Locksmith Services in Madison, WI

Homes and locks in Madison

The Madison Landmarks Commission reviews all exterior changes in the city's five local historic districts:

• Mansion Hill, north of Capitol Square, has the most intact Victorian houses in Madison. Many are now multi-unit housing, largely for students, so one house can have a street door, a shared hall and several unit doors.
• Third Lake Ridge, the largest district, includes the oldest section of the Marquette neighborhood: cottages, mansions, churches, hotels, warehouses and early multi-family buildings.
• First Settlement, next to Capitol Square, holds the site of Madison's first American settler house, an 1837 log boarding house.
• University Heights, platted in 1893 as an early suburb, has Queen Anne, Prairie and Period Revival houses, including work by Frank Lloyd Wright.
• Marquette Bungalows is 47 similarly sized bungalows on two blocks, built from 1924 to 1930.

Check with the city's Planning Division before replacing an exterior door or storefront in these districts. A lock rekey or lock repair keeps the original door in place.

On the west side, University Hill Farms was built from the 1950s on a former University of Wisconsin experimental farm. Of its 820 buildings, 613 are ranch style, and deed restrictions on most lots called for attached garages, so the garage entry is one more door to put on the house key.

Businesses and buildings

A 2019 Madison Police Department notice treats State Street as a pedestrian mall. Private vehicles may use it only with a State Street Auto Permit displayed, for up to 30 minutes, for jobs such as maintenance at a business there. The permit is picked up from the business on arrival; longer jobs use legal parking off State Street.

Car trouble in Madison

From November 15 to March 15, the city runs alternate side parking from 1 to 7 a.m.: odd-numbered side on odd dates, even side on even dates. In the Snow Emergency Zone, which covers the downtown isthmus and neighborhoods such as Tenney-Lapham, Marquette, Vilas and Dudgeon-Monroe, the rule applies only during a declared snow emergency. The city declares one when it needs to plow all residential streets, usually after three or more inches of snow, and always before 9 p.m.

During one, drivers can park in gated sections of City-operated garages from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., off the top level, for up to 48 hours. A 1 a.m. move is a bad time to find the only key missing; see car key replacement.

Local rules worth knowing

Madison General Ordinances section 27.05(2)(h) sets lock standards for rented dwelling units, including:

• A keyed deadbolt on every unit door, with at least a 1-inch throw and a strike plate held by 2.5-inch screws.
• A door viewer in each main entrance door to a unit.
• A secondary lock on sliding doors.
• Ventilating locks, holding the sash 1 to 5 inches open, on double-hung and sliding windows and doors below the second story or reachable from balconies, fire escapes or trees.
• In buildings with two or more units opening off a common area, a storeroom (positive locking guarded latch) lock and self-closer on exterior doors. Passcodes on keypad or digital locks there must change at least yearly; see smart lock installation.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Requesting service in Madison

Wisconsin Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Madison. Include your neighborhood or cross streets, whether the building is historic or has a shared entry, and for a State Street shop, whether a vehicle permit will be available. See commercial locksmith and car lockout service, or the Wisconsin page.