Memorial Union Terrace
800 Langdon St, Madison, WI
Madison, WI
Sunburst chairs scattered along the shore of Lake Mendota, where the whole city comes to watch the light fade over the water.
The Memorial Union Terrace is one of the most beloved public spaces in Wisconsin, a broad stone patio stepping down to the shore of Lake Mendota behind the University of Wisconsin's historic student union. On a good evening it fills with people of every age, spread across its famous sunburst chairs, listening to music, watching sailboats, and waiting for the sun to drop over the water.
It has been a gathering place for close to a century, open not only to students but to the whole community, and that openness is the heart of its charm. The chairs, painted in bands of green, orange, and yellow, have become an emblem of Madison itself, as recognizable as the Capitol dome across town.
What Guests Love
- The famous green, orange, and yellow sunburst chairs set out along the lake
- Free live music, films, and events through the warm-weather season
- Watching the sun set over Lake Mendota with a cone of Babcock Hall ice cream
- An easygoing, all-ages crowd where students and families mix on the same shore
Worth Knowing
- The Terrace is busiest and liveliest on warm summer evenings and event nights
- The sunburst chairs come out in the warm months, and the Terrace quiets in winter
- Downtown parking fills up on event nights, so walking or biking in is often easier
- Check the Union calendar before you go, since concerts and film nights change through the season
Details
Madison, WI
Learn about Memorial Union Terrace
A union for everyone
Memorial Union opened in the 1920s as a living room for the university, and from the beginning its lakeside terrace was meant to be shared with the wider public. That tradition holds today: anyone can wander in, sit down, and stay as long as they like, without a ticket or a fee. Few great university gathering places are so genuinely open to their city.
The building itself is a handsome, ivy-touched landmark, but it is the Terrace out back that draws the crowds. The patio steps down toward the water in tiers, giving everyone a view of Lake Mendota and the boats crossing it, and the whole space has the unhurried, welcoming feel of a shared backyard.
The sunburst chairs
The Terrace's most famous feature is its chairs, metal cafe seats painted in a bright sunburst pattern of green, orange, and yellow. They are scattered by the hundreds across the patio, easy to drag to the water's edge or pull into a circle with friends, and their cheerful color has made them a symbol of Madison recognized far beyond the campus.
There is a small ritual to the seasons here. The chairs are set out when the weather warms and the Terrace comes alive, and they are put away as the cold sets in and the lake quiets. Their return each spring is a quiet signal, to students and townsfolk alike, that the good months have arrived.
Music, film, and lake life
Through the warm season the Terrace hosts a steady run of free events, live bands most nights, outdoor films projected against the summer dark, and gatherings of every stripe. The programming draws people from across the city, and on a busy evening the patio hums with conversation and music over the lapping of the lake.
The water itself is part of the appeal. The union runs a lakefront outdoor program, and canoes, kayaks, and sailboats move across Lake Mendota just offshore. A cone of ice cream made at the university's own Babcock Hall dairy plant, eaten with your feet up and the sun going down, is close to a required Madison experience.
The lake and the campus beyond
Lake Mendota is the larger of the two lakes that shape Madison, and the Terrace sits on its southern shore at the edge of campus. From here a lakeshore path runs west past university buildings and into the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, a stretch of woods and marsh along the water that feels a world away from downtown.
In the other direction, State Street climbs from the union toward the Capitol Square, lined with shops, cafes, and street performers. The Terrace anchors one end of that walk, so an evening here folds easily into a fuller day exploring downtown Madison on foot.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Madison
State Street
A short walk
The lively pedestrian street connecting the university to the Capitol Square, full of restaurants, shops, and buskers.
Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Along the lake path
A quiet stretch of woodland, marsh, and shoreline along Lake Mendota, laced with walking and biking trails at the campus edge.
Wisconsin State Capitol
About 1 mile
The domed statehouse at the center of downtown, open to visitors, with a grand rotunda and views over the isthmus.