When the United States was suddenly plunged into war late in 1941, many aspects of the normal life of its citizens underwent a radical change. Within a short period of time the federal government assumed control of many aspects of ordinary life that had previously been looked after by the nation’s private economy. Rationing of basic commodities such as gasoline, meat, sugar, rubber, and building supplies was introduced and agencies whose mission was to reallocate such commodities were created. In the process, many communities throughout the nation experienced great social changes, and in some cases, they were changed physically as well when the nation’s manufacturing resources were repurposed and expanded to meet the needs of the new war economy.

The history of the Coolidge Street-Myrtle Street Historic District is an excellent example of how wartime necessity resulted in changes in the physical development of the city of Madison that would turn out to be long-term amenities once the war ended. The earliest portion of the district, forty small houses located on Coolidge Street, were built by John W. Tilton, an Illinois real estate developer who took advantage of new federal rules regarding the allocation of building materials to build a small neighborhood of privately funded housing that was intentionally created to provide housing for families engaged in defense work in Madison area industries.

These small, one-and-one-half-story-tall pre-fabricated houses were built by the Gordon-Van Tine Co. of Davenport, Iowa, between 1942 and 1943 and they were promptly sold. Once the war ended, Tilton took advantage of additional new federal rules regarding the allocation of building materials to build another 119 privately funded pre-fabricated houses between 1946 and 1948 that could only be sold to returning veterans of the war. The components of these new houses were fabricated by the Harnischfeger Corp. of Port Washington, Wisconsin, and these houses were located on both Coolidge Street adjacent to Tilton’s earlier development and on the newly created Myrtle Street and they also sold quickly. The resulting 159-building district became one of Madison’s very first new post-war suburbs and it is still very intact today and it continues to be a vital part of the larger residential neighborhood that surrounds it.

These properties are private. Please respect the rights and privacy of the owners.