1956 - Wisconsin campus
This aerial photo from 1956 shows the upper campus of the University of Wisconsin with Lake Mendota in the background.
1957 - Bookmobile
Librarian Doris Cruger sits at desk inside the Madison Public Library's new bookmobile in July 1957. Standing are Mayor Ivan A. Nestingen, left, and board member Thomas J. Stavrum.
1958 - Female TV hosts
Fern Fowler demonstrates how to make a plant out of tissue paper May 15, 1958, on her how-to program, "The Fern Fowler Show," which was aired once a week on WKOW-TV. At the time, some Madison television programs were hosted by local women and covered topics such as cooking, arts, fashion and crafts.
1959 - Hot dog roasting
Julie Snyder roasts a hot dog at a Madison park shelter fireplace in May 1959Â during a picnic for teenagers.
1959 - Retriever Club
Meg and Jay Balch pet Rusty as he waits his turn to compete in the Madison Retriever Club's annual trial on May 10, 1959.Â
1959 - Young Adult Club
Members of the Madison Young Adult Club celebrate the 13th anniversary of the club at the Madison Community Center in March 1959. Shown (left to right) are Sam Piazza, club publicity chairman; Ivan Haynes, past president; and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Carlson, past president.
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Chris Doyle | Wisconsin State Journal
Online Sports Editor
Sports Web Editor, Social Media Coordinator, and Video/Podcast Producer for the Wisconsin State Journal.
