The story behind the Madison’s breathtaking skyline: And is it in danger?

Few views rival the ride into downtown Madison along John Nolen Drive, between Lake Monona and Monona Bay. In the day, the light brightly bounces off the creme capitol dome and, at night, the illuminated dome looks like a larger-than-life child’s night light. But there’s a reason the Capitol dome always appears so pronounced.

In 1966, the city passed the Capitol View Preservation Ordinance (which later became state law) banning any building within a mile of the Capitol from being taller than the base of the columns supporting its dome.

For those keeping score, the Wisconsin State Capitol Building is 284 feet tall. Milwaukee’s US Bank Center is about twice that height at 601 feet. And Chicago’s Willis (Sears) Tower is roughly five times that at 1,451 feet.

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🌃 Why Then? The story goes: City officials were so startled by the construction of Van Hise Hall, which, at 19 stories and 243 feet, is just 41 feet shorter than the Capitol, they passed the ordinance ensuring no future buildings will obstruct the city’s skyline.

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🌃 What Now? As luxury high-rises continue to go up across Madison, developers have occasionally looked into stretching the restriction, but for now, the rule remains intact. Madison Magazine writer Jeff Oloizia did ask that question in his 2023 story, “Will Downtown Madison Ever Ditch Its Height Restriction?” He concluded the answer was probably, but not definitively, not. In 2014, now-retired state Sen. Fred Risser even suggested expanding the protected zone from one to two miles.