Construction on downtown fence comes to completion
MADISON — For about five years, members of the Madison Station Historical and Preservation Society have wanted to install a permanent fence on the south side of the railroad tracks in downtown Madison. This year, they were able to accomplish their goal just in time for the 42nd annual Madison Street Festival.
For events held in the downtown in years past, such as the Street Festival or Christmas Tree Lighting, the police have had to put up big, plastic orange fencing to block the railroad tracks. The Historical Society wanted a more permanent solution, though — one that aligned more with their goal of preserving the history of downtown Madison and beautifying it.
Although they talked about it for years, this year, they received the funding required for the project. Multiple members of the Historical Society credit Alabama State Senator Tom Butler for his role in securing a grant to aid in the fence’s cost.
“It was a chance for the money to meet the need,” Senator Butler said.
Upon receiving funding via the grant and from the City of Madison, the Historical Society partnered with Huntsville Residential Fencing for designing and building the fence.
After starting the project, the Historical Society encountered basically no issues.
It was important to everyone involved in the planning that in addition to providing necessary safety, the fence was compatible with the downtown’s historic look. The resulting fence is 4 feet high and 684 feet long. It is made of steel and painted black.
Historical Society member Walt Anderson extended praise to everyone involved in the project for ensuring everything ran so smoothly.
“It was a collaboration of a lot of folks,” he said. “It was so easy to work with everybody because we had a goal in mind and it came to fruition.”
As the construction came to a close, the Historical Society has been met with only supportive reactions from everyone.
“[It has been] fabulous,” Anderson said. “Everybody who has talked about it, has talked about how good that fence looks. Everything about it has been positive.”
The Historical Society has worked closely with the City of Madison throughout the years to accomplish its goals, such as the fence.
“The city has been most gracious about a public-private partnership with us downtown to develop it into what you see now,” Anderson said. “They’re encouraging further development down here to preserve our history but to expand the downtown into usable modern businesses. A city is often judged by how they deal with their downtown. We want to be part of making that a good judgment.”
As a longtime member of the Historical Society and a Madison resident with deep roots in the area (his grandfather served as mayor of Madison for several years), Anderson feels proud of the ways that the downtown has grown and seen more attention in recent years. In the last five years, multiple restaurants and businesses have opened in the area.
Fellow Historical Society member and downtown business owner, Tony Sensenberger said he wants “to have [downtown] be a destination in Madison to go to. It’s on people’s mind, saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got to go downtown to check things out.’” The society aims to continue sustaining the historic beauty of downtown Madison through projects such as the fence to make it all the more appealing for people to visit.
“We’re real proud of what we’ve accomplished up until now and we’re looking forward to doing more,” Anderson said.
