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In 1963 the city of Madison named James Madison Park after the United States' fourth president, and the 12 acre park situated on the shore of Lake Mendota remains the center of this neighborhood.  The site was previously an area designated by James Doty in 1836 for the location of a canal connecting Lakes Mendota and Monona. This canal was never dug, but a square of land on Lake Mendota bounded by Franklin, Hancock, and Gorham Streets remained.  In the 1870’s, the sixty-five foot long, one hundred fifty passenger steam yacht Mendota made daily trips around Lake Mendota from this location.

The James Madison Park District contains a number of historical places, including The Gates of Heaven Synagogue. The synagogue was erected in 1863 at 214 W. Washington Ave. by Madison's first Jewish settlers, and is the nation's fourth oldest surviving synagogue. It was moved to its current location at the park in 1970. Today it remains a popular site for weddings. The Robert M. Lamp House, at 22 North Butler St., was built in 1903 and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who described the house as a, “little cream-white brick house with a roof-garden filled with flowers.” Lamp was Wright’s best friend as a child and young adult. Another historical site, the Bernard-Hoover Boathouse, was frist erected by German immigrant Charles Bernard in 1855, while the current building dates to 1915. The Bernard's boathouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places,  is significant because it is the last remaining boathouse marking Madison's commercial pleasure boat and boat livery industry. Today, the boathouse serves as the home of the Mendota Rowing Club.

Once part of the Old Market Place Neighborhood Association, James Madison Park District currently goes from Butler Street on the West to Blair Street on the East to East Washington on the South and Lake Mendota on the North. The neighborhood is a member of Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc.

In the 18th century Mansion Hill was one of the two most prestigious neighborhoods in Madison. The heart of the district is four Victorian mansions located at the corner of Gorham and Pinkney. Mansion Hill currently contains the greatest concentration of intact Victorian mansions, many of which were built by architect August Kutzbock. Kutzbock is also known for designing the The Gates of Heaven Synagogue, currently located in Madison's James Madison Park. In 1976, residents of this beautiful district moved to protect its homes from demolition by appealing to the City of Madison to designate Mansion Hill as an historic district.

The district contains numerous buildings of interst:

• Beecroft House 514 N. Carroll St.(1911): This house was built for Madison dentist William Beecroft and his wife Lucy in 1911. Dr. Beecroft was known as “Mr. Theater” because of his active support of the theater, and his help in establishing both the Strand and the Orpheum. The house is assumed to be designed by Claude and Stark, architects of the original Lincoln School building, who built in the Prairie style, evident in this home's design with banded leaded glass casement windows and wide eaves.

• Belmont Hotel 101 E. Mifflin St. (1923): The eleven story hotel, built in 1923, led state legislature to pass a law that buildings within 1 mile of the capitol could be no higher than the base of the capitol dome. The hotel was built to serve business travelers and legislators, and boasted two dining rooms as well as rooms with adjacent bathrooms, quite modern for the time. The Belmont was sold to the YWCA in 1968.

• Elisha Keyes’ House 102 E. Gorham St. (1853):  Elisha Keyes moved to Madison in 1850 to study law. Throughout the 1850's he was an active member of the Republican party, and his work won him the appointment of postmaster by Abraham Lincoln in 1861. He held this position for 21 years, in addition to serving as mayor of Madison three times in 1865, 1866, and 1868. In 1869 he moved on to succeed Horace Rublee as chairman of the Republican state central committee. The Elisha Keyes' House was originally built for Lansing W. Hoyt, a local land speculator. The original front lawn of the house has been preserved as Period Garden Park after area residents campaigned to protect the open space from apartment house construction.

• Napolean Bonaparte Van Slyke House 510 N. Caroll St. (1859): The house was originally built for Samuel Fox, an successful hardware merchant, before being sold to Napoleon Bonaparte Van Slyke and his second wife Annie, who resided in the home for 49 years. Van Slyke came to Madison from New York state in 1853 and helped form the first title and abstract company and one of the first banks. Van Slyke served as one of first regents of the UW for 30 years, and was quartermaster at Camp Randall during the Civil War. The house's design is distinctive because of its rare stonework, known as “block and stack,” in which large blocks are alternated with smaller stones and then the whole wall is covered in raised mortar joints to highlight the variation in stone size. The Germanic technique may be unique in the United States to the Dane and Sauk County area.

• Old Governors' Mansion (Gilman House) 130 E. Gilman St. (1855): This home was originally built for Catherine and Julius T. White, Secretary of Wisconsin Insurance Company. The house then passed hands to George P. Delaphaine and his wife Emily, who went on to sell the home again in 1867 to State Senator J.G. Thorp, a millionaire lumber baron, and his wife Amelia. In 1883 Governor Jeremiah Rusk purchased the home and sold it to the State of Wisconsin two years later. From 1885-1950, the residence served as the executive mansion for seventeen governors.

• State Capitol and Grounds 1 W. Mifflin St.: Our state capital has had three evolutions. The first capitol was begun in 1837 and completed in 1848. This building was later demolished in 1862 to make room for a larger more modern capitol; however, this second capitol burned down in 1904. The current capitol was built over a span of five phases stretching over eleven years from 1906-1917 and designed by George Brown Post and Sons. Post's design is classical in nature, consisting of a cruciform plan with a center dome, with each of the four wings aligning with the cardinal compass directions. The four wings contain entablatures, pediments and sculptures all arranged in a traditional manner and depicting themes particular to Wisconsin. The granite dome was completed in 1915, and is the only granite dome in the United States. The Capitol is now designated as a National Historic Landmark.

First Settlement District was home to the first residential settlement in Madison located at 128 S. Butler St. and owned by Roseline and Eben Peck in 1837. This residence was home to workers who were constructing the first capitol building. Throughout the 19th century the area continued to grow, primarily with the construction of modest frame houses and the occasional finer brick residence. After WWII the development of downtown Madison began to take over the area. In the 1970's a revival effort began and some returned to the area to restore the simple houses. In the 1980s the district joined Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc., which aided in creating a First Settlement master plan, and the district was named the fifth historic district in Madison in 2002.

Visitors to the settlement today can enjoy Blair Street Gardens, a private, non-profit community garden that has thrived for the past 21 years through the efforts of volunteers. The gardens are located at the intersection of Blair and Williamson Street. A more historic spot of interest is the Fess Hotel, originally erected in 1858 at 123 E. Doty St. by English immigrant George Fess. Before the hotel, Fess ran a grocery store and eating house on the site. Many phases of the building are evident today; the original portion of the hotel was demolished, but a cream brick portion built on the western half in 1883 remains. The eastern half of the building, also built around 1880, was remodeled in 1901 to fit the fashionable Queen Anne style of that time. The Fess Hotel served railroad travelers, legislators, and weekly boarders, and took up a large portion of the block it stands on. The operation included a saloon, dining room, barber shop, ice house and livery. The hotel remained in the Fess family until 1973, when it was sold to be renovated as a restaurant.

The Bassett District is most famous for its historic tobacco warehouses, which today are undergoing impressive renovation. The American Tobacco Warehouses at 651 Doty. St. were built in 1899 and were used to process leaf tobacco, which was Dane County's most lucrative cash crop from the Civil War through the 1940's. In its prime, the tobacco warehouses employed over 350 men, women, boys and girls during the six month winter season. Currently, the warehouses are slated to be renovated into modern loft apartments as part of the district's drive to encourage the establishment of single-owner residences in the area. In recent years, over fifty million dollars have been privately invested in the district, revitalizing an area once known only for off-campus housing and block parties.

In addition to the tobacco warehouses, the Stoner House and La Follette House remain as reminders of the area's history. The Stoner House, located at 321 S. Hamilton St, was constructed in 1858 for Henry and Janet Staines, Scottish immigrants who first settled in Sauk County. In 1863 the house briefly passed through the hands of butcher Robert Nichols and his wife Christina. In 1865 Joseph J. and Harriet Stoner acquired the home and lived there for two decades. Joseph Stoner is known for publishing birds'-eye views of cities all over the country, which are now significant historical records of our nation's history in the 19th century. In 1884 the Stoners retired to a farm outside of Madison and later moved to California.

In 1922, Varley and Ellen Bond purchased the house and undertook extensive renovations; unfortunately, after they left in 1957 the house was divided into offices and fell into a state of terrible disrepair to the point that it stood vacant for over a decade. Finally, in 1983 the Wisconsin Architects Foundation received the building and moved it to the corner of the block to accommodate a condominium project. The Foundation restored the building and have kept their offices there since.

Built in 1854, the LaFollette House became home to “Fighting Bob” LaFollette and his wife, Belle Casa LaFolette, in 1881. Both were graduates of the UW Law School, with Belle earning the distinction of being the first woman to do so. The LaFollettes are two of the most recognizable state political figures, devoting their careers and speaking skills to fighting corruption and special privilege, and campaigning in favor of the Progressive party and woman's suffrage. Robert LaFollette went on to a distinguished career as U.S. congressman, governor, U.S. senator and candidate for President.

In the spring of 1969 a group of counterculture youth and students found themselves in frequent conflict with local authorities, in particular Republican mayor Bill Dyke. The residents decided to have a spring street dance to celebrate for a variety of reasons, including to celebrate community, protest Vietnam and display independence. Whatever the reason, the authorities intervened and the street party descended into riots lasting over three days. The annual Mifflin St. block party grew out of this event, and for a time the area was largely associated with those events of the past.

Today, the Mifflin West District has risen to become of the Madison's premiere entertainment and cultural centers, including the recent construction of the Overture Center for the Arts, the development of upscale residential facilities such as Metropolitan Place, and a Madison icon, State Street. These construction and renovation projects stand side by side with some Madison's historic landmarks, providing a unique combination of past and present. One such historic landmark is the Woman's Building, at 240 W. Gilman St, which was built for the Woman's Club of Madison in 1906. The Club was organized in 1893 as part of a national women's movement during the Progressive Era. Women across the country organized Woman's Clubs as a means of exercising their influence on local government in lieu of voting. The Madison club is noted for having positive effects on local health and public safety issues, and eventually grew to be able to establish a philanthropic committee to support local cultural programs. Another historic building is Grace Episcopal Church, a well-known landmark of Capitol Square, which remains as one of the first churches founded in the area. Built in 1855 of native golden sandstone, its congregation dates back to 1836. Parishioners still actively attend the church located at 116 W. Washington Ave.

The State/Langdon District contains part of State St., much of the university, and the Memorial Union. Home to many UW students, these three entities make up a large part of what most people think of when they think Madison. The University of Wisconsin-Madison was founded in 1848 with only 17 students attending. Today, enrollment stretches to over 40,000 and the campus encompasses over 900 acres of land. A mainstay of student life is the Memorial Union, which was founded in 1907 and built on the lakeshore in 1928. The union serves as the hub of university student life with an estimated 15,000 students, faculty, staff, and guests meeting to eat, drink, unwind and enjoy the view of Lake Mendota on a daily basis. State St. links the capitol square with the University of Madison. State St. is a pedestrian mall, prohibiting motorized vehicles and lined with over 200 shops and stores, over 60 restaurants and 20 sidewalk cafes, and a number of theaters and museums. With all this to offer the State/Langdon neighborhood is a center of activity and diversity.