Downtown Memories and Hopes

DOWNTOWN MEMORIES AND HOPES

Readers offer Downtown memories, hopes As part of the "Downtown Racine Reborn" coverage, The Journal Times asked readers to submit their memories of what Downtown Racine was like in its heyday, as well as what they'd like to see in a revitalized Downtown. Here are the responses, submitted by interview, letter or Internet form:

Memories: Main Street In Downtown Racine -- Oh! the memories it brings: From streetcars and brick roads to buses and cement pavement, I remember it well. So much of my youth was spent in downtown Racine, with the Main Street Theater (State and

Main), with its glorious movies and a balcony that seemed to go straight up to heaven, at one end of Main Street and the Venetian and Rialto theaters at the other end. I was the movie critic for the "Horlick Herald," and so I never lacked for friends to accompany me (free, of course) to review the latest flicks. WRJN occupied an upper floor over a bank at 5th and Main. As a Horlick drama student, I was one of many who filled an hour of radio every Friday night with one of our original productions. Jobs were scarce in the late '30s and early '40s for high school girls, so I became a soda jerk at Walgreens at 6th and Main and during the pre-Christmas season, I sold candy at Woolworth's Five and Dime (the smell of chocolate every day caused me to lose the delight of Christmas candy). A young girl's fancy was certainly fulfilled with the elaborate display of female fashions in the windows of Eitel's (4th and Main) and Zahn's Department Store, across from Monument Square, and Lerners at 5th and Main. The stools of Pokorny's Drug Store were rarely vacant. My father was the manager of the Union Dye Pantorium Cleaners at 4th and Main for a good part of his life. With the raised platform at the windows, it was the perfect place for viewing the Fourth of July parade. My sister and I were told to act like little ladies, but many Saturday afternoons were spent playing "touch" football with my cousins and my uncle on the green grasses behind and across from the Venetian Theatre on Lake Avenue. The "cruising" was done up an down Main Street every Friday and Saturday night by every young man who could borrow the family car, and the few who could afford a convertible or even a Model A Ford. Horns were honking and there were whistles aplenty. I remember seeing the stage and screen star, Margaret Sullivan, in the dining room of the Hotel Racine, and I recall bowling in the alleys in the hotel's lower floor. The Mandalay Lounge, when I became a little older, was the perfect place to end your evening. Racine, to many of the over 65 crowd, is the town filled with childhood dreams, romance and excitement. And, downtown was THE place to be on a Saturday night. We thought it had it all -- right here in Racine.
Evelyn Schleper

Memories: Everyone seemed to go downtown, especially on Friday evenings, we would see our friends, relatives and neighbors there. It was a hub of activity. We had such a variety of shops on Main Street, such as three 5 and 10 cent stores, cotton dress shops, furniture stores, jewelry stores, hat shop, shoe stores, camera shop, fancier women's clothing and men's shops. Some of our favorites were Zahn's, Eitel's, Racine Dry Goods, Lerners and Fanny Farmer Candy Shop. We also had three or more theaters at one time or another, an arcade, restaurants, two hotels and a maternity shop. You could buy almost anything within a few blocks. Woolworth' s dime store (one of the 5 and 10 cent stores) had a lunch counter. Their specialties were turkey dinners and apple dumplings covered with vanilla sauce, delicious! Another popular stop was Pokorny's Drug Store. Malts, banana splits and sundaes ruled there. Kewpee's, another favorite spot, especially for their great tasty hamburgers and root beer. We appreciate that they are still part of Racine! I will also mention some popular items that the five and dime store sold. Very popular were the movie magazines and the music magazines that were packed with words to the popular songs of the day -- the latest Hit Parade songs. Another item I remember vividly was a perfume called "Evening In Paris." Some of our clothing stores had their own tailors who would measure ladies' dresses and coats in order to shorten or alter them for a better fit. This was also done in the men's shops. Their slacks were shortened and fitted also. There were also places to go dancing and even bowling downtown. We also had other places to eat; everyone had their favorite place to go to. One of our theaters had the best seating for viewing movies as well as plays and yes, even operettas. It was the Main Street Theater. I recall when the city was trying to get rid of ragweed and the movie theater would let people in the movie free if they brought ragweed there to be gotten rid of! I worked a number of places in downtown Racine over the years. My first job was at the Dixie Shop, where ladies' afternoon cotton dresses were sold. I worked there in summer during high school vacations. I also worked at Woolworth's Dime Store and Penney's and Zahn's. I don' t know how many people would remember Nelson's Candy Shop next to the Venetian Theater. I worked there until the theaters began selling their own candy and popcorn. Mr. Nelson handmade his own chocolate candy. He rolled and formed the delicious candies individually. He also made fresh popcorn. He would grab a handful of popcorn and then some of his chocolate concoctions and gulp them down on and off most of the day! He didn't seem to have a problem with weight either! During World War II we even had two USOs in the downtown area. Servicemen would take the train to Racine from Fort Sheridan and the Great Lakes Naval Base. When the war ended, people from all over Racine congregated downtown. When it was announced that the war had ended, somehow Main Street was the place to go! We instinctively went there -- no one was told to go there. Anyway, we just walked there. The streets and sidewalks were filled with people of all ages. Everyone was happy, talking to each other, walking up and down Main St. A few did silly things like pushing each other in the Monument Square pond! Downtown Main Street was the place to be!
Lucy Veltri

Memories: My name is John Kelley Magee. I lived in Racine all my life, so my memories of downtown were J&W Bowling Lane on State and Main streets, movie theaters on Main St. between Fifth and Sixth streets, and a corner of Main and State street, an old railroad station by The Milwaukee Road, is located near Root River on Main St. next to a factory building on the east side of Main St. Now walk along Lake Street between Second St. to Fifth St. There were factories, Electric Power Company plant area, a dead-end Fourth St., and a car dealer, by Don Hutson Chevy dealer. Street cars go to off Seventh St. that used to be a stop to pick up or take a break and an old Racine Motor Coach Lines buses used to run though town, then Flash City Transit, before Belle Urban System took over.
John Kelley Magee

Hopes: Here are my ideas for the downtown area. 1. Move the bus transferring somewhere else. 2. Water displays at Monument Square like years ago. 3. Restaurant in the Johnson building to be open until at least 10 p.m. 4. Motels with swimming pools and other attractions. 5. Ice cream and candy parlors. 6. Do something to better the zoo. It's disgusting. 7. More parking without meters. 8. No more museums. You have to start thinking young instead of old. What happened to the Racine Planning Committee?
Marlene Johnson

Memories: I was a teenager growing up in the 1950s and I remember downtown Racine very well. You see, I was employed at Wiegand Bros. Jewelry and Music Store in the 400 block of Main Street. I remember the beautiful Christmas decorations strung across Main Street. I remember the busy, busy sidewalks crowded with folks shopping on a Friday evening. The sidewalk was so crowded that you could hardly make your way to the next store. Yes, my pay was 65 cents per hour, but I loved my job. I worked in the music and record department of Wiegands and loved selling the 45 rpm pop tunes to the teens that came down to shop. Remember Elvis and Hound Dog? We had three booths at Wiegands and you could take the records into the booths and play them before you purchased them. You didn't really have to buy them; just listen to them if you wanted. You could tell who had been to Kewpee's for lunch because the faint aroma of hamburgers clung to clothing. There were other places to eat downtown too. The third dime store, Niesners, had a lunch counter. The Ace Grill in the 500 block of Main was popular with the older gentlemen. There was another dimestore in the 500 block on the square named Wiemans. There was a lunch counter at the rear of the store and you could get a lettuce and tomato sandwich for a quarter and a small hot fudge for 35 cents. Soda was five cents a glass. Bus fare was three cents for kids and five cents for adults. I also came downtown as a child to take my piano lesson on Sixth Street with a nickel and a penny to ride to and from my lesson. We were proud of our four downtown theaters. The Venetian, Rialto, Badger, and Main Street theaters were the places to go to see the latest shows. The children's theater shows were held at the Main Street Theater and long lines of kids were seen waiting to get in for the performances. Air-conditioning was unheard of. We saw many large fans in the stores. We shopped at Racine Dry Goods, Penney's, Zahn's, Neumode Hosiery, Mode O Day (ladies clothing store), Lehners, bought goodies to take home at Federal Bakery and Lindstrom's and of course had a soda at Pokorny's Drug store. We had Reeds Drug store on Main and Red Cross Drug on Sixth Street. The other dime stores were Woolworth's and Kresge's on Main. How I miss those stores. Fish furniture was a large business. First National Bank was also on the square. My fondest memory of downtown in the '50s was after 9 p.m. on Friday. The stores were not air-conditioned so merchants like the Wiegand Brothers kept the front door of the store open. After the jewelry was put in the safe for safe-keeping, the money had to be counted. Henry and Emil Wiegand would stand at the display cases and count the money from the register as the shoppers walked by and called and waved. There was no fear of anyone not following the law. Yes, downtown was the place to be. It was a thriving business district offering everything a shopper would want. It was a safe place and the buses came and went every 15 minutes. We did not have parking meters, so merchants did not run out to their cars to plug the meters and keep shoppers from parking at the doorsteps. Everyone was friendly. It was a joy to be part of Downtown Racine. It was a time when merchants knew the shoppers by name and everyone felt at home there.
Marlene Huntley

Memories: As a little boy in the '40s walking across the State Street bridge past the Main Street Theater, the Badger, Venetian and Rialto theaters and going to Kewpee's for a hamburger was always a thrill. Also looking in the window at Zahn's and wishing we had enough money to buy and seeing our neighbors was always a highlight every Saturday.
Harry Gaykian

Memories: Walking to downtown Racine from the Jefferson School area, after moving here over 40 years ago for a new job. It was wondrous to stroll downtown on Friday evenings, Saturdays and whenever free from work during the day. There was still the bakery on Monument Square. It had the greatest tasting elephant ears and apple fritters! I moved around Racine through the years, and now live downtown. Not near downtown, but downtown. It is so pleasant to again be able to walk/stroll to all the unique places in downtown Racine. But back to the memories. Sears, Zahn's, the dry goods store, Penney's, Lepps, Martha Merrell's, Haddons, Red Cross Drugstore, Port Gilbert, Weavers Alley, the Ivanhoe, Pet Store, and more were there to choose from. The development of Elmwood Plaza changed the focus for the city. But the downtown was still where unique places abounded. The "Old Downtown" Association started an "Octoberfest" event that lasted for years. Main Street was closed for a Saturday, and all ages of folk had fun & entertainment for a day. Was good for the Merchants too!! I have seen many changes through the years, good & bad.
Hopes: That the city and citizens of Racine realize what a wonderful place we have. Next to the "big puddle" called Lake Michigan. When most of us go visiting a new city, we check out the downtown to see what is going on. Not the malls, but the downtowns. Do away with the Śpay parking.' Have free parking for 3 hours at most lots and all-day parking at more distant lots. Just saw that in Naperville. And in Naperville the streets are narrower, 2 lane. Also, restrict the comings and goings of large trucks. Have large delivery trucks utilize the distribution warehouses outside the city limits and transfer to smaller trucks. This would lower the impact of wear/tear on city roads and curbs. Most cities that want to provide for a pedestrian friendly atmosphere do this. AND the government and corporations need to be supportive of the small businesses that make a neighborhood (downtown is a neighborhood) unique and delightful. We have 3 coffee shops now. A variety of restaurants with a variety of flavors, we still need more. Yes it would be nice for the stores to be open later on, at least one night, during the week. More theaters, live and cinema. But most of all we need for city government to be dedicated to the supportive development of neighborhoods, like downtown Racine. Listen to the business people who are providing the sense of neighborhood with products and services we enjoy. The investment has to be for the people, not for the almighty dollar only. For we have lost wonderful merchants because of shortsightedness to the dollar value of infrastructure only. Let us not do that anymore!!!
Mercedes Dzindzeleta

Memories: My most vivid memories of downtown are the Rialto and Venetian theaters and the afternoon matinees, filled with kids. What a treat it was to leave the sun and go into the dark, mysterious, caverns, with buddhas with lighted, jeweled belly buttons, and copied Renaissance masterpieces on the ceiling. While I am glad that Monument Square is being revitalized, it would have been nice to see the theaters back.
Al Karls

Memories: In the '40s, Downtown Racine was a great and wonderful place to have fun! Every night right after Glenn Miller's radio program ended at 6:30 p.m., my buddy, Warren, and I would head for downtown. We were south-siders and would meet kids from other parts of town. There was so much to do! There were four theaters, four bowling alleys, three five and ten cent stores, half a dozen record shops, and many fine restaurants. If we wanted to go to Milwaukee or Kenosha, the Intervan ran right through Downtown. It cost 25 cents to Milwaukee, and ten cents to ride to Kenosha. I will never forget where we were when, at the innocent age of 17, Pearl Harbor was bombed (calling us to service a little over a year later) -- bowling at Hotel Racine. Ah, yes, those were the days!
Hopes: I'd like to see at least one theater and some sort of Entertainment Center come to downtown Racine, and also good quality men's and women's clothing stores. We once had half a dozen, and my wife, Eileen, and I worked at Joseph Lawrence, Inc., which was one of the best! (I have been to Phoenix, Arizona in their downtown area. For the large size city that they are, it is extremely clean! They have an area with a theater and shops, music and entertainment that one can leisurely stroll through called the Arizona Center. It is truly magnificent and when one goes there, there are people of all ages strolling through the shops and going to the theater, and listening to the music on the square. It is kept up beautifully)!
Ray J. Carls

Memories: I was born in 1948 and grew up in Racine. My earliest memories of Racine's downtown is the bustling of people on the sidewalks as they scurried from store to store. It was the center of the city and was an exciting adventure when my parents took us "downtown" This was especially true during the holiday season. I remember how everything seemed to center around Monument Square. I remember the Venetian and Rialto theaters and the long lines winding around the corners. As a kid, I especially remember the Saturday matinees. Of course I remember many of the stores. I didn't think of Walgreens, Penney's, or Woolworth 5 & 10 as being chain stores. Zahn's seemed like a huge and elite store to me. I remember the radio station's "Under the Clock" program at the corner by the bank. It was a thrill to be interviewed "live on air" one time. I'm sure that time has distorted some of my memories. The Christmas decorations hanging from the lamp post and strung across the street from post to post were probably not as elaborate as I remember them. The homecoming parades and Christmas parades were probably not has big as I remember. But that's OK because they are good memories.
Hopes: I have lived in Waukesha since 1975. One of the things that I liked when I first moved here was that it reminded me of Racine including the downtown area that existed in then early '60s. That's changed with the urban sprawl too. One of the things that Waukesha has done is created a very attractive riverwalk and they have attempted to bring in the smaller business, not the big chains. But they have little coffee shops, bakeries and the such that attracts customers. Racine has done a phenomenal job with the lakefront. If it were possible to renovate downtown Main Street to incorporate a "throw-back" look with the old street lights and store fronts, I think it would bring people down. Bring in gift shops and the like, much like Cedarburg, it would draw visitors. Accentuate some of the famous Racine Kringles and pizza shops and I think you would have a winner.
Richard J. Chiapete

Memories: My favorite memory of downtown Racine was going to visit my dad, Wes Kirt, at work at Thrifty Sandy's, a local gift and appliance store that used to be next to Kewpee's restaurant. As a kid, I loved looking at all the beautiful jewelry and knick-knacks, and loved visiting with all the people who worked there. Sometimes on the week-ends, I would go see a movie at the Venetian or Rialto theatres, and then catch a ride home with my dad. It was also fun to spend a day shopping at Eitel's, Penneys, and Zahns. And of course, a special treat was getting a hamburger at Kewpee's!
Hopes: It would be wonderful to be able to go downtown and spend the day shopping and to have some nice restaurants where people could go to eat. I'd love to see downtown thriving again. We're so fortunate to live on a beautiful lake, we need to take advantage of that!
Sandy McDorman

Hopes: You can pave the streets with gold but nobody will show up unless there is a quick, easy, and safe route from I-94. I wouldn't want my parents traveling through the worst parts of town to get there. And there has to be something there to begin with.
Jeff Straw

Memories: When I was a little girl, I would go downtown with my mother and my brother. We would go to the 3 dime stores, Kreskes, Woolworths, and Niesners. Then we would eat at Kewpee's and go to one of the shows, Venetian or the Rialto. Going into Zahn's and looking at all the wonderful displays and the funny looking machines in there beauty shops. Going to the Arcade Bowling Alley in the Main Lake building. Then going into my teens and playing pool at the Lucky Q, being warned by my parents to stay away from ACE Grill. But the best part was scooping the loop. Those days are long gone, but the memories of the old stores, Fishes, Three sisters, Penney's, Eitel's and the old hotels. Those days are long gone, but the ghosts of these buildings will never disappear.
Hopes: I see no future for downtown as long as Sam Johnson has a say so. He runs the downtown, not the people.
Helain Andersen

Memories: My memories of Racine are happy ones even though they were short-lived. They go back to my senior year at Park H S and my post-UCMC days while attending UW-Racine. Those days were happy because of the many and fine friends made at Park. My memories of downtown include: The Venetian and Rialto theatres and their balconies, the fun we had after football games driving around the torn-up red bricks as Main Street was being paved, playing pool at "Sarge's" Pool Hall, playing golf in and near town, 'parking' at the lighthouse, shopping at Zahn's and the plaza in front along the stores south to 6th Street. My fondest memories are my Park classmates whom I see every 5 years at our planning for and being at our class reunions. Prior to my Racine days we lived between Racine and Kenosha, at the metropolis of Berryville.
Richard Hay, Park High School, '45, and UW '51

Memories: I work and live in an old storefront on Sixth Street (aka "the old pet store'). People still come in seeking pets or pet items! And they come in with their memories of the downtown they remember from their childhood. Again and again I have been impressed with the number of folks who have chosen to stay put, preferring Racine to any other place. This past February our Historic Sixth Street Business District Association hosted a social for storefront proprietors/owners at Teen Mom's in the Hermes Building at 614 Sixth Street. Two of our informal speakers, Julia Harman and Fred Hermes, qualify as true Racine lifers and both held us captive with their memories of Sixth Street. Julia Harman was the owner of the original Sixth Street pet store from the 1940s into the 1960s. Fred Hermes' family built the Hermes building to house their thriving insurance business. We listened to risque stories about the notorious Chinese laundry on the 600 block. (It wasn't the laundry that was notorious, but the activity upstairs!). There was once a locally famous psychic who lived in a home off of Sixth and Villa who helped a woman find her wedding ring! Porter's parking lot was formerly a hardware store where everyone met up. There is an artesian well under the pet store! The movie theater, the old hotel, Zahn's, a five and dime are fond memories. The downtown that emerged during this social evening in February was a complete downtown. You didn't have to get in a car (or a horse and buggy!).
Hopes: That it resemble the downtown Julia Harman and Fred Hermes recall ... a downtown which is complete. With a real grocery store, an ice cream parlor, an old movie theater, a value drugstore, a five and dime, a video store. I want to see people on the sidewalks. I want to be able to shop for my dinner without getting in the car. I want to be able to meet up with my neighbors when I buy shampoo or eggs or notepads or pencils. I want to be able to sit down on a park bench overlooking the Root River and chat with my neighbors. I definitely feel Sixth Street needs to be two way and the traffic slowed down. Sixth Street has been ignored thus far in the downtown revitalization. It is such a shame because Sixth Street is naturally colorful and diverse. Fancy shops do not a city make. A city needs to remember who its residents are and what their needs are.
Kate Remington

Memories: My favorite memory of Downtown is walking from my grandmother's house near Island Park to the Venetian and Rialto theaters on Saturday afternoons to watch the matinee. (Cost: 25 cents). This was alway preceded by a trip to Walgreen's in the next block for our take-in candy treats. What fun for us "country bumpkins"! Barbara Mack, Cambridge WI
Barbara Mack

Memories: I have many favorite memories of Downtown Racine. One of my favorites is going to the Zahn's store with my mother to purchase my first Girl Scout uniform and a little Girl Scout doll that I still have. Another great fun for me was when my older sister and I would walk from North Wisconsin Street to Main Street then continue down Main and across the Main Street bridge and arriving at the bridge as a tall boat would be entering the harbor causing the man in the shack to stop all traffic and open the Main Street Bridge to let the boat through. It seemed like such a big bridge for a little girl. Then we would continue down Main Street to the Rialto theater to see Elvis Presley movies. After the movie we would go to J.C. Penney's store and buy a quarters worth of chocolate covered peanuts at the candy department located in the center of the store on the first floor. These events all took place in the early '60s. I am 45 now and have been living in California for the past 21 years. I visit Racine every couple of years and always go downtown when I am home.
Hopes: I hope to see a Movie Theater and a Candy store when I get to Racine for a visit. I also hope to see that some of the old buildings on Main street are still there and refurbished to look as good as when I was growing up in Racine.
Betty Britten

Memories: I was born in Racine. I lived with my grandparents John and Elizabeth Halpin on 909 Wisconsin Ave. for a few years. I moved with my parents to California and then Michigan, but still remember many visits to Racine in my youth (I am now 50). Racine has always been among my favorite places, and in fact when I do visit (which is every couple of years) I don't consider it as a visit as much as coming home. I love the town. My memories of the downtown are many, such as Veteran's Park, the old Venetian and Rialto theaters, the TALL (to a youngster) county building, Kewpee's hamburger restaurant, and Sandy's department store (I loved the toy section). Perhaps the saddest day I can remember associated with Racine though, is the day I wanted to show my children where my grandpa and grandma lived ( my two favorite people in the whole world), but when we got there the house/home had been torn down and the lot was now a parking lot. To me that was sacrilegious. My favorite home, one that still provides me with so many childhood memories, and filled with so much exploration, adventure and love was now just a paved slab for people to park cars on. I remember laying in my grandparents' bed at night and hearing the sound of the nautical horns, and feeling so peaceful and safe. Such memories are a treasure still 40+ years later. Racine? It's still home. I love it and forever will.
Hopes: I still love the downtown area. So much is still the same. Perhaps some development that would play on the old theme in the block where the Venetian, Rialto theaters and the Racine Hotel were. I know that the marina has seen an influx of new hotels, but maybe a mid-priced clean and attractive chain would do well there. It may be a boost to room sales (and city/county revenue) for people who don't want to spend as much as the other accomodations. I remember the old hotel with the roof swimming pool (my kids got such a kick out of that), and waking up to see the sun coming up over Lake Michigan (a totally reversed experience for a Michigander).
Dan Rook

Memories: I remember the theaters downtown on Thanksgiving Day where we would line up on the sidewalk waiting to see 50 or 100 cartoons. The worst things that may have happened is somone would get hit with a raw egg thrown from the balcony or some kid would open one of the exit doors from inside and 10 or 12 kids would run in for free.
Hopes: Do away with the parking meters on Main Street. See that the Downtown employees do not park on Main Street. Enforce 15 or 30 minute parking in some areas so a person can run in and make a purchase from time to time. Bring back the popcorn wagon. Make it a safe area for the people of Racine to shop. Move the Bus stops to Wisconsin Ave to open up more parking spaces. Dave Schimanski

Memories: In the late fifties, on Saturday afternoon the teenager would scoop the loop, enabling my friends and I to meet girls from other areas, other than WPHS. This practice was highly productive and source of more than a few yuks.
Hopes: Establishment of restaurant and tavern scene that will complement the hopefully yuppie crowd that will work in the downtown area. There are plenty of places now for residents w/ walkers (blue hairs), but a dearth of fun places for the new permanent college degreed (single or married, 0 kids) to go and mingle. This is the demographics that Racine desperately needs,for it to grow and provide businesses w/ the expertise for future expansion. Although I have left Racine, I still have a very soft spot in my heart for the town.
Robert A. Peterson

Memories: As a young child Saturday was the day we would come downtown. Visiting the 3 dime stores-Kresge's, Woolworths' and Niesners would be the highlight of our visit. Sitting at the soda fountain in Woolworths and ordering a cherry Coke and french fries or buying a bag of popcorn was heaven.We could spin around on the stools and just have a grand time. One of the department stores that intrigued me was "Racine Dry Goods." They did not have cash registers. The clerk would put your money in this metal box and zoom, it would go up to the next level somehow and pretty soon it would return with your change. I thought that was the neatest thing. The Venetian, Rialto and Main Street theatres were frequented by us once in a while, as was the bakery on the corner of Main and 5th street, I believe it was called Lindstrom's which served anyone's sweet tooth. Of course, Kewpee's would be on our route for a nickel root beer and a quarter hamburger. Those were the good old days of downtown Racine.
Hopes: That the downtown would continue to be a place Racine can be proud of and have places where we can shop as well as eat and just enjoy beautiful Lake Michigan.
Gloria Mitchell

Memories: I was born in 1932 and grew up on Racine's southeast side. Our home was near the cornor of 17th and Wisconsin Avenue, and to get downtown which was about a mile away we would frequently take the bus (in the real early days the streetcar). I remember the bus ride was $.03 until you were 12 then the rate went to $.07. The things I remember most were the movie theaters, great places for eating i.e. the Kewpee for hamburgers, and Green Meadows for milk shakes and malts. As a kid the movies were probably the big attraction. There were in my memory 4 theaters. The Venetian, Rialto, Badger and Main Street. For $.10 you could generally see a double feature which included a cartoon and the news. It took most of an afternoon. Shopping was an important ingredient making up the downtown. Zahn's Department store, Penney's, Sears, Racine Dry Goods, Porters, at least 4 dime stores, the Red Cross Drug Store, Eitel's, and others which were great attractions for local people as well as visitors. It was truly the place to shop. Other interesting things took place. Root River was a transportation hub when coal and cement boats would unload. The gas company manufactured gas and stored it in huge tanks along the lakeshore. There was a dump (landfill) behind the Elks Club and into the lake which created the land east of Gateway. Big events would take place in and through downtown. The 4th of July parade, gatherings on Monument Square -- i.e. when General MacArthur came through town following his firing by President Truman. The end of WW II was celebrated under the statue of the Civil War veteran. It was a vibrant hub for a vibrant city.
Hopes: Racine will never return to the old days mentioned above and that's probably OK. We now celebrate our unique position along Lake Michigan and with such things as the Festival Hall, Wustum Museum, Heritage Museum, the Library, the Marina, will and continue to attract people for a variety of reasons. I hope we will continue to see speciality shops, commercial development of apartments and condos, banking, stock brokers, legal, and other service businesses related to county and city government locate here. As more people move into the downtown area, there will be a greater reason for stores to locate here, especially grocery and other speciality shops. If we continue to focus our attention on the cultural aspects of Racine, hopefully downtown will continue its leadership role. I think the future is bright.
J. David Rowland

Memories: As a high school student in the early '70s, jobs were plentiful in downtown. As a senior, I worked after school at Brandt's Department store. I then worked at "Beautiful Day Records", a store of its time. I sold records, incense, funky clothes, blacklight posters, and more ... Downtown was a safe place for young kids to walk, shop or just hang-out.
Rob Gordon

Memories: I lived in downtown Racine from 1930 thru 1948. I lived above my father's dental office at 429 South Wisconsin Avenue. I remember everyone coming to downtown on Friday evenings to cash their paychecks and shop for clothes and groceries. Others would go to the movies at the Venetian and Rialto theaters. Saturday was also a busy day, but on Sunday all of the stores were closed. I enjoyed the pretty flowers on the square. The pools were filled with water. The town was neat and tidy and it was a pretty sight. As children we enjoyed going down to the park on the lake bank. We did not have air-conditioning, so when it was hot, people slept on the beach. It was a safer world then. The First National Bank was boarded up in the early '30s. I remembered the day the bank opened up again. Interest on your savings was 1 1/2%. You could make 2% on your postal savings account through the post office. The bank robber Dillinger came through Racine and robbed the American Bank & Trust Company on 5th & Main. My mother was walking by and she looked through the window. One of the robbers shot a hole right through my mother's hat. I am not sure of the year, but I think it was about 1936. Our home was behind the Niesner dime store. Nine men robbed the store, moving the large safe from the near the front door, through the store, and out through the back alley. The robbers had a gun aimed at our house, two were at the end of the alley on 4th St. and two men were at the 5th street end of the alley. They sawed through the steel door at the back of the store and took off with the money. My father had called the police. He also bravely (or foolishly) went out an confronted the robbers. I have many more downtown stories. I am compiling them for my granchildren and the Racine archives.
Hopes: I hope to see downtown Racine refurbished and thriving again. I live in Franklin, Tennessee. Our Heritage society has restored the downtown area. The buildings must retain their original architect style. I must say that I am not impressed with the design of the new Johnson building, or the fact that it once again blocks the view of beautiful Lake Michigan. I do appreciate that Mr. Johnson is making an effort to save the Racine downtown area.
Elaine Richards Williams

Memories: I can remember downtown bustling with people scurrying to catch the red line, blue line, green line, yellow line bus lines to their destinations. Also, the Rialto and Venetian theaters showing excellent movies. Walt Disney movies were 50 cents and most others 25 cents. Cheap popcorn and soda too. Then there was J.C. Penney's, which was constantly busy with shoppers and baby carriages on the first and second floor elbow to elbow. Then there was the Zahn's store. I will never ever forget the old elevator with the operator calling the next floors and pulling the doors open for us to enter and exit. Last of all, "scooping the loop." Riding downtown in a complete loop on a Friday night numerous times. Those were the days.
Hopes: My hopes for downtown are to bring the people back. That's what makes a town. To get more unique shoppes there too. Take away the parking meters.
J L Phelps

Memories: Friday nights were the greatest. We would go shopping downtown and then -- the highlight was dinner at the dimestore. Those beef, mashed potatoes and gravy could not be topped, in our 10-year-old minds. Sometimes we would spend all our money and have to walk home -- 3 or 4 miles -- but no worries, it was so safe then.
Carol Cumberland

Memories: The Monument Square..........
N Heinen

Memories: I loved to go downtown with my father on Friday nights to shop. We would stand on the corner and wait for all the traffic to stop and then everybody would cross the streets at once. We would bump into the masses of shoppers as eveyone crossed diagonally in X's or straight across as we do now. If it was Christmastime you could look above you and see garlands of real evergreen boughs extending from one side of the strreet to the other, swagged several times with large multi-colored C-9 Lights and a large red bell suspended above the middle of the street. My grandmother was usually the one that would take us kids to the movies. If it was a Disney film the line would stretch all the way east down 5th street, behind the theaters and run along Lake Avenue. The wind was the worst there coming off the lake and you couldn't wait to get around the corner to see the movie posters at the entrace of either the Venetian or Rialto theaters. My favorite was visiting the three dime stores that were in a row on Main Street where the new book store now stands. I espically liked Woolworths because they had a great staircase that ran up the center of the store with a railing that encircled the top so you could look down at the shoppers below. My grandmother always would take me to look in the stores, usually let me make a small purchase, after our trip to the libray was completed.
Dan Patzke

Memories: The MRK clanging its way down Main Street while headed for Milwaukee or a new train arriving from Milwaukee heading for the terminal across from the courthouse at 7th and Main. The crowd on Main Street celebrating the end of World War II. It was sidewalk to sidewalk and all areas in between of people. The Venetian and Rialto theaters, crowds lined up for the showing of GWTW. (If you don't know what GWTW is you are too young to understand.)
Hopes: Development as a major business center with adequate parking to accomodate the expansion of business.
George L. Stuart

Memories: I remember going to movies at the Rialto and the Venetian and shopping for good products at Zahn's. The hotel on 6th and Main had very tasty lunches and we had some very important family receptions there. Mister Jr. was a fun place to buy youthful looking clothes. George & Lester's was a good place for my dad to buy clothes. My grandfather used to meet me at Andreas for breakfast or lunch. I used to be able to catch fish on the pier.
Jim Mondragon

Memories: How can I recount all the wonderful memories of downtown Racine? ... I have so many that your question started a flood of memories ... going to the Venetian Theater for a dime to see Jeanette McDonald and Nelson Eddy, skipping school to see Sabu the Elephant Boy in person at Racine Dry Goods store next to the American Bank ... Lindstrom's Bakery and the the beautiful stores I loved to shop in, Eitel's and especially Zahn's, where you could find almost anything you needed. Oh, how I miss that store! Then there were the dime stores, I could spend a whole day in there just looking. The one on the square had a great little lunch counter and we loved to meet there or at Kewpee's. There was a restaurant next to the Rialto that had the most delectable rhubarb pie I ever tasted in my life! The night the 2nd World War ended everyone in the city headed for downtown ...the theaters opened their doors and you could just walk in without paying ... the sailors were tossing their girlfriends in the water in the square ... everyone was celebrating, and what better place than our downtown!
Hopes: Since I live in California now I only get back to Racine about once or twice a year ... I think when I see the downtown now it is the most depressing place in the world ... My hope is that it could be restored as a place that would give the children of today some of the happy memories that I cherish .... Tear down Zahn's and rebuild it in all its glory ... Add some nice dress shops, lots of different resturants so people can meet .... places to sit ... under umbrellas and mainly, CLEAN it up.
Shirley Sadowski

Memories: It was always fun to go downtown to go shopping. It was fun to go to Pokorny's. We would go with my mother and we went into the back and have something to eat or just an ice cream. My mom drank coffee and we would like her to get extra cream just because we liked to drink the cream out of the cute little bottles. It was a very nice place. I remember all the dark wood and it seemed to be dimly lit.There were some really nice booths, and when I was little they seemed so big. Out in front they had candy and a drug store. I wish somehow that they could bring that part back just the way that it used to be. Downtown used to be a busy place with so many nice stores to go in. Penney's was there, also Zahn's, Racine Dry Goods. I liked to walk around and look in all the windows and dream of what I would get. They also had a Santa Claus at Christmastime. The arcade with the bowling alley down stairs. Christmas was always so pretty. All the stores were directed so nice and they wern't decorated so far ahead of the season. The Salvation Army would have the little huts up and people were inside ringing bells and people seemed to be more willing to give. It was more quaint and a more happy place. The dime stores. Woolworth's, Niesner's, they had the soda fountains.
Hopes: It has been nice to see that we are really trying to have the downtown cleaned up. All the new building that has been happening. I would like to see something for the younger people. A nice place for them with something geared for them. We have nothing now so we should start to think of them. All ages need something. The new water front is really beautiful. But let's not let the past get away. Like the Memorial Hall, the old Library -- these are such beautiful buildings and we should make use of them. Downtown was the heart of Racine and we let it get away, and now we need to regain what we had .
Karen Ericksen

Memories: My greatest and fondest memories of downtown Racine are the Venetian and Rialto theatres where I spent many a Saturday afternoon at the 25-cent matinee. I was very upset when the Venetian especially was torn down, it was such a terrific atmospheric theatre and a treasure that was lost. There were plans to save it, but I heard the mayor wanted "to see the lake." The Johnson Building, on the site of the two theatres restores more life to the downtown area which is definitely on the comeback trail.
Hopes: More variety of shops to attract people to the area. Schwartz bookstore is excellent! More good quality places like it needed.
Margaret Staudinger

Memories: Pancake Day at Memorial Hall in May.
Erin Smith

Memories: As a kid, going downtown was quite a thrill. Those were the days before the Mall and just about anything worthwhile you needed to purchase was found downtown. Clothing from, at first, Mr. Junior, and then, when I was older, Jos. Lawrence, records from Brandt's, plus the variety of Zahn's and Penney's were all reasons to get me to go downtown, but my main interest were the two classic movie theaters, the Rialto and the Venetian. Along with The Capitol in West Racine, these were Racine's only movie theaters at the time and I relished every opportunity to attend a film at one of these movie houses. It's was unfortunate when these theaters went downhill, with one of them, which one I'm not quite sure, even turning into an adult movie theater its last few years. At the time, the downtown area seemed to be the hub of Racine and even though it no longer has the stature it once did, it is nice to see a bit of a rebirth with Festival Hall, the docks and all the other building along the lakefront. Now with the new Johnson Wax building close to being complete, it appears that the rejuvenation is almost complete. I don't think the downtown area will ever command the greatness is did in the past -- there is too much building and expansion along Highways 20 and 31 to think otherwise -- but it is nice to see businesses open downtown, whereas not too long ago, there weren't too many reasons to visit the downtown area. I look forward to the continued rebirth of this important part of Racine.
Hopes: Although I can't see the area capturing the previous greatness downtown Racine once had, it is nice to see all the new building in the area. I'd like to see more big businesses coming downtown; I still believe the area needs a lodestone to attract other business to the area. I'd love to see someone do something positive to the old Zahn's building, a movie theatre or two being built along with some nice restaurants and maybe a mid-sized grocery store for the people living in the area, plus enough affordable parking to encourage patronage of these businesses rather than encouraging people to shop elsewhere when parking is either too expensive or not plentiful enough.
Paul Jackel

Memories: Downtown was the place to shop. Back in the early fifties, my Dad would buy me a little toy from one of the 2 "dime stores" on Main St. Mom would shop for a dress in Penney's on the 2nd floor and buy a matching hat from Zahn's on Monument Square. I would get a new outfit for school from Lerner's. Before taking the "Yellow Line" bus home, we'd stop for candy at the Fanny Farmer chocolate store. As I grew older, downtown was the place to hang out as a teen, and to "scoop the loop" after learning to drive. My first job as a dietitian was with the WIC program on Main St. When I was married in 1984, I wanted our reception to be in downtown Racine. We chose the perfect place: The Racine Motor Inn overlooking beautiful Lake Michigan.
Shirley Katz

Memories: Some of my memories was getting on the streetcars from Douglas & High St. and going downtown when it was being tore up in the later 1940s. Going to the Rialto & Venetian theaters, scoopin the loop between State & 7th Street in the early '60s. I worked at Spiegels Catalog store washing floors & windows and carrying packages for customers. Downtown was the HEART of Racine.
Hopes: I would like to see downtown change all of its store fronts. So they would look like old town 1800s. Get rid of all of the meters.
William Prochniak

Memories: In the late '40s & '50s, I loved taking the bus downtown, (all the bus routes connected downtown)and walking a block on Main Street to the Rialto or Venetian theaters to see movies on very large screens. That's where I saw my first Panorama movie. Oh, what a treat. I saw a main feature, 2nd movie, news reel feature, and a cartoon. All for about 25 cents. I tried to sneak in the balcony, because it was so cool to do that. I loved the flowers and plants in Monument Square during the spring & summer. The city did a great job keeping them neat, clean and looking good. Oh, how I remember the taste of the water out of the "bubbler" in the middle of the square. As a young teen, I'll never forget the hamburgers and fries at the "Ace Grill" and playing pool downstairs. Went to my first wrestling match upstairs at the Ace grill and remember seeing a wrestler named " Gorgeous George". A big blond guy. I delivered the Milwaukee Journal for several years and downtown was part of my route. I got to meet some very nice people over the years in doing so. Loved the elevator ride in Zahn's to take the paper to the 4th floor. Even the elevator operator was one of my customers.
Hopes: I hope Racine can offer the residents the same fond memories of a downtown area in great city, in years to come, like Racine did for me.
Ron Merritt

Memories: While I no longer live in Racine (since 1999), I was nevertheless involved in Downtown Racine since 1950 in that I was the owner of Brandt Jewelers on Monument Square. We started at the corner of 6th & Main where I think the sub shop is now, then eventually moved to 512 Monument Square. Back in the '50s, '60s and early '70s it was a bustling, busy downtown with people waiting in line on Friday nights after payday to make payments and shop. We had, I think, 5 or 7 jewlery stores downtown, plus a great department store, Zahn's. We had many special promotions put on by the downtown association, festivals, parades, etc. Then when Turnstyle (store opened on Washington Ave. and then more stores and a Mall cropped up in outer Racine, things started to grind to a halt. I hope with the new Johnson Building and other new things happening, perhaps downtown Racine will make a comeback, but I doubt if there will ever be much retailing, mostly offices and services. I would be nice to see it happen, but I like many others are leery about anything like we had in the past.
Robert Latz

Memories: Almost every young boy in Racine couldn't wait to turn old enough -- or at least, look like he turned old enought to descend into the dark, dingy cellar of the Ace Grille, which was home to the local pool hall, known as "The Ace". We all heard the familiar call of "Rack, Sarge" upon the completion of a game of 8-ball, or 9-ball. Nobody really knew Sarge. He was just a grumpy old gentleman whose job it was to rack the balls and collect the dime or quarter, or whatever it cost at that time. My memories of "The Ace" go back to the 1940s and 1950s, but I'm sure others go back further and extend longer. I don't remember when "The Ace" ceased to be, or when the Ace Grille no longer existed, but I do remember "hangin' out" with friends and playing pool there.
Tom Reisenauer

Memories: My best childhood memories are of Saturday morning trips to the movie theaters to see 25 or 30 cartoons followed by a Western. That wonderful movie palace, the Venetian, and the others (Rialto, Badger, and Main Street) made the 7 cent bus fare well worthwhile. The Main Street theater was considered a bit disreputable because my mother thought a rougher crowd went there. With the departure of the theaters and the quality stores, the whole area became a bit disreputable. I also remember standing with a crowd watching the dime stores on the west side of Main street burn.
Hopes: It always seemed a bit short-sighted to let the downtown area disintegrate when it could have been entirely torn down (except Monument Square) and a wonderful shopping mall all under one roof built in the area instead of on the good farm land on the city's edge. Restaurants could have been put in to overlook the lakefront and parking provided inside. Repeated attempts to revitalize the old buildings are half measures that will likely yield disappointing results.
Al Yousten

Memories: I remember going downtown with my parents in the early '50s on Friday nights. The streets and stores were full of people. Shopping at Racine Dry Goods and a visit to the 3 dime stores on the west side of the 400 block (Niesner's, Kresge's, Woolworth's) was a must. All of the traffic signals turned red at the same time and all of the walk lites went on at the same time. You could cross kitty korner (diagonally) if you wanted and it was all legal.
Tim Quirk

Memories: Downtown Monument Square was pretty with its colored lights and the flowers in the summer (just like now). Old Glory would proudly fly — against the blue sky. Birds singing; trees of maple would show the square. The people of Racine would show off their things (such as the plaque on the square and the steps of the buildings.
Gloria A. Niesen