12 Wisconsin Towns With Unforgettable Main Streets
Wisconsin Main Streets pull more than postcards. Cedarburg's Washington Avenue holds 19th-century brick storefronts including the 1898 Wittenberg-Jochem Mansion. Monroe holds the title of Swiss Cheese Capital of the United States and houses the National Historic Cheesemaking Center. Baraboo built its identity around the circus, and the 1915 Al. Ringling Theatre still operates on Fourth Avenue. Twelve Wisconsin towns ahead pair walkable downtowns with the food, art, and history of each Main Street.
Cedarburg
Cedarburg's Washington Avenue picked up an Architectural Digest mention among the country's prettiest Main Streets. The brick storefronts back the praise, with the 1898 Wittenberg-Jochem Mansion now housing the Cedarburg Art Museum. The Cedarburg Cultural Center sits about a ten-minute walk away with art exhibits, theater productions, and live music year-round.
Cedar Creek Settlement, originally built by German entrepreneurs in 1864, sits at the center of the historic downtown with more than 20 shops selling handmade crafts and unique souvenirs. Cedar Creek Winery operates inside the settlement with stone wine cellars and seasonal wine tasting tours.
Sturgeon Bay
Sturgeon Bay runs 3rd Avenue as the main commercial spine of Door County's largest town. Third Avenue PlayWorks (TAP) hosts plays, musicals, and comedies in an intimate venue, and Cedar Crossing Restaurant & Bar serves slow-roasted ribs, beef tenderloin, and salmon piccata inside a restored historic inn.
The Michigan Street Bridge over the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal is the only double-leaf overhead truss bridge still operating in Wisconsin. The Door County Maritime Museum sits a short walk from the bridge on the waterfront with a working tugboat tour and a lighthouse tower.
Baraboo
Baraboo wears its circus heritage on every block of downtown. The 1915 Al. Ringling Theatre, often called "America's Prettiest Playhouse," still operates with a French opera house-inspired interior. Circus World on Water Street, the original Ringling Brothers winter quarters, runs as a museum and live performance venue with the largest circus poster collection in the country.
Bekah Kate's Kitchen sells high-quality home and kitchen goods alongside gourmet pantry items including jams, teas, sauces, and olive oils. A Sense of Adventure rounds out the shopping with fair trade products including journals, dolls, and home decor.
New Glarus
New Glarus was founded by Swiss immigrants from the Canton of Glarus in 1845, and the village has held on to its alpine identity ever since. A walk along 1st Street reads as a Swiss village transplanted to southern Wisconsin. New Glarus Brewing Company, founded 1993 by Deb and Daniel Carey, runs as one of the state's most celebrated craft breweries with Spotted Cow and Moon Man among the regional staples.
The Chalet of the Golden Fleece Museum, originally a private home built by Edwin Barlow in 1937, holds Swiss folk art and other international collections. The Swiss Historical Village Museum collects 14 buildings filled with 19th-century artifacts that document the Swiss settlers' early life in Green County.
Mineral Point
Mineral Point's High Street holds the largest concentration of Cornish stone buildings in the country, a legacy of the Cornish miners who settled here in the 1830s. The 1914 Mineral Point Opera House on High Street still hosts performances with intimate seating and acoustics. Little Elk Art Collective sits a block away with crochet, photography, and paintings from regional makers.
Red Rooster Cafe has served Cornish-influenced meals on High Street for more than four decades, with pasties and Cornish pasties still on the menu. High Street Sweets handles the retro candy side with old-fashioned chocolates and confections.
Stoughton
Stoughton sits about 20 miles southeast of Madison along the Yahara River with the strongest Norwegian heritage in the state. The Main Street Historic District runs through downtown with the Stoughton Opera House at its center, an 1899 Romanesque Revival building with 475 seats that still hosts live music year-round. The former Badger Theatre on East Main Street, which opened in 1921, now runs as the Stoughton Village Players Theater.
Livsreise Norwegian Heritage Center documents Norwegian emigration to America through mixed-media exhibits and interactive storybooks. Stoughton hosts the annual Syttende Mai festival each May 17 to celebrate Norwegian Constitution Day. Hello Art Hatchery handles art supplies on Main Street, and Nordic Nook stocks Scandinavian apparel and gifts a few doors down.
Platteville
Platteville is the largest city in Grant County and still reads as a small-town Main Street. The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums on East Main Street include an 1845 lead mine and a 1931 steam train, documenting the lead and zinc mining that built southern Wisconsin's economy in the 19th century. Badger Bros Coffee around the corner serves top-shelf roast coffee, breakfast burritos, and sandwiches inside a family-owned cafe.
Beyond downtown, Platteville Mound holds the largest letter "M" in the world at 241 by 214 feet, built in 1937 to mark the country's first mining school (now part of UW-Platteville). The Platteville Community Arboretum runs about three miles of cycling trails through a botanical garden.
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva built its Main Street around its namesake lake, with the Riviera Building (a 1932 Art Deco landmark) standing over the lakefront downtown. The Lake Geneva Shore Path runs around the lake for about 21 miles, passing public beaches, historic Gilded Age estates, and lakefront parks built for residents and visitors alike.
The Lake Geneva Main Street Historic District covers about 2.5 acres in the heart of downtown. Oakfire Pizza serves wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas in the historic district, and Topsy Turvy Brewery runs through the evening with craft beer on tap and in bottles. Big Foot Beach State Park sits just south of town with a 5-mile hiking trail, a playground, and a public swimming beach.
Beloit
Beloit's historic downtown runs tree-lined streets dotted with hanging flower baskets and locally owned shops. The Saturday Beloit Farmers Market on State Street stocks local produce, hand-crafted goods, and baked goods through the warm months. Northwoods Premium Confections handles gourmet popcorn, fresh fudge, and old-fashioned candy on Grand Avenue.
The Wright Museum of Art on the Beloit College campus runs as a teaching museum that showcases student work alongside its collection. Beckman Mill Park sits just outside town with the restored 1868 Beckman-Howe Mill, a picnic gazebo, a heritage garden, and forested walking trails along Raccoon Creek.
Port Washington
Port Washington sits about 27 miles north of Milwaukee on Lake Michigan with a Civil War-era downtown and an active harbor. Coal Dock Park stretches into the lake from downtown with a boardwalk and pedestrian footbridge to Possibility Playground. The Judge Eghart House offers guided tours of Victorian furnishings donated by Port Washington families over generations.
The Chocolate Chisel sells handmade chocolates and ice cream in the downtown district. Vines to Cellar Winery runs through the evening with red wines and fruit dessert wines, and Inventors Brewpub handles the craft beer side a few blocks away.
Wausau
Wausau's 400 Block runs as the centerpiece of downtown, a 1.3-acre public space with an outdoor stage, splash pad, fountain, and open play area for year-round events. Wausau Whitewater Park sits a few blocks away on the Wisconsin River with engineered rapids for kayaking and canoeing in summer.
The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum holds an English Tudor-style building near downtown and hosts the international Birds in Art exhibit every fall. Monk Botanical Gardens covers nearly 30 acres a five-minute drive from downtown, with a two-mile walking trail running through the grounds.
Monroe
Monroe holds the title of Swiss Cheese Capital of the United States, and downtown runs around The Square at the center of Green County. The 1891 Green County Courthouse stands at the heart of The Square with its 120-foot tower and working clock. Monroe Arts Center occupies an 1869 former Methodist church a few minutes away and runs as a music venue, gallery, and gift shop.
The National Historic Cheesemaking Center sits in a former railroad depot on 6th Avenue with two giant copper kettles and equipment documenting Wisconsin's cheese-making history. Baumgartner's Cheese Store & Tavern on The Square has operated since 1931 as the oldest cheese store in Wisconsin, still serving its Limburger-and-onion sandwich.
Twelve Wisconsin Main Streets For The Itinerary
Wisconsin's unforgettable Main Streets pair architecture, food, and heritage in different combinations across the state. Cedarburg and Mineral Point keep their 19th-century buildings working as shops, galleries, and restaurants. Port Washington and Lake Geneva run lakeside downtowns with active harbors and shorelines. New Glarus and Monroe preserve their Swiss heritage through cheese-making and alpine architecture. Baraboo carries the country's circus legacy on every block. Twelve different ways to spend a day on a Wisconsin Main Street.
