WISCONSIN: Kenosha, Burlington, Beloit

[Thundertubs]

Three cities of southern Wisconsin, as they were on a 65-degree Saturday in late August.



Kenosha is an industrial city of 90,000 in the SE corner of Wisconsin, just north of the Illinois state line on Lake Michigan. It has been experiencing suburban growth on it's outskirts due to it's location between Chicago and Milwaukee. Downtown was quiet.



















Kenosha has a streetcar line that runs down this street. I'm not sure where it goes, or if it's much more than a tourist thing. I only saw a car running from the distance.







Mural featuring the streetcar. They are a pleasing shade of orange.












Towards the lake


Great building, unfortunately empty




















Pvblic library


the sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli


Pike River


Heading west through Kenosha County, the southeasternmost in Wisconsin











________________________________________________________________________________

Burlington is a town of about 9,000 in western Racine County. It is located on the Fox River (the one that runs south into Illinois past St. Charles and Aurora, not the one up around Appleton and Green Bay).


















































_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Beloit is a city of 35,000 located on the Illinois state line in Rock County, WI.



The Strong Building at Grand and State














The Strong Building










The city was settled by migrants from Colebrook, New Hampshire, a small town in the northernmost reaches of the Granite State.


World Affairs Center at Beloit College. The building was originaly a Carnegie library.






Back to Chicago...

[Sekkle]

great tour! I love the storefronts in Burlington.

[Hayward]

Nice tour! I never thought I'd see Burlington, WI on ssp. I discovered it by accident a few months ago. Really nice buildings downtown

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures. It's good to see some Wisconsin, other than Milwaukee or Madison. It;s also nice to see what the Wisconsin countryside looks like.

[TonyAnderson]

So Kenosha looked like a ghost town, and it's 90,000 seemed smaller than Burlington's 9,000. Interesting tour.

[ColDayMan]

Neat!

[Tom In Chicago]

Originally Posted by TonyAnderson

So Kenosha looked like a ghost town, and it's 90,000 seemed smaller than Burlington's 9,000. Interesting tour.

That's because for all practical purposes that part of Kenosha /IS/ a ghost town. . . I remember growing up there in the 1970s and it was a hub of activity. . . all the stores were active and there were people all around. . . now it's just an empty shell of a downtown with a handful of businesses struggling to stay afloat. . .

. . .

[harryc]

Great to see the mundane through new eyes. I have to second Tom's observation. Kenosha has changed in the past 30yrs, emblematic of the shift in the midwest the downtown, hurt by the strip malls on the outskirts of town, has now been nuked by the big box stores out in the county.

You missed one of my favorite pieces - defending us from those nasty Canadians across that "ocean"

[OhioGuy]

Interesting photo thread!

[stepper77]

Nice shots! And it's cool that Kenosha has a street car. Thanks for the tour!

[Ex-Ithacan]

Fun tour, though Kenosha is kind of sad:

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

That's because for all practical purposes that part of Kenosha /IS/ a ghost town. . . I remember growing up there in the 1970s and it was a hub of activity. . . all the stores were active and there were people all around. . . now it's just an empty shell of a downtown with a handful of businesses struggling to stay afloat. . .

. . .

I like the looks of Burlington. Colorful couple of buildings in Beloit too.


Thanks for the tours Tt, and I was wondering if you found one of these in Kenosha:

[edmontonenthusiast]

Amazing! It looks rust belt-y and packed with loads of potential.

[Tom In Chicago]

Originally Posted by harryc

Great to see the mundane through new eyes. I have to second Tom's observation. Kenosha has changed in the past 30yrs, emblematic of the shift in the midwest the downtown, hurt by the strip malls on the outskirts of town, has now been nuked by the big box stores out in the county.

You missed one of my favorite pieces - defending us from those nasty Canadians across that "ocean"

Actually that's pointing towards Michigan. . . there's one in St. Joseph Michigan pointing towards us though so I feel the Mexican standoff between the two states is an appropriate relationship. . . at least it will keep Michigan busy while Wisconsin reclaims it's rightful ownership over the UP. . . hehe. . .

[Evergrey]

Very interesting tours of some gritty WI cities!

[yerfdog]

great thread. Really enjoy pictures of these less-known cities.

That Strong Building in Beloit is great. Beloit looked really alive.

Also was surprised to see hispanic gang graffiti in a 9,000 person city in wisconsin:

[Tom In Chicago]

^Southern Wisconsin cities have large hispanic communities. . . apparently suprisingly large. . .

. . .

[DeBaliviere]

Very cool.

I especially like to see Beloit. I gave some thought to going there for college back in the day.

[GregBear24]

Wow, you captured these places so well. Excellent job getting adrian's in burlington captured. That place is a landmark for everyone in southern wisconsin- outstanding custard! Good packers/bears bar scene in burlington as well. Great thread.

[Dan Denson]

Nice countryside pics.

What I noticed most about the Kenosha pics was the cracked pavement and sidewalks, and weeds growing through the cracks. Very sad that the older part of town is so neglected.

[obt]

Great stuff, thank you. I've been to Kenosha and Beloit, but wasn't aware of Burlington. Looks like a neat little town. Thanks again for sharing.