Appleton

Appleton is a city in Outagamie , Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles (160 km) north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 72,623 at the 2010 census. Of this, 60,045 were in Outagamie County, 11,088 in Calumet County, and 1,490 in Winnebago County. Appleton is the principal city of the Appleton, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, Wisconsin Combined Statistical Area. The city possesses the two tallest buildings in Outagamie County, the Zuelke Building and 222 Building, at 168 and 183 feet, respectively.

Appleton serves as the heart of the Fox River Valley, and is home to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, Fox River Mall, Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium, Appleton International Airport, and the Valley's two major hospitals: St. Elizabeth Hospital and ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Appleton. It also hosts a large number of regional events such as its Flag Day parade, Christmas parade, and others.

History

Fur traders seeking to do business with Fox River Valley Native Americans were the first European settlers in Appleton. Hippolyte Grignon built the White Heron in 1835 to house his family and serve as an inn and trading post.

Appleton was settled in 1847 and incorporated as a village in 1853. John F. Johnston was the first resident and village president. Home to Lawrence University, Appleton grew along with the school. With the financial backing of Amos A. Lawrence, the Lawrence Institute was chartered in 1847. Samuel Appleton, Lawrence's father-in-law from New England who never visited Wisconsin, donated $10,000 to the newly founded college library, and his name was given to the community in appreciation.

The community was incorporated as a city on March 2, 1857, with Amos Storey as its first mayor. Early in the 20th century, it adopted the commission form of government. In 1890, 11,869 people lived in Appleton; in 1900, there were 15,085; in 1910, 16,773; in 1920, 19,571; and in 1940, 28,436.

The paper industry, beginning with the building of the first paper mill in the city in 1853, has been at the forefront of the development of Appleton. In order to provide electricity to the paper industry, the nation's first hydro-electric central station, the Vulcan Street Plant on the Fox River, began operation on September 30, 1882. The power plant also powered the Hearthstone House, the first residence in the world powered by a centrally located hydroelectric station using the Edison system.

Shortly thereafter, in August 1886, Appleton was the site for another national first, the operation of a commercially successful electric streetcar company. Electric lights replaced gas lamps on College Avenue in 1912. Appleton also had the first telephone in Wisconsin, and the first incandescent light in any city outside of the East Coast.

Appleton's tallest building, the 222 Building was built in 1952. The Valley Fair Shopping Center, built in 1954, laid claim to being the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States, although this claim is disputed by other malls. In 2007 most of the structure was demolished, leaving only its east wing and a movie theater. A Copps Food Center now stands in its place.

Sociologist James W. Loewen, in his book Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism labeled Appleton a sundown town -- a town that was intentionally all white. In these towns, black people were not allowed inside the town limits after dark.

In May of 2016, a report by 24/7 Wall St. found that Appleton had the highest rate of self-reported binge and heavy drinking in the country.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.82 square miles (64.28 km2), of which, 24.33 square miles (63.01 km2) is land and 0.49 square miles (1.27 km2) is water.

Transportation

The city is the owner of Valley Transit, a network of bus lines serving the Fox Valley. There are also several taxi operators in the city. Valley Transit operates routes that generally operate from as early as 5:45 AM until as late as 10:40 PM Monday through Saturday. Frequencies are usually every hour and every half-hour on certain routes during peak morning and afternoon times on weekdays. There is no service on Sunday. Greyhound and Lamers offer intercity buses serving such locations as Green Bay, Madison, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, and Chicago.

Roads

Interstate 41 Northbound routes to Green Bay. Southbound I-41 routes to Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, and Milwaukee. This is a full interstate grade freeway that runs on the west and north sides of Appleton. It has 8 exits serving the Appleton area (from South to North) with 2 being in Appleton (the other 5 are located in Grand Chute) at:

Hwy E Ballard Rd.(Exit 144) and Hwy 441 (Exit 145)

US 10 Westbound goes to Waupaca and Stevens Point. US 10 Eastbound goes to Brillion and Manitowoc. This is mostly a freeway except along Oneida St. US 41 runs entirely concurrent with Interstate 41 through the city of Appleton. WIS 47 travels Northbound to Black Creek and Shawano, Wisconsin. Southbound, WIS 47 routes to Menasha. This is Richmond St., Memorial Dr., and Appleton Rd. WIS 96 travels west to Fremont and travels east to Little Chute and Kaukauna. This is Wisconsin Ave. WIS 125 travels between US 41 and WIS 47 on College Ave. College Ave. west of US 41 is Hwy CA and heads to Appleton International Airport. WIS 441 bypasses Appleton on the south and east sides as a freeway. Exits are at:

US 10 West/US 41, Racine St Menasha, Hwy AP Midway Rd., WIS 47 Appleton Rd., US 10 East Oneida St., Hwy KK Calumet St., Hwy CE College Ave., Hwy OO Northland Ave., US 41

Rail

Appleton is criss-crossed by the former main lines of the Chicago and North Western Railway (southwest-northeast) and the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western (roughly southeast-northwest, and now largely abandoned except for local service to area paper mills and other industries). A north-south branch of the former Wisconsin Central Railroad passes on the west side of the city. All rail service is now operated by Canadian National Railway. Appleton has no intercity passenger rail service, although studies are being undertaken on the feasibility of extending Amtrak service to the Fox Cities and Green Bay.

Airport

The Appleton International Airport (ATW) is located at the west end of College Avenue, 2 miles west of Interstate 41 and 6 miles west of downtown.

Tourism

Appleton tourist attractions include the Hearthstone House, the four-story mansion that was the first house in the world to be powered by hydroelectricity at its completion in 1881. The History Museum at the Castle contains exhibits on Fox River Valley history, including a gallery showcasing Edna Ferber, a Harry Houdini exhibit, and other travelling exhibits. The Paper Discovery Center has historic paper-making machines on display and an exhibit on the history of paper. The Fox River Mall is the second-largest mall in Wisconsin. Other local malls include Northland Mall, City Centre Plaza and formerly Valley Fair Shopping Center, aka Valley Fair Mall, disputedly the first enclosed shopping mall in America, opening in 1954.

In 2013, Houdini Plaza, on the corner of College Avenue and Appleton Street, was renovated. The project cost around $1.5 million with most of that paid by the city itself. The plaza, known as the 'front yard' of downtown Appleton holds roughly 55 events each year, including summer concerts and part of the downtown farmers market.

There are numerous performing ensembles in Appleton. Including the Appleton Boy Choir, Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra, Makaroff Youth Ballet, newVoices Choir, Vento Winds, and many more.

Parks

The city of Appleton has 24 neighborhood parks and four community parks in its park system. The neighborhood parks range in size from two acres to 16 acres, while the community parks range in size from 25 acres to 139 acres.

Memorial Park is the largest of the community parks, covering 139 acres. The park's facilities include: seven baseball/softball fields, playground equipment, an indoor ice skating rink, a sledding hill, a picnic pavilion, a catch and release fishing pond, grills, and a warming shelter. The park provides the firework display for the Appleton community during the 4th of July holiday.

City Park, established in 1882, is the oldest park in the Appleton park system. The Trout Museum of Art uses the park for its Art in the Park showcase. The show features over 200 artists that draw over 25,000 art enthusiasts annually. Pierce Park is the site of weekly Appleton City Band concerts held during the summer, and of the annual Appleton Old Car Show and Swap Meet. Pierce Park and Telulah Park each feature a disc golf course. Erb Park and Mead Park each feature a public aquatics facility. Jones Park is the site of the finish line for the Santa Scamper run held during the annual Appleton Christmas Parade, and features an outdoor hockey rink in the winter.

A view of the small World War I memorial on the south side of Appleton, including a restored copy of the Spirit of the American Doughboy.

Points of interest

• The Trout Museum of Art
• Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
• Fox River Mall
• Fox Valley Technical College
• Gardens of the Fox Cities
• Goodland Field
• Hearthstone Historic House Museum
• The History Museum at the Castle
• J. B. Courtney Woolen Mills
• John Hart Whorton House
• Lawrence University
• St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church
• Temple Zion and School
• Zion Lutheran Church
• Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium, home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Minor League-Class A Midwest League)

• DOT sign on WIS 125

• Fox Cities Performing Arts Center

• Hearthstone Historic House Museum

• Looking east at Downtown Appleton

• Looking east at Downtown Appleton

• Looking west at Downtown Appleton

• Looking east down on downtown Appleton

• Looking west down on downtown Appleton

• St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church

• Inside Neuroscience Group Field