Photo of Monona Terrace Open-Air Dining
Access Guidelines for Attendees of the GWS 50th Anniversary Celebration
“There is a good feeling after and while you are experiencing access intimacy. It is a freeing, light, loving feeling. It brings the people who are a part of it closer; it builds and deepens connection.” Mia Mingus, Access Intimacy: The Missing Link
The 50th Anniversary is committed to ensuring accessibility for everyone interested in celebrating, speaking, learning, and being in community with one another. Please read the following information carefully, as it will assist us in caring for one another during our time together in October. If you have any questions or concerns, please email: gws@gws.wisc.edu.
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
BATHROOMS
A gender-neutral bathroom is a bathroom that anyone of any gender can use. Monona Terrace offers gender neutral bathrooms at every public restrooms location throughout the facility. Public restrooms are on Levels One, Two and Four on the ends of the east and west corridors. Level Six, the rooftop, also has accessible restrooms on both the east and west ends. Women’s, men’s and unisex/
family restrooms are all accessible.
NURSING/LOW-SENSORY ROOMS
Monona Terrace offers a room with comfortable furniture, low-level lighting, sanitizer and supplies, a plug-in connection, and privacy via a locking door that can serve as both a lactation/nursing space and as a low-sensory space. On Main Level Four, go to the main entrance, ask a greeter to escort you to this room and provide you a key. For convenience, the Nursing/Low-Sensory room is on the same floor and in the general area of the 50th anniversary event.
TRANSPORTATION
Madison Marriott South, with whom the 50th anniversary event has a hotel room block, offers a complimentary shuttle to and from Monona Terrace as well as the Dane County airport.
PARKING
Sterling Hall has select UW-Madison Lots that are nearby and offer public parking. On Thursday and Friday, they cost $1 per 30 minutes for the first 3 hours, then $1 per hour after, with a $15 per day maximum.
Closest options to Sterling Hall are:
UW-Lot 20 (University Avenue Ramp)
UW-Lot 17 (Engineering Drive Ramp)
Monona Terrace features a State-owned and managed 600-space, automated parking structure available 24/7 and is accessible via West Wilson Street and the eastbound lanes of John Nolen Drive. Acceptable forms of payment for the automated ramp include Master Card, Visa, Discover, American Express or cash (no coin). Parking meters are also available for parking and can be accessed at the Wilson Street entrance–simply stay to the right as you enter to get to the top level where the meters are located.
Monona Terrace parking is accessible from Levels Three, Four, and Five. Enter the parking ramp from John Nolen Drive, or West Wilson Street, just south of Carroll Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Accessible parking meters are available from the drive-through/drop-off lane at either end of the building. Accessible parking stalls are located on the lower level of the parking structure in front of the Level Three entrance. Curb cuts are located in close proximity to accessible parking and make travel to the building convenient for people who use wheelchairs.
COVID RESOURCES
Monona Terrace ensures high-quality HEPA filtration throughout, and the 50th anniversary event has added two additional air purifying units from the Clean Air 608 to select event rooms on both days of the event. Open-air dining is available on the Lake Vista Cafe, a rooftop dining space with sprawling cityscape and lake views, located in the William T. Evjue Rooftop Gardens. Please note that the cafe’s food service will be closed for the season but the dining space remains open for relaxation and/or seating to enjoy the 50th anniversary event’s catered small plates. We also have N95, cloth, and paper masks available for each guest.
FAMILY FRIENDLY
The 50th anniversary event space will be set up to be family-friendly throughout the day. Children are welcome to participate, free of charge, in the 50th anniversary event’s dance and reception after the keynote.
MOBILITY
For entrance accessibility, there are power-assisted doors at all Monona Terrace entrances. Wheelchairs are available free of charge at the Information Booth on Level Four right inside the main entrance. For wheelchair accessibility, all spaces in Monona Terrace are accessible. In addition, all room setups can be arranged to accommodate wheelchair accessibility. All levels inside the building are accessible by elevator and/or escalator. An exterior bicycle elevator located on the east end of the building allows access to the bike path and Olin Terrace (street level – Level Five).
SERVICE ANIMALS
Monona Terrace acknowledges and follows all ADA guidelines regarding aid companions. Trained service animals are permitted with proper supervision.