MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Italian Workmen’s Club in the National Register of Historic Places on July 22, 2024. The club was established in 1912, and the clubhouse was constructed in 1922 in the Greenbush neighborhood of Madison, Dane County.

Italian immigrants began to arrive in Madison at the beginning of the twentieth century. The first wave of immigrants initially arrived without families and were isolated by language and culture. In Madison, they largely settled in an area known as the Greenbush, and in 1912, a small group met to discuss what would happen if illness or injuries kept them from working. Club Lavoratori Italiani Sicilia di Mutuo Sucorso e Beneficenza, better known as the Italian Workmen’s Club, was formed with 42 paying members. By 1922 with growing numbers, members decided to build a clubhouse and community center. In 1936, a front addition by the prominent architectural firm Law, Law, and Potter elongated the building with a Classical Revival design. 

In the 1960s, urban renewal efforts demolished most of the surrounding Greenbush neighborhood that was the home of the city’s original Italian American community. The Italian Workmen’s Club stands today as one of a few remaining buildings in Madison that is historically associated with this ethnic group. Although it was established as a mutual benefit society, throughout the years the club transitioned to providing scholarships to students of Italian descent and hosts several Italian cultural events annually including their three-day Festa Italia. The Italian Workmen’s Club continues to be a social center for the Italian Americans in the Madison area.

Additional information for the Johnson House is available at:

https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/NationalRegister/NR2796 

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit: https://wisconsinhistory.org/hp/register/

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.