Journalist unveils new picture of Wisconsin’s capital city

The University of Wisconsin Press will publish “Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History, Vol. 1, 1856-1921” by Stuart Levitan this month.

Levitan, known to Madisonians as an elected official, urban planner and journalist, uses a magazine-like layout to feature several different photographs or bite-size stories from Madison’s past on every page. Many maps are featured, including all-new maps for each decade that tell the “whats,” “wheres” and “whens” of each era’s important events.

“It’s a picture book about political developments and the built environment, and how they came to be that way,” writes Levitan in the preface. “I hope that by looking at, and learning about, that past, readers will better understand their present — and with that understanding, will better appreciate how acts today will shape the future.”

Levitan also includes shockers not widely known about the city, such as the prominent presence of the Ku Klux Klan in city government and on campus in the 1920s.

“Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History, Vol. 1, 1856-1921” is available at local bookstores and online.

Formed in 1936, the UW Press has published more than 3,000 books for scholars and students, books about Wisconsin, and books that support a literate society.