They say the more things change, the more they stay the same, but these pictures from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Services show that plenty of things have changed over the past few decades. Though many of our parks look unchanged, there’s plenty in and around the parks to show just how different things were a couple of decades ago.
Take a stroll down memory lane with some of these gorgeous and interesting historical pictures:
1. This aerial picture of the Madison isthmus from 1954 shows some development and even some smoke stacks.
6. This Bayfield fish boil from 1967 is more than a little alarming, but the folks milling about don't seem too concerned. I'm not sure we'd advocate for tossing gasoline on the flames anymore.
7. These days, the boil is a lot less public and a lot more about going to a restaurant and letting them do all the work. Folks are waiting inside to partake in the delicious fish.
14. Back in 1954, UW-Madison's Camp Randall Stadium was a single bowl. Most of the university hadn't spread that far and the stadium was in a residential area.
15. There's still some residential area around Camp Randall, but the stadium is about three times the capacity, fully lighted and part of the university sprawl towards this side of town. With Regent St. built up, it's hard to imagine it was once so small.
18. This one is a bit "the more things change, the more they stay the same." In 1967, Chequamegon Bay was still an outlet for logging companies to ship their wares.
24. After making you nostalgic and forcing you to face the passing of time, here's a pair of photos that are remarkably unchanged in the 70 years between them. This one, from 1946, shows the view from Gibraltar Rock in Lodi.
