I sent my dad out with his digital camera on a secret, yet to be disclosed, mission this afternoon and he came back with some extra photographs from my old neighborhood in Appleton, WI where I lived from about 1997 – 1999.
Ring Dance, City Park, Appleton, WI
The first photograph is from City Park, Appleton’s oldest park. I used to live a block from this park and remember spending many leisurely days reading books in the sun or under a big tree, both of which there were a lot of. Also popular at City Park was an annual art show called Art in the Park. The photo my dad took is of a fountain in the park called Ring Dance. The sculpture is by Dallas Anderson and it was dedicated in 1996. It depicts 6 children in a “ring dance,” an ancient game where children link one of their legs together to form a circle and then hop around singing and dancing.
Adler Brau Brewery & Restaurant, Appleton, WI
What I remember about Adler Brau Brewery & Restaurant is that it was in the “Between the Locks” building that a popular comedy club, Skyline Comedy Cafe, was in. The Between the Locks building is named so because it physically is located between the locks. It’s an old historic brewery building. When you attended a show at Skyline, you filled out a postcard survey and if your name was selected then you and 20 of your friends won free admission to the club for a show. It got to a point where so many of my friends and myself won so often that we were like “the comedy club again!?” but I do miss it now. I haven’t been to a comedy club for quite some time. Before the comedy club we often would have dinner at Adler Brau, which was called Dos Banditos at the time. We would also sometimes have lunch there since I not only lived in the downtown neighborhood, but worked there too. Adler Brau has been around for 22 years and has won 6 medals for taste at the Great American Beer Festival.
The Locks, Appleton, WI
One way that electricity is produced is Wisconsin is hydroelectrically. Along the Fox River, which runs through downtown Appleton, there is a canal that is closed off with a series of gates & dams which convert the energy of the running water into electricity. The Fox River was a short walk from each of the apartments that I lived in and I would go there often to walk the shore, which is a mixture of landscaped parks, residential, commercial and industrial zones.
Vulcan Street Plant Reproduction, Appleton, WI
The Vulcan Street Power Plant was built on along the Fox River in 1882 and was the world’s first hydroelectric station. Seen here is a reproduction of the original plant.
That is all for now. This has been a joint presentation, with me doing the research and writing and my dad, Rick, taking the photographs. We hope you have enjoyed this downtown Appleton history lesson!