Madison Senior Center

On June 26, 1983, the Madison Senior Center (MSC) opened its doors to the public. It was a historic achievement, one that took over eight years and one million dollars to accomplish. The Senior Center was the first building in the city designed to serve the needs and goals of Madison’s older generations. Extensive surveying was done early in the building process to ensure that those needs and goals would be met in the center’s design, operations, and resources. The completion of the Madison Senior Center was part of the larger Capitol Centre project originally proposed by Mayor Paul Soglin. This massive undertaking replaced two parking lots with 200 units of elderly housing, apartments, a parking ramp, a supermarket, and yes — the Senior Center. Despite criticisms, Mayor Soglin and later his successor, Mayor Skornicka, believed in the plan and pushed forward. Generous donations from the Madison Rotary Foundation, United Madison Community Foundation, William E. and Edna Walker Fund for the Elderly, Thomas E. Brittingham Sr. Madison Trust, CUNA Mutual Insurance Group Charitable Foundation, Oscar Mayer Foundation, Cremer Foundation, and First Wisconsin National Bank helped ensure the success of the project. Today, the Madison Senior Center continues its mission to promote successful aging. The center welcomes 40,000 visitors annually and offers close to 3,000 events each year. 300 volunteers of all ages help to staff our programming, and over 200 donors support our center annually.

Mission: The Madison Senior Center provides opportunities for older adults to engage in healthy living education and activities in a relevant and inclusive community. Vision: Become known as an inclusive community where older adults thrive. We follow a model outlined by Doctors J.W. Rowe and R.L. Kahn in their book, Successful Aging (1999). There are three key components to successful aging: Avoiding Disease Engagement with Life Maintaining High Cognitive and Physical Function At the Senior Center, we engage older adults as leaders, teachers, and learners to support and balance these goals.