Now that you have moved into the neighborhood, I'd like to invite you to explore the environs. With that in mind, here is a brief tour of the neighborhood.

Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood is what we call ourselves with Tenney coming from Daniel K. Tenney,1834-1915, Madison lawyer, civic activist, and parks advocate instrumental in the formation of our most famous landmark, Tenney Park. I'm partial however to Increase Lapham (I like the first name), 1811-1875, a 19th century Renaissance man who was a pioneer Wisconsin naturalist and is often called the first Wisconsin scholar and naturalist.

The 1990 census indicated Tenney-Lapham as having a population of 3,461. There is a nice mixture of renters and homeowners. A 1993 survey showed the neighborhood as having 537 single-family homes, 15 condominiums, 410 two-unit apartments, and 628 apartments in buildings with 3 or more units.

Although the price of housing has skyrocketed during the past five years, according to 1997 city records the average single-family house in the Lapham School-Breese Stevens Area is $96,800, much more affordable than the city average of $132,800. The average value for those in the Tenney Park area is $133,600 and for those living along lakeshore on Sherman Avenue, $312,800.

One of the finest aspects of living here is the parks. Tenney Park, on the eastern border, is a haven for swimming, fishing, and just relaxing. In the current Isthmus, it was voted Madison's favorite park for ice skating. Giddings Park is a little known park behind Christ Presbyterian Church - a great spot for viewing sunsets and getting away from crowds. If you like soccer or throwing frisbees, head to Reynolds Park on the 800 block of E. Mifflin - another secret spot is the tennis court on top of the water reservoir at Reynolds.

The closest libraries are the Central Library off the Square at 201 W. Mifflin Street and the Hawthorne Branch at 2817 East Washington Avenue.

If you like historical houses, get a copy of a recently published free brochure, The Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood: A Walking Tour, available at the library or by calling Richard Linster at 251-1937.

If you are wondering why there are those strange signs prohibiting parking on certain sides of the street Thursday or Friday mornings, the neighborhood is involved in a street sweeping program to alleviate some of the pollution that goes directly into the lakes.

We're proud of our neighborhood schools: Lapham, O'Keefe, Marquette, and East. For many years Lapham was closed and the neighborhood association was instrumental in the fight to have it reopened.

Take some time to explore our businesses. The 700-900 blocks of E. Johnson Street are a shopper's delight with something to appeal to people of all ages. East Washington Avenue has a number of excellent restaurants and bars, including the Avenue Bar, which the previously mentioned Isthmus poll indicated as having Madison's best Friday night fish fry.

The neighborhood has one of the more active city neighborhood associations. You can voice your concerns at the monthly neighborhood meetings held the fourth Thursday of every month (call Richard Linster at 251-1937 for details). And the neighborhood association sponsors a number of social events each year, a winter potluck dinner, a spring pancake supper, a summer ice cream social, and a fall spaghetti dinner (see details elsewhere). This newsletter is published bimonthly and hand delivered to every household in the neighborhood (if you'd like to write an article, call the editor).

We hope you enjoy your stay in our neighborhood. Welcome!


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