Institution

Myers Opera was later converted into a movie theater in the mid 20th century and excelled until the 1970s when the Rock County National Bank purchased it. The structure was then demolished in 1977, as attempts to preserve the building failed.

Built by local resident Peter Myers in 1870, the Myers Theater was a key location for entertainment in Janesville.  It was first constructed as an Opera House for performing troupes and local organizations to reside and entertain in.  

Myers Theater

Director

This short walking tour includes over a dozen stops throughout the heart of Janesville. This tour was made possible by the work of staff members and interns at the Rock County Historical Society.

The Italianate style (1850-1885) is based on the architecture of Renaissance Italy, particularly rural houses of Tuscany. It was a very popular style in America before the Civil War, and there are many varieties in Janesville, ranging from stone mansions to one-story cottages. Narrow clapboard siding clad the exterior of most examples, such as the Thomas Lappin House, but cream brick and stone were employed at the William M. Tallman House.

This is one of Janesville's more elegant examples of the Italianate style, built in 1864. Thomas Lappin, the owner, was Janesville's first merchant.

Thomas Lappin House

The style of the house is Richardsonian Romanesque, an off shoot of the Romanesque Revival style popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s, named for its primary promoter, Henry Hobson Richardson. The Romanesque revival style is famous for its use of natural looking stone, square or circular designs, rounded arches, short blocky columnns, and pointed towers. The style is meant to be a throwback to the Early Medieval Romanesque churches of Italy, Germany, Spain, and France, and was often employed in the designs of churches, museums, train stations, and post offices. The famous Smithsonian Castle was constructed using a Romanesque revival design. The Richardsonian Romanesque revival style added a touch of whimsy, and the Reid house is a good example of that. Its storybook tower, stonework, large urns, and sheer size make this house look more like a castle. The architect of this house, Henry Lord Gay was also responsible for designing many prominent homes around Lake Geneva.

This house was built in 1900 and owned by Archie Reid, a Scottish well-to-do merchant, and importer of horses. The rock faced corner turret of the house is it's most prominent feature. 

Archie Reid House

The fourth mural, located at 51 South Main Street on the side of the Rock County Courthouse building, is a poignant reminder of the contributions that the women of Rock County made and are continuing to make in the community. Painted by Ron Wick of Rockford, IL who also created the Land Mural, the painting depicts the cause of women's suffrage, a cause championed by Janesville ladies beginning in 1867, the earliest known group in Wisconsin to do so. Along with suffrage, the public library and the public hospital are also featured, reminding us that these are legacies of the ladies who campaigned and raised money for their creation. The mural was dedicated on Women's Equality Day August 26, 2010, which was the 90th anniversary of women receiving the right to vote; the mural is dedicated in honor of local leader Judi Kneece.

The murals in downtown Janesville are part of the “Heart of the City Outdoor Art Campaign” which started in 2009. There are three murals in the original campaign that represent a decade each in the founding of Janesville. One additional mural was added to represent women during these years. Each mural resembles what made the community grow economically. The murals are 22 feet by 29 feet and are printed on UV-coated vinyl and wrapped around aluminum frames. 

The Janesville Women's History Mural

Constructed in 1881 for Mr. Allen Perry Lovejoy, this house embodies the whimsical “Douglas Style” of architecture, named for the architect who designed the house, James Douglas of Milwaukee. Lovejoy was a native of Maine and moved to Janesville in 1850. By 1860, Lovejoy had opened a lumberyard in Janesville. Eventually, he diversified his business to incorporate cities around Janesville and invested his money very wisely in several up-and-coming companies. Later he became the Vice-President and later, President of the Janesville Manufacturing Company, which was later sold to General Motors. Lovejoy also dabbled in politics as he was the Janesville Mayor from 1881-1882 and served in the State Senate from 1887-1889. The house was given to the Y.W.C.A. in 1953 and was operated under their care until it was purchased by the current owner.

The Lovejoy Residence is a charming two and a half-story brick house. The first two stories of the building are composed of the crème style brick and the rest is built with multi-textured wood and shingles. This house features two porches: a wrap around porch on the first level and another porch on the second level. 


Lovejoy Residence 

This monument is dedicated to the soldiers and sailors that fought in the Civil War. The 56 foot tall obelisk and statue is called “The War of Rebellion Monument”. It was constructed and dedicated in 1901 and sits right in front of the Rock County Courthouse. The monument is a tall and slender structure with a Civil War soldier representing the men of Rock County who served in the Union Army and Navy. The weight of the statue is over 1 ton!

Located right in front of the Rock County Courthouse, this statue memorializes all those who fought and dies during the civil war.

The War of Rebellion Monument

Constructed in the mid-to-late 1800s and remodeled to its current status in 1904, the house resembles a Greek temple, especially when it comes to its façade which features a two story iconic portico and a frieze above with Palladian windows. The house was constructed for Hiram Merrill, who came to Janesville in 1866 as the manager of the Janesville Gas Light Company. Originally from New York, Merrill moved to Milwaukee and then to California during the Gold Rush before buying a controlling interest in the gas light company and becoming a manager. Merrill took interest in public life as well. He was elected Mayor of Janesville in 1874 and served in the State Assembly in 1875.

The Merrill-Nowlan Residence is an exquisite two and a half-story house that showcases the Georgian Revival style of architecture, a common and patriotic style across the country. 


Merrill-Nowlan Residence

This location used to be the home of the small factory that he operated. His ice cream parlor was located on West Milwaukee Street. The company continued to grow and expand in 1912 as he built a new, bigger factory that existed here until 1969 when George Shurtleff sold his company to Schoep Ice Cream Company.

George Shurtleff was one of the few individuals to take advantage of Janesville`s dairy industry in the nineteenth century. In 1878, he established the Shurtleff Ice Cream Company on South Main St. and became one of the most successful candy and ice cream sellers in Southern Wisconsin.

Schurtleff Ice Cream Company (1878-1969)

Built in 1902, the Janesville Public Library was one of three new public buildings constructed at the turn of the century by the City of Janesville. Andrew Carnegie, industrialist and philanthropist, donated $30,000 for the construction of the building. In addition to the services offered by the library, the second floor housed an auditorium. From 1932-1982 this building was the home to Janesville Little Theatre, the oldest self-supporting group in Wisconsin.

This Andrew Carnegie funded library is built in a neo-classical style, reminiscent of many courthouses, museums, and government buildings around the turn of the century.

Janesville Public Library

The First Methodist Episcopal Church used the building to hold church services until 1905 when it was sold to the Masonic Western Star Lodge, which occupied the building until 1965. J.C. Penny Department store was a tenant from 1920-1974 and the building is now home to both the Voigt Music Center on the ground floor, and the Venue, a banquet hall on the upper floors. This Second-Empire Style building also stands on the site of the American House Hotel, built in 1840 and which burned down in 1867. The Second-Empire style of architecture, named for the Empire of Napoleon III, is one of the rarest styles to be found in Rock County, as only a handful of buildings in this style still exist in Janesville. The style is meant to evoke the elegant mansions found in Paris along the Champs Elysees and is french in inspiration. Second-Empire style buildings feature a sloped mansard style roof, decorative elements around windows, and are usually constructed out of brick or stone. This building features all three and has been artfully taken care of both inside and out.

Built in the Second-Empire style, this building has seen a lot of changes since it was first constructed in 1868.

Court St. Methodist Church

The Arts and Craft style was popular in the United States and the United Kingdom in the early 20th century. It was a design in response to the ever growing Industrialism and machine made items. Architects created these structures with local materials and strove to work the environment into the design. Common features included asymmetry and low pitched roofs.

The Peters Block originated as a hotel. The first two stories were constructed in 1849 and the three additional stories were added in 1855. The present facade dates to 1913 and is completed in the Arts and Crafts style.

Peters Block

The Queen Anne architecture style was popular in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was more common to see homes embrace this kind of architecture rather then commercial buildings. However being inspired by the European Romantic and Victorian eras, this building posses the large bay windows and turrets that are commonly associated with the Queen Anne Design.

This Queen Anne Style building was once the London Hotel, popular to the traveling salesman or Janesville businessmen who had not yet acquired their own houses. It was first constructed in 1892 and owned by Janesville resident Fred Jones. It functioned as a hotel until sometime after the 1980s. Today the building is occupied by a tavern called the Hilltop International Pub.

London Hotel

Robert Hodge and Herman Buchholz formed their partnership in 1863 to manufacture carriages. This building was constructed to sell and manufacture their line of carriages, omnibuses, buggies, phaetons, carryalls, sleighs, and circus wagons. In the 1880s, the business was renamed Janesville Carriage Company and in 1919, due to the invention of horseless carriages, they were sold out to Samson Tractor, a branch of the General Motors Corporation. Between 1923 and 1936, the building was occupied by the Bower City Implement Company, a manufacturer of agricultural equipment. These days the building hosts a number of non-equine related offices and businesses.

This 1860s era factory building takes up a whole city block and was once known for producing fine horse carriages. 

Hodge and Buchholz Carriage Factory

The Courthouse Hill Historic District rises above the city of Janesville and the east side of the Rock River on a steep bluff. This residential neighborhood contains outstanding examples of the architectural styles associated with Janesville's growth and development from settlement to 1940. Many of the Courthouse Hill's early residents were influential in commerce, industry and legal affairs. This district contains 30 blocks and 219 properties which were listed in the National register of Historic Places in 1986.

The original courthouse was built in 1842 and burned down in 1859. A second one was built in it's place in 1871.The second courthouse was demolished in 1957 after the construction of the current building. 

Rock County Courthouse

Today this park is a very popular central location in Janesville. It makes a great location for events and activities for the members of the community. An important feature is the modern amphitheater in the park that hosts many concerts and events. The old iron fountain is no longer in this park.

This park was one of the very first and at the time rare commitments to open spaces in Janesville. Created around the 1830s, before the Nolen plan was implemented, the Lower Courthouse Park was taken up by the Rock County Courthouse and decreased over time from the original acres attributed to it, as space was needed for more city development in the 19th century. Between the 1830s and 1920s, only seventeen acres would be added to the park development in Janesville.

Lower Courthouse Park

When Janesville was settled in the late 1830s, the Greek Revival style (1836-1860) was used for almost every type of building. The Greek temple was the design source of this popular style, and most homes took on the dimensions and look of the Parthenon in Athens. Carpenters' manuals helped to popularize the style from coast to coast. Although few of the earliest houses have survived in Janesville, good examples of the Greek Revival style are found in early neighborhoods such as Look West (the old First Ward) and the old Fourth Ward.

This Greek Revival Style residence once belonged to George Barnes, who is best-known as the contractor for the Tallman House located on Jackson Street. This house, built in 1853, is notable for it's original Doric columnns which carry the small entrance portico; this is one of only two Doric porticoes to survive in Rock County.

George Barnes House

The Gothic Revival (1850-1880) was championed by those who admired medieval architecture and ruins. Modeled after the soaring French Cathedrals, the style emphasizes verticality, with pointed roofs, towers, and flying buttresses in ample supply. Among it proponents in the United States were Andrew Jackson Downing, a horticulturist and Alexander Jackson Davis, an architect. Downing's popular mid-nineteenth century books promoted the Gothic Revival house, in a rustic landscape, and were illustrated with drawings by Davis.

Christ Episcopal Church was built at this location in 1861. Trinity Church was established prior to this in 1844, just west of the Rock River in 1844. The two parishes merged in 1925, becoming Trinity Episcopal Church. The new congregation decided to replace the old Christ Episcopal Church building. In 1931, that vision was completed and Trinity Episcopal Church dedicated this English Gothic Revival building.

Janesville Wisconsin Walking Tour

Myers Theater

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context