“Madison West” presents the Wisconsin capital at a revealing mid-century moment, mapped by the United States Geological Survey at the highly detailed 1:24,000 scale. Dated 1959 and carrying a 1960 imprint, it records Madison just as postwar expansion was reshaping the city’s western approaches, university precincts, parklands, and lakeside neighborhoods. The quadrangle centers on the distinctive geography that has long defined Madison: an urban capital set amid glacial lakes, ridges, bays, and lowland corridors. Lake Mendota dominates the northern portion of the map, while Lake Monona appears to the southeast, framing the isthmus and the developed city between them. The result is both a scientific survey and a portrait of a city in transition.

The US Geological Survey’s cartographic language gives the map its clarity and authority. Contour lines trace the subtle rises and depressions of the terrain, allowing hills, shorelines, valleys, and drainage patterns to emerge with quiet precision. Water bodies are distinctly rendered, roads and railways are carefully differentiated, and developed areas are shown in relation to the surrounding open land. This conventional topographic style, refined through decades of federal surveying, was designed for practical accuracy, yet it has an understated elegance: every line, symbol, and label contributes to a layered understanding of place. Madison’s combination of city blocks, university grounds, parkland, and lakeshore makes the sheet especially rich in visual and geographic detail.

The University of Wisconsin is one of the map’s most significant landmarks, occupying a commanding position along Lake Mendota and shaping much of the surrounding urban pattern. University Bay and Picnic Point appear as defining features of the campus landscape, emphasizing the close relationship between the institution and the lake. Nearby parks, including James Madison Park, Brittingham Park, Wingra Park, and other recreational spaces, show how public green areas were woven into the city’s fabric. Madison’s streets, rail lines, and principal routes reveal a capital city organized around both civic function and natural constraint. The map captures a place where government, education, residential growth, and recreation all converge within a compact but varied setting.

The topography around Madison is central to the map’s appeal. Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, and the surrounding terrain reflect the region’s glacial history, with shorelines, lowlands, and gently rolling elevations recorded through the USGS contour system. Pheasant Branch and other drainage features mark the subtle movement of water across the landscape, while bays, points, and parklands give the lakeshore its intricate form. Picnic Point, extending into Lake Mendota, is especially evocative, a slender natural promontory that remains one of Madison’s most recognizable landscapes. The juxtaposition of urban development and glacial landforms makes this map more than a city plan: it is a study of how geology shapes settlement.

As a historical document, “Madison West” captures the city during a period of expanding highways, suburban growth, and changing land use. Routes such as US Highway 151, Stoughton Road, and the West Beltline Highway signal the increasing importance of automobile infrastructure in the decades after World War II. Adjacent communities including Middleton, Monona, and Verona place Madison within a wider metropolitan landscape that was beginning to take its modern form. Railways, roads, parks, campus lands, and residential areas together reveal the pressures and possibilities of growth in 1959. For collectors, the map offers a precise and atmospheric view of Madison before later waves of development further transformed its western edges and regional connections.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Madison
• Lake Mendota
• Lake Monona
• University of Wisconsin
• James Madison Park
• Wingra Park
• Picnic Point
• University Bay
• Brittingham Park
• Pheasant Branch
• Stoughton Road
• US Highway 151
• West Beltline Highway
• Middleton
• Monona
• Verona
• Notable roads and railways
• Parks and recreational areas within and surrounding the city

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Madison, Wisconsin and the surrounding area
• Dated 1959 with a 1960 imprint
• Uses conventional topographic representation, including contour lines to show elevation changes
• Features color-coded land use and water bodies
• Shows varied regional topography, including hills, valleys, Lake Mendota, and surrounding terrain
• Captures Madison during a period of growth and development
• Provides insight into mid-century urban expansion and land use changes

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.