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St. Vinny’s Williamson Street thrift store has been recognized for architectural and design achievement and is honored to receive a 2025 Historic Preservation Award. Our thrift store and adjoining Social Service Suite on Madison’s east side was chosen as this year’s Sensitive Infill Award from Madison Trust for Historic Preservation.

This space is extra special because our charitable service in Dane County began in the Williamson-Marquette neighborhood where the store stands today.

Building History

In 1925 parishioners at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church and Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Madison formed our first St. Vincent de Paul conferences. These members visited struggling neighbors in their homes and offered assistance like food, clothing, and other basic essentials. By 1941 the supply closets they kept at the churches for these essentials were becoming too full. With a $1,000 loan from St. Vincent de Paul friends in Milwaukee, members purchased the building at 409 S. Baldwin Street in Madison to form a “Salvage Bureau” to give away clothing and household goods to families in need.

This “Salvage Bureau” later turned into a thrift store when the amount of donated goods exceeded the amount they could give away. The store grew in 1954 with the addition of the J.A. Brady Garage next door, and again in the late 1970’s and 1980’s with the addition of former retail and restaurant space. The house formerly on the corner of Baldwin and Williamson street served as our food pantry during the 1990’s until 2008. It then provided housing for women leaving incarceration and office space for our housing program. 

Today, the first floor of this beautiful remodeled and expanded space is all retail, supporting our mission and anchoring our thrift store operations. The second floor is program space for our social services programs. It’s home to the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Program which provides housing stabilization support for newly-housed families. It’s also home to our microlending program which helps people escape predatory debts including payday and auto title loans. This building stays true to the character of the Williamson-Marquette Neighborhood history and stays true to our history of service in Dane County.

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View all 2025 Historic Preservation Award winners

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Special Thanks To…

Mural for St. Vincent de Paul Social Services Building

This beautiful mural now hangs in the lobby of the new St. Vincent de Paul Social Services Building! Above St. Vinny’s Willy St. at the intersection of Williamson and Baldwin Streets in Madison, the mural will welcome people into the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and Microlending program spaces.

A huge round of applause goes to Eva Pratt, St. Vinny’s Verona Assistant Store Manager, for creating this art! Additional thanks to Deborah Goedel, St. Vinny’s Verona Store Manager and Leighla Baney, St. Vinny’s Waunakee Assistant Store Manager, for their design collaboration.

The mural showcases and highlights the connection between our thrift stores and charitable programs across Dane County. Two more panels will be installed beneath the stairs. While four separate pieces of artwork, each panel flows together. When asked about the inspiration, Eva said…

“The ideas were all of ours, we collaborated. We thought about the services that we, Society of St. Vincent de Paul — Madison, offer and talked about the history of our first thrift store on Williamson Street. It was interesting doing research on the store to understand our history. We went with a somewhat 1950s vibe with that section. I knew the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Program was going to be upstairs in this building, so I thought that it would be a really nice visual of the mother and children walking up to people helping them. We did some preliminary sketches, looked it over all together, and came to agreement on what looked good. After that, I went for a cleaner sketch and designed the final artwork.”

Experience the benefits of shopping thrift on National Thrift Shop Day, August 17th!

National Thrift Shop Day highlights the positive impact that thrift shopping has on both the environment and the local economy. By shopping at St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores, shoppers support sustainable fashion, reduce waste, and contribute to the well-being of Dane County. In addition, shoppers help neighbors in need through programs that provide food, medicine, microloans, housing support, and more. The stores also offer direct charity through clothing, furniture, and household goods vouchers to people in need.

“We are thrilled to celebrate National Thrift Shop Day with our shoppers,” said Brooke Trick, Senior Director of Retail Operations at St. Vincent de Paul — Madison. “When you shop at St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores, you’ll find quality clothing, household goods, furniture, great deals, and unique items. When you shop, you’ll also support our mission of helping our neighbors in need. We’re proud to operate seven thrift stores across Dane County. All donations we receive, and store proceeds stay in our community.”

 

Find your nearest St. Vinny’s Thrift Store to shop on August 17th, National Thrift Shop Day:

 

To learn more about St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores, visit /shop/.

When you shop at St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores, you help our neighbors in need! By simply choosing to “Round Up” your total at checkout, you’re contributing to programs that support local families each month.

What is Round Up?

Round Up is a simple concept. When you make a purchase at St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores, you have the option to round up your total to the nearest dollar. For example, if your total is $9.75, you can round up to $10.00, donating the extra 25 cents to support one of our charitable programs.

Each month, Round Up highlights a different service. This means that each month your spare change goes directly to a new cause, allowing you to help our neighbors in need in various ways throughout the year.

You are supporting:

When you Round Up at St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores, you’re not just making a purchase; you’re making a statement. You’re showing that you care about the well-being of our neighbors and are willing to contribute to building a better community. So next time you shop, consider “Round-ing Up” your total! Your small change will make a big impact.

 

Looking for a local retail to shop, thrift and save in the Dane County, Wisconsin area? Shop St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores! Find your nearest St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store here…

Thrift Stores

Stores are open Monday – Saturday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm and Sunday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Outlet Store

Store is open Monday – Sunday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

 

To find other St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores across the country, visit https://thriftstores.ssvpusa.org/store-locator/.

At St. Vinny’s, we take your donations seriously!

Every piece of clothing, book or furniture item you donate makes its way to the St. Vincent de Paul Processing Center in Madison. Once there, it is inspected, priced, hung (if needed), and placed on a semi trailer for delivery to one of our seven thrift stores. A team of about 80 people (55 on any given day) work here. Each type of donated item has its own sorting room: electronics, softlines (clothing, linen), hardlines (knick-knacks, kitchen goods), books, furniture.

Centralized processing at our warehouse means our thrift stores operate like traditional retail. When staff receive new goods at their stores, the items are already sorted, priced and ready for sale! Centralized processing allows us to randomly distribute goods across our stores.

After staff diligently inspect each donation, items are sent to one of these four places:

Recycling Efforts

When you donate goods to St. Vinny’s we make the most effective and sustainable choice to use those goods to their fullest potential. The large majority of items we receive are either sold or given away through charity right here in Dane County! When you shop and donate to St. Vinny’s you help your planet, help you budget and help your neighbors in need.

If an item does not sell at one of our six thrift stores, we send it to Dig & Save Outlet Store. There, we let the community decide what is usable, what is sellable and what is not. Dig & Save Outlet Store is a “pay-by-the-pound” store where clothing is $1.50 / lb. and miscellaneous goods are $0.60 / lb. 

If an item does not sell at one of our six thrift stores and does not sell at Dig & Save Outlet Store, we recycle it. We recycle as much as we can and are constantly working with local and national outlets for sustainable options.

We recycle items such as:

Fun Facts

 

Watch our store webinar for more information on our sustainability practices: Why Do St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores Exist?

You voted St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores as the best around town. Thank you! And, thank you for shopping and donating. We are proud to operate quality thrift stores and bring you unique, one-of-a-kind events.

Recent awards:

Madison Magazine Best of Madison:
Madison.com People’s Choice:
Waunakee’s Tribune Best of Waunakee Awards:
Sun Prairie STAR Best of Sun Prairie Awards

 

Expanded Thrift Store

Construction at St. Vinny’s Willy St is DONE! The store, donation drop-off and parking lot are now fully open.

Come shop the new space featuring:

The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 am – 7:00 pm and Sunday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Shop St. Vinny’s at 1309 Williamson Street, Madison, WI 53703.

Women’s clothing, main entrance and check-out

 

Check-out with dressing rooms on back wall

 

Expanded furniture section

Social Services Suite

Above St. Vinny’s Willy Street thrift store is office space for two Society of St. Vincent de Paul — Madison programs. We call this space our “Social Services Suite.” It’s a place for families to meet with case managers and human service professionals, search for job opportunities, identify affordable child care, and access additional resources. The Social Services Suite is home to our St. Elizabeth Ann Seton program and microlending program.

Community Room

 

Kid’s Room

Mural Showcases Thrift Stores + Charitable Programs

A beautiful mural now hangs in the lobby of the St. Vincent de Paul Social Services Building! Designed by Eva Pratt, St. Vinny’s Verona Assistant Store Manager, the mural showcases the connection between our thrift stores and charitable programs across Dane County. Additional thanks to Deborah Goedel, St. Vinny’s Verona Store Manager and Leighla Baney, St. Vinny’s Waunakee Assistant Store Manager, for their design collaboration.

When asked about the inspiration, Eva said, “The ideas were all of ours, we collaborated. We thought about the services that we, Society of St. Vincent de Paul — Madison, offer and talked about the history of our first thrift store on Williamson Street. It was interesting doing research on the store to understand our history. We went with a somewhat 1950s vibe with that section. I knew the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Program was going to be upstairs in this building, so I thought that it would be a really nice visual of the mother and children walking up to people helping them. We did some preliminary sketches, looked it over all together, and came to agreement on what looked good. After that, I went for a cleaner sketch and designed the final artwork.”

Mural welcoming neighbors in to SVdP Madison Social Services Building

Building Plans

Current Plans and Renderings Background and FAQs

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul — Madison will conduct a building project near the intersection of Williamson Street and S. Baldwin Street in Madison. The zone currently hosts the St. Vincent de Paul Williamson Street Thrift Store and the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Program office.

The intent is to demolish two structurally compromised buildings along Baldwin Street – as well as the Williamson Street store’s book room, which shares the lot with one of those buildings. A two-story building at the Baldwin Williamson corner will be erected and a single-story building will be expanded retail space, while the new corner building’s second floor will house the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Program, supportive services for single parents of minor children to stabilize their housing and lives.

Brief History

The core mission of the District Council of Madison – Society of St. Vincent de Paul is helping Dane County neighbors in need. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Society has been engaged in that mission in Madison since 1925 and has had a physical locus in the Williamson-Marquette neighborhood since 1941, when SVdP Madison opened a store on Baldwin Street. From that location, St. Vincent de Paul’s retail and service complex grew organically around the Baldwin corner to Williamson Street to become the Society’s local flagship thrift store. The parcel at the corner of Williamson and Baldwin streets has since served as the Society’s busy food pantry and then as the office location of the Seton House women’s transitional housing program – as well the site of the adjoining Willy Street store’s book room.

The Williamson-Baldwin corner property and the original Baldwin Street portion of the thrift-store complex have clearly reached their end of life. SVdP Madison has been advised that the corner “Seton 2” building, an old balloon-frame structure, is not sound enough to salvage and remodel. Compromised wooden roof trusses of the Baldwin retail property have led the Society to empty that space and leave it unused for its usual purpose. The century-old concrete structure of the Baldwin store space is of unknown design capacity. After carefully considering options, St. Vincent de Paul is seeking to rebuild in the footprint of these two parcels. New construction designed to sensitively honor the look and feel of the local traditional shopping street and historic district will best serve the interest of safety, modern code compliance, energy efficiency, sustainability, and avoidance of unintended consequences.

These are key objectives for the future of properties SVdP Madison intends to continue using for purposes toward which the site has long been put. Those purposes are supporting and meeting the Society’s mission by selling and giving away donated goods and by offering other charitable services to local households in need. Through new, historically sensitive construction, SVdP Madison’s plan is to devote almost all first-floor space to retail and – for the corner – parcel create second-floor space focused on serving neighbors in need through SVdP Madison charitable programming.

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