Yerkes Future Foundation, in the midst of an ongoing, multi-million dollar, multi-year renovation of Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, began a soft reopening of the historic facility to the public in the summer of 2022 with a long-term goal of attracting 50,000 domestic and international visitors annually.
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“The Darkness is Past and the True Light Now Shineth,” an unsigned Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass window at the National Register of Historic Places-listed Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, 320 Broad St., Lake Geneva.
Praised by Provisional Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee Bishop The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee as exemplifying “the beauty of holiness,” Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, 320 Broad St. in Lake Geneva, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built from 1880-1882 of cut native granite and limestone in an Early Gothic Revival architectural style, Lee presided over a blessing and dedication of the National Register marker during his Feb. 12, 2023 episcopal visitation at the parish, founded in 1844.
The historic octagon-shaped Welcome J. Miller House at 727 Main St., Genoa City, today houses the popular destination restaurant Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction, famed for its Door County-styled fish boils. The clapboard pre-Civil War home, built in 1852, was continuously owned by the successive generations of the Miller family until its sale to Fitzgerald’s in 1990.
Designed by Adolph Cudell and built for Chicago beer baron Conrad Seipp at a cost of $20,000 in 1887-1888, Queen Anne-styled Black Point Estate today is one of a handful of surviving Victorian mansions that once ringed Geneva Lake. The 8,000-square-foot summer home, handed down through four generations of the Seipp family before it was gifted to the Wisconsin Historical Society in 2005, includes a distinctive four-story corner tower that offers sweeping, breezy views of Geneva Lake and Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay. The 12-acre lakefront estate, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1994, includes a variety of picturesque garden plantings.
Four generations of uninterrupted Seipp family ownership from 1888-2005 have built Black Point Estate into a unique time capsule of Geneva Lake and Chicago brewing history. Built by leading Chicago beer baron Conrad Seipp as a summer vacation residence for his family, Black Point Estate is today owned and operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society, with tours offered annual from May to October.
Decorative interior design elements in architect Henry Ives Cobb’s Beaux Arts-styled circa 1895-97 Yerkes Observatory building in Williams Bay include a variety of caricature faces of benefactor Charles Tyson Yerkes.
Decorative exterior design elements on architect Henry Ives Cobb’s Beaux Arts-styled circa 1895-97 Yerkes Observatory building in Williams Bay include this winged lion.
Pioneer Cemetary is one of Lake Geneva’s oldest properties, part of the city’s National Register-listed Maple Park Historic District. The cemetery’s main gate is located in the 1100 block of Dodge Street, between Maxwell and Warren streets. The first cemetery in Lake Geneva, Pioneer Cemetery traces its roots back to 1837.
ABOVE: Seen near its western trailhead near North Road in the unincorporated Walworth County hamlet of Allens Grove, the 5.8-mile rails-to-trails Pelishek-Tiffany Nature Trail traverses former Milwaukee Road railroad right-of-way between Allens Grove and Clinton in Rock County. The 64.3-acre linear park, purchased by Rock County Parks in 1995, accommodates a variety of users year-round, including winter snowmobilers and cross-country skiers and warm-weather hikers, bikers, horseback riders, joggers and bird-watchers.
Naturalized over the past four decades, the 5.8-mile, 64.3-acre Pelishek-Tiffany Trail Trail corridor on the old Milwaukee Road right-of-way between Allens Grove in Walworth County and Clinton in Rock County features a wide variety of trees, bushes and wildflowers, including Wild Four O’Clock as seen here.
The 1,200-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail passes through northwestern Walworth County near Whitewater in the Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit. The 4.6-mile Whitewater Lake Segment of the Ice Age Trail, between Clover Valley Road and U.S. Hwy. 12, includes this scenic boardwalk and bridge section near Whitewater Creek.
Signature yellow blazes mark the 1,200-mile Ice Age Scenic National Trail as it meanders its way through Wisconsin. This marker identifies a turn in the trail along the 4.6-mile Whitewater Lake Trail in northwestern Walworth County near Whitewater. The Ice Age Trail is one of 11 national scenic trails.
Fans of American car culture and petroliana will want to make a photo stop at Elkhorn Garage, 2-40 S. Lincoln St. at East Walworth Street in downtown Elkhorn, where the gas pump rings up at 29.9 cents a gallon.
Petroliana and car culture devotees will want to make a photo stop at the Shell-branded Wendell C. “W.C..” Nelson/Darr’s Service (1939-2019) station at W6071 U.S. Hwy. 12 (Iron Brigade Memorial Highway) in the Town of LaGrange, east of Whitewater.
Once a common sight along Wisconsin’s rural state and federal highways, vintage 1930s-1960s farm silo ads promoting Miller High Life Milwaukee Beer have faded into obscurity as time and the elements have taken their toll. A lingering if fading link to the past is provided by this Miller High Life ghost sign ad on a concrete silo along State Hwy. 67/U.S. Hwy. 12, north of Abells Corners.
Hand-dug by Adam Channing, roadside artesian aquifer “Flowing Well,” 8267 Clover Valley Rd. in the Town of Whitewater, has gushed continuously year-round since 1895. A small park area at Flowing Well features several benches and a small shelter.
The circa-1963 Dog ‘n Suds drive-in at 11015 U.S. Hwy. 12 in Richmond, Illinois, still serves up classic signature Dog ‘n Suds fare like Coney dogs, crinkle-cut fries, char-co burgers and “the world’s creamiest root beer,” in addition to more contemporary menu items including boneless wings and fried cheese curds. The stand opened for its landmark 60th season on March 1.
Marking its 60th anniversary in 2023, the Dog ‘n Suds Drive-in south of Genoa City on U.S. Highway 12 in Richmond, Ill., opened for business in 1963 and still exudes its vintage, retro-nostalgic vibe from the franchise restaurant chain’s 1950s-1970s heydays. The stand is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. during its March-October run.
A glacial kettle marsh is one of the outstanding scenic natural features along Cranberry Road on Rustic Road 36, east of State Hwy. 50.
Best Resorter covers of 2022 show Lake Geneva area at its best
Resorter cover: Jan. 5, 2022
Ice beginning to form Jan. 3 over Como Creek, just east of the covered bridge at Hawk's View Golf Course.
Resorter cover: March 30, 2022
People enjoyed a bright, brisk Sunday afternoon in March on the Riviera Beach in Lake Geneva.
Resorter cover: May 4, 2022
“Untitled,” by Mary Nevicosi, was one of several pieces by the artist that were on display during an exhibit presented by the Whitewater Arts Alliance last spring.
Resorter cover: July 6, 2022
A dramatic Summer Solstice sunset captured June 21 over Delavan Lake.
Resorter cover: July 27, 2022
Flowers give new life to this old pickup truck parked near Spring Valley Road in the Town of Lyons.
Resorter cover: Aug. 3, 2022
The Sunflower Festival at Von Bergen’s Country Market in Hebron, Illinois.
Resorter cover: Aug. 31, 2022
The Walworth County Fair in Elkhorn ran six days this year, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 5.
Resorter cover: Sept. 14, 2022
A last glimpse of summer along the Delavan Lake channel near the Highlands.
Resorter cover: Nov. 2, 2022
A blanket of frost on a leaf in Genoa City.
Resorter cover: Dec. 7, 2022
From the Fourth Annual Parade of Trees at Geneva Lake Museum in Lake Geneva.
