Although there was no town, the site was selected as the site of the territorial capital in 1836. The downtown area is located on an 8 bock wide isthmus between Lake Monoa and Lake Mendota. Mendota is about 8 miles long.

The capitol, built in 1917, is by law, the dominant building on the skyline. A tree lined mall connects the capitol to the University of Wisconsin which was founded in 1848.