Madison’s building boom continues. Construction cranes dot the skyline. Huge new apartment buildings are in progress on many of Madison’s largest thoroughfares: East Washington Ave, West Johnson, Regent Street. But downtown, making way for the new means out with the old, and that means demolition of old buildings. Recent city debates over proposed development in the 100 block of State Street, the 400 block of State Street and the 100 block of Mifflin have pitted desires for housing against desires to preserve pieces of Madison history. 

It left us asking: what’s worth saving and how do we decide? Bianca Martin sits down with Madison historian Stu Levitan, longtime former chair of the Madison Landmarks Commission, to examine why we save what we do.

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