The Schenk-Atwood-Starkweather-Yahara Neighborhood Association (SASYNA) was founded in 1999 to work towards the betterment of its community. The neighborhood is enclosed by Lake Monona and the Starkweather Creek on the south and east, and the Canadian Pacific Railroad tracks, E. Washington Ave. and 1st St. on the north and east.
The area is home to Barrymore Theater, once Eastwood Theater, which was built in 1929 and was the third movie theater in Madison. The original theater was built in 1929 and stayed open until the late 1970's. After standing vacant for a brief spell in the 1980's it was renovated and opened as The Barrymore live theater in 1987.
Another place of interest in this neighborhood is Olbrich Botanical Gardens. In 1916 Michael Olbrich began purchasing areas of badly polluted land where Starkweather Creek met Lake Monona. This area was largely swampland that extended from Lake Monona up to Atwood Ave. Olbrich purchased the land with a great deal of his own money coupled with fundraising. In 1922, the Madison Parks Foundation was founded to raise the rest of the money, and Olbrich Park was named after Michael Olbrich's unexpected death in 1929. It wasn't until 1950 that an actual park began to take shape, with the additions of gardesn and buildings, and in 1979 the Olbrich Botanical Society took over fundraising efforts, which continues to improve the park today.
