To spot the Tenney Building, look directly across from the majestic Wisconsin State Capitol for a tall, ten-story limestone building with green terra cotta details, rows of windows, and a sturdy granite base.
Welcome to the Tenney Building! Imagine it’s 1929: the jazz is playing, the city’s buzzing, and right before you, workers are laying limestone and granite, reaching for the sky, eager to finish Madison’s new Art Deco masterpiece. This isn’t just any office building-it’s the legacy of the Tenney family. Daniel K. Tenney first made his mark with the Italianate Tenney Block here in 1877, but over the years, his family wanted something bigger, bolder, and more modern. Move over, Victorian fuss! In came the expert architects-Law, Law & Potter-who gave us this shimmering skyscraper just as the Roaring Twenties drew to a close.
Step closer and imagine all the action on opening day in 1930. Lawyers, businesspeople, and hopeful dreamers brushed their shoes off before entering a lobby decked in gleaming marble and sparkling bronze light fixtures. The elevator doors promised adventure on every floor. The Tenney Building quickly became the place to see and be seen-at least, until the Great Depression crashed the party. In 1936, the Tenney family lost the building to foreclosure, but don’t feel too sorry for them! The Tenney Building proved tough and remained a prime spot for Madison’s movers and shakers, its halls echoing with deals and debates for decades to come.
Take a moment to admire those green terra cotta spandrels splitting each row of windows, the elegant bronze fixtures crowning the fluted pilasters, and the limestone parapet standing proudly overhead. After a $6 million makeover in 1985, this grand old office tower became a blend of past and present, finally earning its spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. Think of the Tenney Building as Madison’s very own time machine-one with a killer view of the Capitol!
