Retiring Guy Visits the Lobby of the Churchill Building

It's either the holidays or lease renewal time.

The Churchill Building, as it is now known, is located on the North Carroll Street side of the Capitol Square. The 9-story structure houses a number of offices and suites. In fact, my wife used to work here -- on one of the upper floors; I remember the great view -- in the early 1990s, well before the remodeling of the lobby. (The rest of the interior space has also undergone improvements.)

Here's what Stuart Levitan writes about this landmark building in his book, "Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History, Volume 1, 1856-1931.

Madison's First Skyscraper. In early 1911, just months after John Nolen urged an immediate height limit on buildings on the square, developer Leonard Gay revealed plans for a nine-story office building across the capital at 16 North Carroll Street. It was to be the tallest building in the state outside Milwaukee, and opposition to the encroachment at both local and state levels was swift but unsuccessful. An unexceptional design by future mayor James R. Law, the Gay Building boasted reinforced concrete fireproof construction and high-speed elevators when it opened in February 1915. The tallest building in town until the Belmont Hotel in 1923, it underwent a name change, to the Churchill Building, in the 1970s. (page 189)