By Dan Tortorice
Friends of Lake View Hill Park

The Northside is undeniably beautiful. Warner Park, Cherokee Marsh, Lake Mendota shoreline, numerous neighborhood parks, undeveloped areas and dog parks provide us with many options to get out and enjoy nature. It is easy to think we are lucky but that is only part of the equation. As every “natural beauty” will tell you, it takes work to look good. Lake View Hill Park, the iconic combination of elevated greenspace, historic county office building and urban woodland that commands a presence on Northport Drive, is no exception. It took a community to establish the park and continues to take a community to sustain it.

Lake View Hill Park began life as part of the campus of the tuberculosis sanatorium that served the Madison area from 1930‒1959 and then became the Dane County Office of Human Services. By the late 1980s the county was exploring other uses for the property, including selling it so the historic buildings could be removed and housing could be built. The neighborhood was stunned. 

Annette and Nelson Eisman quickly reinvigorated the Lake View Hill Neighborhood Association and a SAVE THE HILL campaign was born. After many meetings and protest demonstrations, the Dane County Board of Supervisors placed the hill in protected greenspace in the county’s Park and Open Spaces Plan. The property was safe for the time being, but more importantly, there was a group of people invested in its value to the community as a special kind of resource.

The neighbors, working with County Board Supervisors Mark Gerhardt, Nelson Eisman, Jim Mohrbacher and Dorothy Wheeler, negotiated with the city and county to have the property put into permanent conservancy and later into an official county park. The property was safe but in poor condition. Dane County Parks hired Applied Ecological Services (AES) to study the condition of the property and make recommendations for improvement.

A truly lucky break came when Jim and Maria Powell bought their home that borders on the park. Jim was the facilitator for the Northside Planning Council at the time and was instrumental in forming the Friends of Lake View Hill Park, including helping it become an official nonprofit. Jim and Maria brought new energy to the neighborhood, and their special relationship to the park continues to this day.

Another break, this one relying on preparation rather than luck, came when Sue Gleason recognized that cellphone technology was going to demand the placement of telecom antennas on tall structures and the water tower on the top of the Lake View Hill provided coveted space without additional construction. She convinced Dane County Parks to use the revenues from the rent of these antennas to provide for restoration of the park. Jon Becker led the effort to negotiate a formal partnership agreement with Dane County Parks for applying the funds to the restoration.

Having purpose, being organized, joining with Dane County Parks, and with access to funds, the Friends of Lake View Hill Park has been able to progress with the implementation of the AES plan. With the help of many volunteers, including youth groups, Blackhawk Church, scout troops, UW students, American Family, Johnson Bank, AmeriCorps, the Neighborhood Intervention Program and Malcolm Shabazz High School, the park continues to develop as a beautiful place to stroll, learn and appreciate our natural environment.

Lake View Hill Park is one of only three Dane County Parks that is recognized for both its cultural and geographic significance. Everyone is invited to join and participate. You can check out the website at lakeviewhill.org. Like many of the original SAVE THE HILL participants, you may find a lifelong passion amongst the flora and fauna of our urban woods.