Living memory

Published: November 1, 2009

Photo submitted by Sen. Fred Risser’s office

Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, will step down from the state Building Commission next year after 40 years of service, but the legacy he leaves in beautiful buildings will stand for decades to come.

The longest-serving state legislator in Wisconsin and U.S. history, Risser’s contributions to state building projects can be seen throughout Madison. He fought hard for the restoration of the state Capitol building there, among other projects, said Dave Helbach, administrator of state facilities and secretary of the commission.

“He’s a preservationist and wanted it the way it was back in the early 1900s,” Helbach said of the senator’s push for Capitol improvements.

“When they wanted to put in aluminum windows, he put his foot down and insisted upon protecting the character of the building by restoring the original cherry wood windows.”

Risser’s decades of service have made him an institution in Wisconsin politics, said Alan Fish, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management. The senator serves as the official and unofficial historian of the state Building Commission, he said.

“There are not many projects that come up that he can’t recall the details of,” Fish said. “It’s pretty amazing to have that capacity sitting on the committee.”

Those memories of successful projects — and failures — are invaluable, he said.

“He remembers the good and the bad,” Fish said, “and doesn’t let us repeat the bad.”

When bad construction does happen, Risser is not afraid to accept that reality and correct the mistake, as evidenced in his role in both the construction and destruction of UW-Madison’s Ogg Hall.

When Fish was briefing Risser on the plans to tear down Ogg a few years ago, the longtime senator got a funny look on his face, Fish said.

“I said, ‘Fred, what’s wrong?’” he said. “He replied, ‘Back in 1962, I voted to build Ogg Hall, and now I’m going to be voting to tear it down.’”

Risser was good-natured about the decision, however, and even has a brick from the original Ogg Hall on his desk, Fish said.

Helbach and Fish both cite Risser as a crucial supporter of many UW projects over the years, most recently the state-of-the-art Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery in Madison. Due to the controversial stem cell research that will be conducted at the institute, the project needed a lot of support from the Legislature, Fish said, and Risser stood firm behind it the whole time.

“His legacy will be some of the most beautiful buildings on campus,” Helbach said. “He’s a treasure for the state of Wisconsin.”