The idea for an outdoor museum that brought together historical buildings in one place&nbsp;originated from preservationists and historians, who had been wanting this for quite some time. Finally in 1966, after a large bequeath was given towards the cause,&nbsp;a planning committee was appointed to raise support for the museum. A location became available when the Allouez-Ashwaubenon Bridge was built that ran through a nearby prison. The road leading from the bridge cut across the prison's property, leaving a 48 acre&nbsp;parcel of land. After several years of effort, the DNR bought the land and approved the the formation of the park in 1972 and it opened in 1977. The museum grew during the next 20 years as buildings were transported to the park and 15 more acres were acquired. In 2006, The Betsy Hendrickson and Lucyanna Hitch Education Center&nbsp;was built. Its purpose has been to serve as place for education programs, but it also a location for business meetings, receptions and parties. Over 18,000 students visit the center each year.&nbsp;

One of the historical buildings at the park

Website

Heritage Hill State Park is a 48 acre outdoor museum located on the east bank of the Fox River in Allouez, Wisconsin near Green Bay. It contains over 30 buildings comprising historic structures, including log cabins dating to the fur trade era and buildings from Fort Howard, one of many forts built after the War of 1812 to help defend what was then part of the western frontier of the country. The mission of the museum is to preserve historic buildings and the artifacts within them and to interpret the history of north eastern Wisconsin. The museum has over six thousand artifacts, most of which are on display in the buildings, and they include paintings, furnishings, clothing, books, and artwork. A notable artifact is a hand painted wood screen dating back to the 1600s. Some of the artifacts are currently on loan from the Brown County Historical Society, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the Green Bay-De Pere Antiquarians. The Park contains numerous buildings listed on National Register of Historic Places. 

Heritage Hill State Park

This driving tour begins at Lambeau Field and moves on to the city's historic railroad depot and several museums and historic downtown buildings before concluding at Heritage Hill State Park and the Hotel Union. 

With Vice President Richard Nixon and NFL Commissioner Bert Bell in attendance, the Green Bay Packers defeated their arch rival Chicago Bears by a score of 21-17 on September 29, 1957. At the time, the field was called City Stadium with a seating capacity of 32,500 people. Ten years later,&nbsp;on September 11, 1965,&nbsp;City Stadium was renamed Lambeau Field after&nbsp;E.L. "Curly" Lambeau, who was the Packers founder and first coach. The Green Bay Packers are among one of the most storied franchises in the National Football League and have thrived in the league for many years. The Ice Bowl is one of, if not the most famous game to ever be played. The 1967 NFL Championship game was&nbsp;held at Lambeau Field when the Green Bay Packers squared up against the Dallas Cowboys on December 31, 1967. With more than 50,000 fans in attendance the game time temperature was a whopping thirteen degrees below zero. With 4:50 left in the fourth quarter, the Dallas Cowboys had the lead by a score of 17-14. Packers quarterback&nbsp;Bart Starr, a current Hall of Famer, drove his Packer team down the field and with thirteen seconds remaining, Starr dove over the goaline on a quarterback sneak&nbsp;for a one yard touchdown run to give the Packers the lead and the win over the Cowboys&nbsp;21-17. This was the Packers third straight NFL Championship.&nbsp;Legendary coach Vince Lombardi went on to say after the game, "We gambled, and we won." The Green Bay Packers have won a total of four Super Bowls with the most recent being in 2010. The Packers also won the first two Super Bowls ever by defeating Kansas City 35-10 on January 15, 1967 in Super Bowl I and defeating Oakland 33-14 on January 14, 1968 in Super Bowl II. On January 12, 1997, the Green Bay Packers defeated Carolina by a score of&nbsp;30-13 in seventeen below zero degree wind chills to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 29 years. One last game of mention took place on January 15, 2015 when the Dallas Cowboys made their first playoff appearance at Lambeau Field since the storied Ice Bowl game in 1967. The Packers would rally from a deficit to eventually defeat the Cowboys 26-21, moving further on in the playoffs. Located just below the scoreboard at Lambeau Field are the six jersey numbers the Packers have retired. Brett Favre's number 4 was just retired at the Thanksgiving Game when the Packers faced&nbsp;the Chicago Bears on&nbsp;November 26, 2015. Don Hutson's number 14, Tony Canadeo's number 3, Bart Starr's number 15, Ray Nitschke's number 66, Reggie White's number 92, and Brett Favre's number 4 are the six Green Bay Packers to have their name and jersey number listed in Lambeau Field's history book. Overall, as you can tell, the Green Bay Packers have a rich history that only has room to get larger.

Lambeau Field is located in the heart of Green Bay, Wisconsin and is home to the Green Bay Packers National League Football team. Lambeau Field hosted its first game on September 29, 1957, when it was known as City Stadium. Lambeau received its current name eight years later when team owners named the stadium to honor Curly Lambeau, the founder of the team and its first head coach. Lambeau Field has a rich history of players and Super Bowl Championships and is one of the oldest NFL stadiums still in use today, second only to Soldier Field in Chicago.

Lambeau Field

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Outside the north entrance to Lambeau Field is where you will find a more than life-sized statue of Vince Lombardi. Placed in 2003 and located on Lombardi Avenue, this statue is a tribute to everything Lombardi did for the football program and town of Green Bay.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Lombardi led his Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships and two Superbowl victories.&nbsp;Being the head coach and general manager, Lombardi had full control - making changes and vamping up the football program. In his last game as head coach, his Packers beat Oakland 33-14 in the memorable Superbowl II game in Miami.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Lombardi was also known for his successful offensive plays; some of which are still used in football today. His list of accomplishments is what make him so unforgettable. Sadly, Vince Lombardi lost his battle to cancer in September of 1970 - he was 57 years old. A year later, Vince Lombardi was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. In the same year, the NFL honored him by renaming the Superbowl trophy to the "Vince Lombardi Superbowl Trophy". Vince Lombardi was an athlete, husband, father, assistant coach, head coach, manager, and coordinator. He was victorious in all of his endeavors and will always be remembered as one of the best coaches of all time.

The legendary Lambeau Field in Greenbay, Wisconsin is where you'll find the 14-foot statue of the great Vince Lombardi. The well-known coach of the Green Bay Packers is one of the most successful and remembered coaches in NFL history. He was the head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1967. His list of accomplishments go way past championships and Superbowl victories. He was an innovator in his field that was not only respected by his peers, but football enthusiasts around the world. 

Vince Lombardi Statue

The land the depot&nbsp;was built on was the site of the Howard Military Reservation, which was built in 1816. The impetus for building the new depot began in 1893 when Green Bay became the new headquarters of the Lake Shore Division of the Chicago Northwestern Railway Company. This company expanded its operations in the area, purchasing land in 1897 for a new freight yard, which was constructed in 1898. The company built the&nbsp;new&nbsp;depot in the&nbsp;old yard in 1899. Over its decades of operation, the depot served as important hub of activity. It was not just a train station; it was a gathering place to socialize for the community. In 1971, passenger train service ended. During the 1980s, train companies began to downsize operations which meant selling lighter used rail lines. The&nbsp;Chicago Northwestern Railway Company&nbsp;sold the 208 mile line between Green Bay and Milwaukee in 1987 to the Fox River Valley Railroad which later sold it to the Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation.&nbsp;All railroad operations ended by 1994. Two years later it was renovated to house the Titletown Brewing Company, which has an upscale dining restaurant and microbrewery. In 2003, the company bought the&nbsp;Receiver Statue, the sculpture depicting a Packers wide receiver catching a football, from the Packers Hall of Fame Museum and installed it outside the building. In 2013, the statue was repainted and&nbsp;dedicated to former Packers wide receiver, Donald Driver.

The Chicago and North Western Railway Passenger Depot, now Titletown Brewing Company, was built in 1899. Designed by architect Charles Frost, the depot served as an important passenger railway station for decades until service ended in 1971. Several famous people passed through its doors including Buddy Holly, Nat King Cole, and presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. A statue of former Packers wide receiver Donald Driver, previously the Receiver Statue, stands outside of the building.  

Chicago and North Western Railway Passenger Depot (Titletown Brewing Company)

The museum's history extends back to 1915 when the Green Bay Art Club held an exhibit of rare and historical objects from Green Bay and its&nbsp;eastern suburb of&nbsp;De Pere. The exhibit was a great success and the club incorporated itself as the&nbsp;Board of the new Green Bay Public Museum in December that year.&nbsp;Gradually, the museum grew too large,&nbsp;which prompted the club to request space at a local library.&nbsp;The museum&nbsp;grew in the coming years, collecting more local artifacts as well as various objects from around the world.&nbsp;Eventually, the the museum outgrew the library and its officials told&nbsp;the board that the museum need to move to another building.&nbsp; In 1923, successful businessman George Mason and his wife donated $60,000 to build a new museum, which opened in July&nbsp;1927. It was named the Neville Public Museum after Mrs. Mason's parents, Mrs. and Mr. Neville, who worked towards civic development in Green Bay. A new organization, the Neville Public Museum Corporation, was founded and it owned and managed the entire collection. The city of Green Bay paid the museum's employees.&nbsp; By 1962, Brown County agreed to take some of the responsibility of financially supporting the museum, as many of the visitors came from outside the city. The museum continued to grow in the following years and by 1970 it was clear that a new, larger museum was needed to accommodate the increasing size of collections. A campaign to garner support and funds for a new building began. This included opening up membership to anyone; previously museum&nbsp;membership was by invitation-only. A referendum was held in 1980 and %66 of the voters in Brown County voted yes to support the museum's construction with taxpayer funds. The new museum opened in 1983 and it was paid for with a combination of funds from the city, the county, and the foundation. The county took over the museum's finances and operations and obtained full ownership of all the collections and the building. The foundation agreed to take over control of the fundraising.&nbsp;In 2004, the museum began to charge admission fees and expanded its&nbsp;the hours. It also opened new program spaces, the Discovery Room and Studio 210: Working Regional Artists. Today, the museum continues to develop new programs&nbsp;to help fulfill its mission.

The Neville Public Museum is a museum located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The current building was constructed in 1983. The museum specializes in the natural history and human culture (encompassing art, history, and science) of northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan. It contains over one million historical artifacts, archaeological objects, photographs and film. It is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Currently, it offers a variety of educational programing including and international film series and natural history lectures. 

Neville Public Museum

The Fox Theatre opened as an exemplary motion picture palace typical of large cities during the 1920s. Construction began on the historic theater in 1929 when the nation had enjoyed years of economic growth, but by the time it had opened in 1930, the Great Depression had commenced; the theater went bankrupt in 1933. Fortunately, the theater survived the Depression and some financial struggles during the late twentieth century and now operates as the Meyer Theatre. Its survival allows people to take a glimpse back to the "Roaring '20s" when movies and movie palaces grew immensely popular. The typical motion-picture palace differed significantly from the smaller nickelodeons, vaudeville theaters, and playhouses of the 1890s - 1910s. Movie palaces arose in large cities by the late 1910s and in earnest by the 1920s, coinciding with the decade's meteoric rise in consumer culture. Between 1925 and 1929, more than 3,000 movie theater palaces opened in the U.S., with moviegoers doubling during that period. The movie palaces' spectacular quality and luxury provided guests with a theater experience as grand as the movie. Besides the ornamentation and lavish details, the vast majority of space and design went towards giving patrons exceptional comforts and a wealth of amenities. (Motion picture palaces existed as one of the first building types, other than places like hospitals that offered guests a "controlled atmosphere" with air conditioning.) Green Bay only supported two small motion picture theatres and two vaudeville houses before The Fox Theatre opened on Valentine's Day in 1930. The Grand Opening gala drew five thousand guests that included an assortment of dignitaries. The program also included footage of a previous years' Green Bay Packers victory. Many viewed the theater opening as a physical sign of Green Bay's growth, maturity, and perceived sophistication. By 1930, however, the parent Fox firm was already finding itself in financial trouble worsened by the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression. As a result, Fox merged with Twentieth Century in 1935 to became the well-known 20th Century Fox. Before the merger, Fox divested itself of its many theatres. Consequently, in 1933, Warner Brothers Studios purchased the Fox Theatre and changed the name to the Bay Theatre. The story in Green Bay mirrored that of the nation's theater trends. The onset of the Great Depression led to a quick decline in movie palace construction. After the 1930s, World War II, post-war suburbanization, increased movie production, the automobile, and even television led to a trend in chains and large multi-plex theaters instead of downtown movie palaces. The vast majority of once-grand movie palaces are long gone, while many others now operate as restaurants and retail stores. In 1978, The Bay Theatre suffered from low attendance and financial woes, resulting in its sale to Standard Theatres and subsequent conversion into a tri-plex movie theater. Still, continued fiscal struggles nearly led to its planned demolition in the mid-1990s. A business group came to the rescue when it purchased the theater in 1998. They, along with a community effort, raised enough money to renovate the historic structure. In particular, the Robert T. and Betty Rose Meyer Foundation donated a substantial amount to the effort, leading to it re-opening in 2002 as the Robert T. Meyer Theatre (and it still operates as the Meyer Theatre as of 2020.). A severe storm damaged the Marquee in 2006, but it was restored in 2012. Other renovation projects from 2010 to 2020 have enhanced the Meyer Theater, one of hundreds of movie palaces from the early 20th century that was saved thanks to preservationists and local citizens.

The construction of Gren Bay's Fox Theatre began in 1929 at a period when ornate downtown movie palaces were a feature in every American city. The theater opened on Valentine's Day in 1930, a few months after the stock market crashed and the early phases of the Great Depression could be felt. By 1933, the original company faced bankruptcy and merged with Twentieth Century to become 20th Century Fox. Meanwhile, Warner Brothers Studios purchased the Fox Theatre and changed the name to the Bay Theatre. Like many movie palaces, the Bay Theatre struggled in the postwar period but the building was preserved thanks to local residents and the Robert T. and Betty Rose Meyer Foundation. Today, the theater operates as the Meyer Theatre.

Fox Theatre (Meyer Theatre)

Completed in 1924, the Hotel Northland was one of the largest and most significant commercial buildings constructed in Green Bay before World War II. The hotel provided a visible demonstration of the city's twentieth-century evolution into one of the state's leading industrial hubs. Acclaimed Milwaukee architect Herbert W. Tullgren designed the Hotel Northland, which proved to be a critical addition to the growing chain of Wisconsin hotels built by Milwaukee hotelier, Walter Schroeder, whose collection of hotels became the largest in the state. The Hotel Northland embodied the architectural trends associated with urban commercial hotel construction during the 1920s. Green Bay followed the pattern of many Midwestern cities transitioning from Native American communities into European and then American cities. Usually located near waterways, urban areas during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries often functioned as fur trading centers and often strategic locations for forts. As the industrial revolution emerged, speculators often targeted some cities as worthy of investments because of their potential to operate as key water ports and trading centers, which transitioned into railway centers and industrial hubs; Green Bay shares that narrative. After the Erie Canal opened in 1825, investors looked to Green Bay as a spot for which lumber could efficiently be processed and shipped. As a result, migration to the area increased, and the timber industry developed into the city's primary economic driver. Through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Wisconsin's inland forests annually supplied millions of feet of timber to Green Bay's mills, and then (after processing the lumber) shipped to markets via the Great Lakes. With the timber industry in place, railways felt it necessary to build lines to the city. From 1854 (when Green Bay was incorporated) to 1873, three railways established routes to Green Bay. The timing could not be better because, by the 1880s, most of the timber throughout Green Bay's environs had been depleted. Fortunately for the city, the development of refrigerated railcars allowed Green Bay's meatpacking industry to flourish; Green Bay became a significant Midwest meat processing market. By 1900, an influx of central European immigrants into the Green Bay region helped its population balloon. Moreover, the establishment of a professional football team, named the Packers after its bustling meatpacking industry, increased interest in Green Bay by travelers. (Over time, the lauded Green Bay Packers football team arguably grew into its most significant business). Green Bay's early twentieth-century economic and population boom, coupled with increased travelers, inspired entrepreneurs and the local government to invest in hotel development. Hotels not only attended to traveling guests but served as hosts to conventions and events, and demonstrated to outside visitors that the city had "matured." Walter Schroeder took an interest in Green Bay and decided to invest in the construction of the Hotel Northland. Upon the hotel's completion, many viewed it as a physical sign of Green Bay's sustained growth and importance. The Northland Hotel also exemplified the increase in chain hotel construction; from 1900 to 1930, chain hotels increased fifteenfold nationwide. Large chains chiefly focused on large cities like New York and Chicago, whereas regional chains concentrated on smaller towns like Green Bay, such as the case with the hotels built by Walter Schroeder.  The nomination to the National Register of Historic Places describes well how the hotel and the Green Bay Packers' story were ostensibly intertwined after the hotel opened its doors. "For over fifty years after its construction, the Hotel Northland served as Green Bay's largest and finest hotel and hosted several prominent dignitaries on their visits to the city including Lon Chaney, Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Adlai Stevenson, and Eugene McCarthy. As the city's largest hostelry, the Hotel Northland also witnessed the rise in popularity of the Green Bay Packers football team founded in 1919 and being one of Green Bay's primary social centers played a major role in events surrounding the development of Green Bay's popular football culture. The Hotel Northland hosted a National Football League (NFL) conference in 1927 and served as NFL headquarters during three Green Bay-hosted championships in 1961, 1965, and 1967. They hosted a Packers training camp in 1950, and in 1959 was the setting of one of famed Packers head coach Vince Lombardi's earliest press conferences. The Hotel Northland served temporarily as the home of Curly Lambeau, founder of the Green Bay Packers, and several Packers players. The hotel also housed thousands of visiting football supporters, players, and coaches during its operation as a hotel from 1924 until 1972." Though the hotel went through changes during the later part of the twentieth century, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a bill in 2013 that provided the hotel with $7 million in tax credits as part of a $35 million renovation project. Construction began in January 2016 intending to return the structure to its glory days as a boutique hotel; it reopened in early 2019 as part of Marriott's Autograph Collection hotel chain.In short, the hotel stands as a monument to the urban growth and rise of industry in Green Bay during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. As well, the Green Bay Packers' name also speaks to the city's industrial growth, with meatpacking a large part of that story. But, it was the Packers team that eventually proved to be the most popular business in Green Bay, and the hotel proved to be an integral part of that football story.

When Hotel Northland opened on March 21, 1924, it was the largest hotel in Wisconsin. The opening of the hotel was celebrated by residents of Green Bay and city boosters as a symbol that theirs was a growing hub of commerce and industry. The luxury hotel would become a centerpiece of the city as it welcomed guests who came to the city owing to its importance in transportation, timber,  meatpacking, and other businesses. A few years before the hotel opened, the city also founded its Green Bay Packers football team. The hotel has hosted NFL meetings, many visiting teams, and official functions for the Packers. Thanks to a substantial historic tax credit, the hotel was restored and remodeled and now operates as a member of Marriott's Autograph Collection. 

Hotel Northland

The Green Bay YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association), an excellent example of the Tudor Revival style, opened in 1924 and served as a social-services center and short-term residential building for Green Bay for several decades during the mid-twentieth century. The YMCA emerged during the latter part of America's Progressive Era when reform and settlement houses appeared with great regularity. The YMCA enjoyed strong ties to churches, which heavily influenced how they educated and influenced their guests. As cultures evolved during the twentieth century, so did the mission of the YMCA. In the late 1960s, the YMCA transitioned mainly to a recreational and athletic center. During the late nineteenth century, the number of immigrants flowing into the U.S. swelled. Many of them endured harsh working conditions and lived in crowded, often unsanitary portions of American cities. Settlement houses and YMCAs served immigrants and the working class, providing them social services, usually rooted in Christian teachings and values tied to Victorian or "Americanized" principals. Green Bay's already expanding shipping, meat-packing, and other labor-intensive industries drew job-seeking immigrants during the mid-nineteenth century. The influx of immigrants boosted Green Bay's population enough to gain its formal incorporation as a city in 1854; Green Bay supported a population of 2,275 by 1860. Railways arrived to Green Bay by the Civil War, and the city also annexed Fort Howard (located on the opposite side of the Fox River) in 1895. By the end of the nineteenth century, 9,000 people called Green Bay their home, including many immigrants. The Green Bay YMCA sought to provide services and education to those immigrants and American-native workers. Though the Green Bay YMCA building opened its doors during the 1920s, the parent organization dates back to 1844 as a response to the effects of the Industrial Revolution on the lives of the poor and working-class in England. The organization quickly made its way across the Atlantic so that more than 14,000 members joined North American YMCA organizations by 1854. From the 1860s to the 1890s, numerous YMCA groups formed and disbanded throughout Wisconsin. In 1887, the first YMCA appeared in Green Bay, and the club subsequently built its first building in 1890. In 1908, a fire coupled with rapid membership expansion pushed the Green Bay YMCA to seek funds for a larger structure, though it took some time. A group of business leaders purchased land in 1919 and spent the next few years raising money. Finally, in 1923, the group raised enough funds to pursue a new structure. In part, funds were raised because the YMCA published material that showed Green Bay to have more than 4,000 "badly-behaved" boys that needed correcting and guidance. The YMCA promised to provide meals and lodging to young men in need. As well, the organization pledged to build a gymnasium and indoor swimming pool to improve the health and welfare of its citizens. By the 1920s, Wisconsin boasted of nearly 40 YMCA organizations, ranging from student-run chapters to those managed by railroad companies. Each one enjoyed a physical fitness component. Green Bay's population and industrial growth led to its YMCA membership expanding to more than 2,200 members by 1925. Nationwide, the YMCA grew from 1,323,076 members in 1940 to 2,885,766 members in 1962. Still, by the 1960s, the YMCA had slowly moved away from its strong emphasis on Christianity and instead focused on practical methods to facilitate social services and promote health and wellness to local communities. During the 1950s and 1960s, in Green Bay, the YMCA building also housed other social organizations such as the Knights of Pythias, the Rotary Club, and the Adult Education Council. Renovation projects during the 1960s and 1970s resulted in expanded dining facilities, new gyms, teenager centers, pre-schools, and laundry facilities. Slowly but surely, YMCA moved away from serving as a short-term residential center. Indeed, by 1988, all the dormitories had been removed.The YMCA now operates several branches in Green Bay, with the Ferguson Family YMCA occupying the historic building (as of 2020). Its mission speaks to both its nineteenth-century foundations, as well as the changes that have occurred since then: "Much more than just a fitness center, the YMCA focuses on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility...the YMCA is here to help you get mentally, spiritually and physically fit by providing support and encouragement while also emphasizing our core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility." Though Christian beliefs are not professed openly -- one can learn spirituality through Yoga and other mindful exercises -- the desire for the YMCA to teach good morals and social responsibility, along with physical fitness, remains a chief goal of the YMCA. As well, the YMCA is no longer gender-specific.

The Green Bay YMCA dates back to 1897, and this historic building opened in 1924. The building has functioned as a social center since it opened, first as a Christian-tied organization that sought to provide men with moral lessons and promote physical fitness and then as a non-faith-based center that served all types of genders and beliefs. The YMCA has always offered its members and guests access to such amenities as indoor gymnasiums, swimming pools, and classes. The building is also an exemplary Tudor Revival structure that now survives as one of the city's most noticeable landmarks.

Green Bay YMCA

The Brown County Courthouse (circa 1908) is a quintessential pre- World War I Beaux-Arts style building that mirrors the South Dakota state capitol, both designed by Charles E. Bell. The building survives as one of the most tangible representations of Green Bay's significance as both an economic hub and center of governance in northern Wisconsin, while the artwork inside depicts much of the early history that aided in the formation of Green Bay as a region of modern significance.On October 26, 1818, U.S. Congress divided the Michigan Territory into three counties: Brown, Crawford, and Michilimackinac, with Brown County consisting of modern, eastern Wisconsin. For the first few years, though (until 1823), a lock of courthouses in the Brown County area forced people to take a boat to Detroit to settle court matters. Finally, in 1824, a formal circuit court system emerged from Michigan's Upper Peninsula throughout modern-day Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. For thirty years, the county seat of governance changed several times. However, it mainly existed in De Pere from 1837 to 1854, a period for which Wisconsin went from an official territory (1836) to a state (1848). The incorporation of Green Bay as a city in 1854 also included a change in the county seat from De Pere to Green Bay. By that time, the original three counties had evolved into twenty-nine. Although everything transferred from De Pere to Green Bay in 1854, construction on the historic building did not commence until 1908, ninety years after the creation of Brown County; an estimated 10,000 people attended its grand opening on January 13-14, 1911. The courthouse artwork is as impressive as its architecture. Starting in 1910, Franz Rohrbeck and Franz Bieberstein painted several murals inside the courthouse portraying Green Bay's history. One mural illustrates the 1634 arrival of Green Bay's first European settler, Jean Nicolet while another shows the seventeenth-century missionary Father Claude Allouez with a Native American Chief. Others feature local military battles and the American military base at Fort Howard. Meanwhile, he painted the dome with four themes: Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry. Besides paintings, one can find a statue of French explorer Nicolas Perrot, the aforementioned Allouez, and an unnamed Native American completed by Sidney Bedore in 1922 and named: "Spirit of the Northwest."The historic courthouse opened in 1911, but the building truly represents Green Bay's slow climb to prominence that dates back to well before Europeans arrived. Native Americans populated the region until the early seventeenth century until French, and then British, settlers slowly pushed them westward by the nineteenth century. After the U.S. defeated the British, both during the Revolutionary War and then the War of 1812, British influence largely ceased, Wisconsin existed as part of the Northwest Territory (1788-1800), Indiana Territory (1800-1809), Illinois Territory (1809-1818), and finally, the concurrent creation of the Michigan Territory and Brown County in 1818. The court system arrived decades later, as did statehood and the incorporation of Green Bay. As Green Bay grew to prominence, so did its significance in terms of local governance. The building arose when Green Bay had firmly been established as the northern hub of Green Bay, and the artwork found inside depicts some of the rich histories that led to Green Bay's existence.

Brown County Courthouse has served Green Bay and the county since it opened in 1911. Besides the awe-inspiring architecture, the building contains an abundance of artwork that depict Green Bay's early history, including European settlers interacting with Native Americans and early military battles near the region. The artwork serves as a reminder that the building's arrival may have occurred in the twentieth century, but the development of Green Bay into a commercial and political hub dates backs several centuries. 

Brown County Courthouse

The Flemish Renaissance Revival designed Milwaukee Road Passenger Depot opened its doors in 1898 and served as an integral part of Green Bay's early transportation and commercial development. The railway arrived years earlier, in 1873, and operated for nearly sixty years, mainly for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul &amp; Pacific Railroad (also known as the Milwaukee Road, in Green Bay), but also as the city's only passenger service on the Fox River's east side. Although Milwaukee Road was not the area's first rail transport, the other two nearby rail systems (the Chicago &amp; Northwestern and the Green Bay &amp; Lake Pepin -- later the Green Bay &amp; Western -- operated on the west side of the Fox River. Until 1895, the area west of the river -- had not yet become part of Green Bay; it was a town called Fort Howard. The Milwaukee &amp; Northern had been chartered in 1870 and authorized by the state legislature to construct and operate a railroad connecting Milwaukee to the Green Bay area (the largest city north of Milwaukee) and onto Lake Superior. Though it took some time to complete a bridge over the river because of the soft, marshy ground, lines running into Green Bay arrived by the 1870s and ran north of Green Bay (after the bridge completion) by the early 1880s. In 1889, the railway laid a branch line -- known as The Alley Track -- that extended to the central Green Bay commercial and industrial district, which significantly boosted the area's commercial growth. Indeed, the Milwaukee Road (and its Alley Track) was the only railway of Green Bay's three extensive railways to provide any rail facilities to the east-side urban area. The much larger Chicago, Milwaukee &amp; St. Paul Railway, which started its operation in 1851, purchased the Milwaukee &amp; Northern in 1893. Five years later, in 1898, construction began on the now-historic Milwaukee Road Passenger Depot. Evidence points to Charles S. Frost as the architect. Born in Maine in 1856, Frost studied at M.I.T. and worked for firms that designed buildings in Chicago and throughout the Midwest during the early 1880s. By 1889, as an independent architect, he began to specialize in designing railway depots. He created the Milwaukee Road Passenger Depot in the Flemish Renaissance Revival style, a subset of the broader Renaissance Revival style. The depot served passengers from 1898 to 1938, and then after a hiatus, from 1945 to 1957.In 1957, the Green Bay Association of Commerce (renamed the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce in 1966) took over the building and then purchased it outright in 1986. In 2011, Breakthrough Fuel, a green-based company, renovated the station to use it as its corporate headquarters; the company received the Green Bay Beautification Award for its renovation efforts. The building survives today as a visible indicator of the critical role that the Milwaukee Road played in the development of Green Bay's historic central business district. And, for Green Bay, the passenger depot stood as a sign of a town that had matured and could compete with other Midwestern urban centers -- the Milwaukee Road Passenger Depot provided Green Bay residents with a sense of civic pride.

The Milwaukee Road Passenger Depot in Green Bay, Wisconsin opened to passengers in 1898 on a branch line operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (locally known as The Milwaukee Road). The depot and branch line served residential neighborhoods and the Green Bay central business district both in terms of passengers and materials, helping it grow. While two other depots competed with the Milwaukee Road, it was the only one that operated on the east bank of the Fox River. 

Milwaukee Road Passenger Depot

Built in 1837, Hazelwood enjoys historical significance as the home to Morgan and Elizabeth Martin, who wielded significant political and cultural influence in Green Bay and Wisconsin during much of the nineteenth century. Among the many things Martin accomplished, he wrote a considerable portion of the Wisconsin constitution in the Hazelwood home.Morgan Lewis Martin was born on March 31, 1805. He graduated from Hamilton College (Clinton, New York) in 1824, studied law in Lowville, New York, and moved to Detroit in 1826. One year later, while still in Detroit, he passed the bar exam and subsequently moved to Green Bay. From 1818 to 1836, Wisconsin existed as part of the Michigan Territory and Morgan served as a member of the Michigan territorial legislature the last six years (1831 - 1836). In 1836, Wisconsin received territorial status. Consequently, Morgan and Moses M. Strong called a convention in Green Bay to organize the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Around that time, Morgan married his wife Elizabeth and had Hazlewood built for them in 1837. The next year, Martin began a six-year term as the local representative in the upper house of Wisconsin's territorial legislature; he also served as the legislative body president from 1842 to 1843. Morgan's term ended in 1844, allowing him to become Wisconsin's U.S. territorial representative in the United States Congress from 1845-1847. When that term ended, he took the role of president of the second Wisconsin constitutional convention. In 1847, Morgan wrote a large percentage of the constitution in his Hazelwood home, sitting at a table that one can still see in the historic house. The creation of the state constitution is far from the end of Morgan's story. He again filled the role of state assemblyman in 1855 and then a state senator from 1858 to 1859. When the Civil War arrived, Morgan took the position of Union Army paymaster. When the war ended, he moved to another role when the U.S. appointed Morgan Indian Agent, which he fulfilled from 1866 to 1869. By 1874, Morgan again served his local community as their representative in the state assembly, but only for one year. Finally, in 1875, he took on his last role when he served as a judge in Brown County; Morgan remained on the bench until he passed away in 1887. Hazlewood overlooks the historic Fox River and stands today as Green Bay's only historic house that is open to the public and located on its original site. Hazelwood stands as an excellent example of Colonial architecture, with both Greek Revival and Federal influences. Architect Joseph Jackson, an Irish immigrant, spent time in the Eastern U.S. before coming to Green Bay in 1837. The Martin home was Jackson's first commission of many he received, which included designing several Colonial homes in Green Bay. The Brown County Historical Society purchased Hazelwood in 1989 and undertook a five-year renovation of the historic home, with most of the work completed in 1995. The Historical Society moved its offices to Hazlewood and also developed a museum in the historic house.

Home to the Brown County Historical Society and their local history museum, this historic home was the location where Morgan L. Martin drafted much of what would become the Wisconsin state constitution in 1848. This was Martin's home and was later acquired by the historical society that operates a small museum on site. In addition to his influence in framing the state constitution, Martin held numerous elected and appointed roles fulfilling local, territory, county state, and federal duties. After marrying his wife in 1837, he built the Hazelwood house and the couple lived in the home together until Morgan Martin's death in 1887. 

Hazlewood Historic House Museum and Brown County Historical Society

Nicolar Altmayer built the first iteration of the hotel in 1883 just one year after a devastating fire that destroyed several buildings on the block, including three hotels. This of course increased demand for lodging and Altmayer saw the opportunity to construct a new hotel. He doubled the size of the hotel two years later. Later in 1903, his brother Fred added a third story. A three story addition was built ion the east side in 1922 after August Maternoski bought the hotel in 1922. The addition increased the number of rooms to 34.&nbsp;

The Union Hotel is the oldest and continuously operated hotel in the De Pere, Green Bay area. The current version of the building was constructed in 1922. The architectural style is late Victorian and the style of the bar, lobby, dining booths is art-deco dating back to the 1930s. The hotel's architect is unknown. It has three stories, the bottom of which contains a restaurant and the the upper floors are hotel rooms. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Historical Highlights of Green Bay Wisconsin Driving Tour

Heritage Hill State Park

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information