Preservation Programs
The Madison Trust's programming provides our members and the public with opportunities to learn about historic preservation through webinars, seminars, and workshops.
These may include best practices for the restoration and maintenance of older and historic homes; how to contribute to historic preservation work happening in your community; discovering more about architectural history; and a better understanding of local, state, and national designation tools and resources.
2026 Architectural Series
Landmarks
*Special in-person program!*
Frost Woods: Wisconsin’s Next National Register Historic District
Saturday, April 25, 2026
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
The program is sold out, but we encourage joining the waitlist to be alerted to available spots.
Refreshments will be provided after the program.
Tickets: FREE, but registration is required as space is limited
Nestled in the gently rolling terrain along the east edge of Wiicawak Bay, the Frost Woods neighborhood began as a cluster of modernist houses for University of Wisconsin faculty in the 1930s and exploded in the 1950s during a post-WWII population boom. Guided for decades by a homeowners’ association, the neighborhood contains a wealth of midcentury architecture, along with the earliest and finest concentration of the International Style in Wisconsin.
The Wright and Ednah Thomas House, designed in 1931 by Hamilton and Gwenydd Beatty, was the first International-style house in Wisconsin. Courtesy of Justin Miller.
The story of Frost Woods stretches back millennia, however, from Late Woodland effigy mounds to Ho-Chunk seasonal camps to a 19th-century white settler who spared an oak forest. Today, careful stewardship preserves this layered landscape of archaeology, architecture, and community planning.
The neighborhood is in the process of being listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This presentation will highlight the history and architecture of the neighborhood and will explore what makes Frost Woods a unique place and worthy of preservation.
Speaker Justin Miller is an architectural historian at UW-Milwaukee Cultural Resource Management, a research center specializing in historic preservation and archaeological consulting. Justin served as the primary author of the Frost Woods National Register nomination, a collaborative process that brought together the Frost Woods Homes Association, the Monona Landmarks Commission, and the State Historic Preservation Office.
Program & Ticket Information
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. ~ Frost Woods program
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ~ Social hour and refreshments
Venue: Monona Public Library
Tickets: FREE, but registration is required as space is limited
Click here for more information on membership with the Madison Trust.
Registration close at 11:59pm on April 23.
Have Questions?
Do you have questions about our programming? We're here to help!
Contact us at (608) 441-8864 or by email at info@madisonpreservation.org.