Port Washington is awash in history and both natural and architectural beauty. But the variety of things to do and see - and the events you can experience - are growing rapidly. Eric sits down with Wayne Chrusciel, Executive Director of Port Washington Tourism, for an update on what's happening in this charming, often serene but increasingly busting little city with the big harbor on Lake Michigan. The 1860 Lighthouse & Museum with St. Mary's Church are part of the reason downtown Port Washington has the largest collection of pre-Civil War buildings in Wisconsin. Art is growing in Port Washington, which beat out locations across 11 states to become the Midwest representative for the Mosaic Murals, kicking off some mural momentum in town. Lake Michigan's opportunity to enjoy swimming, boating, surfing, and beaches is unsurpassed anywhere in the state, and the city is flanked by spectacular parks, including Harrington Beach State Park to the north and Lions Den Gorge County Park to the south. Kids can enjoy all of these amenities as well as places like the Possibility Playground, which is accessible to everyone while offering beautiful views from the bluff. Inventors Brewpub offers terrific craft beer and is in the process of expanding to a new downtown venue. Vines to Cellar Winery not only makes and offers great wines, but also gives you extra opportunities to learn about wine and even make your own. Coal Dock Park is starting to blossom as a place to walk, enjoy the views, and some emerging events. Events in Port Washington include the Port Festival of the Arts, Fall Fest, Christmas on the Corner, and the legendary Fish Days are BACK in mid-July - and running multiple days again! Meanwhile this summer, every Saturday from June through October Port Washington offers their comprehensive farmers market in the morning hours downtown and a beer garden in the afternoon in Upper Lake Park, right across from Possibility Playground. And their downtown hotel just got a major update and reopened, so you have a walkable lodging option. Check out more on StateTrunkTour.com and VisitPortWashington.com!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:16):
And welcome back to the State Trumpto our podcast on head tour guide her
Paulson. Heading into summer with somany great activities around the state and so
many great places to visit and enjoy. And today we're going to focus on
Port Washington, which likes to callitself your homeport. A beautiful city kind
of herkens you to East coast feelright along Lake Michigan, smack between Milwaukee
(00:38):
and Sheboygan, just about a halfhour north of Milwaukee, actually along Highways
thirty two and thirty three, justoff I forty three. The lake effect
is strong there, and the historyand so much more fantastic, So many
things to do and see, anda lot of events going on not only
the summer but into the fall.In the Christmas season. Fish Days are
back, and yes it's plural fishdays. We talk about all of that
(01:00):
today right here on the State TrunkTour podcast. Stick around. It's a
fun half hour where you'll learn alot. And joining me now live from
Port Washington, your home part homePort. Wayne Crucial, executive director of
Port Washington Tourism. Hello, Wayne, how are you? I'm doing?
Great? Beautiful day up here inPort Washington. Always is there, it
(01:22):
seems even when it's bad, likehigher up Port Washington, you know,
the downtown parts nestled down a littlebit right along the water, and it's
it always seems better and more peacefuldown there, unless in events going on,
that's right, and then it getsa little crazy. Now you you
actually took over Port Washington tourism welljust about a year ago now, and
how have things been going in thepast year. Well, they've been very
(01:45):
excited with a lot of things thatare kind of not because I'm here,
but our happening. And we've gota lot of new exciting events coming on
board as well as in oldly butGoody making a strong reappearance. So it
looks like it's going to be agreat summer here in Paul Washington. It
does. We have a lot totalk about here today too, and things
(02:05):
are really growing down there. Imean there's new apartment and condo complexes going
up right by the water. InventorsBrewpub, which is now a long time
favorite, they're expanding into a brandnew facility right nearby because they've been in
that VFW hall, and then justso many other things springing up. So
we'll just drive down highways thirty twoand thirty three, hit downtown and dive
into the whole thing. Okay,all right, So first of all,
(02:29):
when you started working in the job, you decided you wanted to get some
feedback not only from visitors but fromresidents, and you started there's there's a
great event called Christmas in the Cornerthat happens every December down there, because
port does embrace all four seasons.You started a poll with people, how's
that been going. What have youfound out? Well, we surveyed visitors,
(02:50):
people who have requested information about PaulWashington and our residence and given the
opportunity to tell us what they thoughtabout Paul Washington the specifically tourism, and
what we found was really boil itdown. It's all about the lake.
People love Lake Michigan, the impactthat it has on an area. You're
talking about coming down into downtown andso many people say it is sole relaxing
(03:16):
and so bus taking to see thelake as you enter it. So we
know from everybody who talk about it, it's not just the lake, but
it's our charming, historic downtown.Also that's right on the lake, So
we have some unique attributes that we'reobviously playing up through our marketing and to
(03:36):
tell people about Paul Washington why theyshould come here. Absolutely, and the
history is real. I mean,it goes back a long way. You
have the for example, you havethe eighteen sixty Lighthouse Museum that's perched up
on the hill above downtown right bythe church. Everybody notices when they're driving
up Franklin Street, which is Highwaythirty two. So that's a great place
for people to begin exploring the city'shistory, I think right. And that
(04:00):
church was built in the mid eighteenhundreds, so we have a lot of
history. Fact, Paul Washington hasin its downtown area the largest collection of
pre Civil War buildings in Wisconsin.So we and we embrace it. It's
kind of an interesting the ecotomy thatwe go through as we try to expand.
We have many new buildings going up, condos, we have an office
(04:23):
building that went up and then andas you mentioned, inventors. But to
balance that against having such a historicarea and the fact that people not only
respect it, but embrace it andwant to continue that so it's on top
of everybody's In fact, the surveysshowed that also that no one wants to
lose that historic aspect of what PaulWashington is all about. Yeah, and
(04:46):
it's it's always tricky to blend theold with the new properly, and the
balance really seems to be there toreally get a great sense of the city's
maritime history. There is that eighteensixty Lighthouse Museum up on the hill which
we just mentioned. But then hecan come right downtown and the Port Historical
Societies right there by Yummy Bones Barbecueand you can see some of the technology
that that's been used through the yearstoo, including now right. It's a
(05:11):
great place to learn through technology aswell as artifacts and exhibits, really the
history of Paul Washington. And it'sit's quite interesting that again the area was
settled in the eighteen fifties, sixtiesand so, and we still have a
lot of structure standing. You canlearn all about them. Yeah, and
(05:32):
a lot of them are still rightdown by the water. And I gotta
say, I mean, you're Marinaand the harbor area that's that's one of
the most beautiful in the state,if not the most. Yes, it's
and it's unique. We're the onlyharbor town obviously in Ozaki County, and
we're only one of three deep harborson this side of Lake Michigan. And
(05:54):
that was because we have a powerplant here, and for many years it
was coal fired, and so thelarge ships that come in drop the coal
off. In fact, we nowhave a park called Coal Dock Park because
the power plant went to gas andso they part of the agreement with the
city originally to use that land wasthey had to give it back to the
(06:14):
city, and so the city turnedinto a beautiful park, seventeen Eco Park
that actually has a bird sanctuary onit paths and oh, it's just a
great place to go out and notonly be able to look out into Lake
Michigan, but turn around and lookback at the city. Yeah, the
views looking back at town are prettyphenomenal. And you're right there on the
water and all those all those trailsthrough the marina and Coal Dock Park,
(06:34):
which are on the opposite sides ofthe little slips that come in. You
know, you're right up by thelake, you're right up by the boats.
And for surfers it's great too,because you have the beach just to
the south of that plant, andthe waves that kick up there are something
well, we have a northeaster.If it comes in out of the northeast,
(06:56):
you can get some really good waves. In fact, when it's this
time of year especially, we'll getthose. And we have a nineteen thirty
five peer head out there that's gotarches that kind of the signal way for
originally for the boats coming into outof the harbor, and the arches about
fifteen feet high and the water willget to the top of the arch,
(07:16):
so we're talking some serious waves.So yeah, the surfers and we do
have a surf shop here, soyou really want to do it, just
come here and you get either asurfboard, a paddle board, or a
kayak and go out on the water. Yeah, you can get a little
bit of everything in and around PortWashington, really because if you love outdoor
recreation, you've got the surfing onLake Michigan, you have the boating,
(07:38):
there's some good swimming beaches nearby.And for great hiking, I mean you
can use the trails in Coldock Parkand flanking Port Washington you have Harrington Beach
State Park to the north, andthen just to the south east of Grafton
is lions Den Gorge County Park,which is in Ozaki County Park, offering
some unbelievably spectacular views over Lake Michigan, those hundred foot bluffs and you can
(08:01):
see Port Washington's downtown from there.Yes, yes you can. It's a
great park. In fact, duringCOVID, when people were kind of shut
in, they had cars parking amile away because so many people wanted to
take advantage of being able to goout and walk the trails. So it
is remember that mile wa to thepark. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
(08:22):
then you had to go down,like you said, like one hundred feet
down to the to the beach.But they have really nice walkways and bridges,
and that's what's an easy walk ifyou're thinking about coming up and go
in there and then just keep cominga little further north to Part Washington,
get lunch or dinner. It's justa couple of minutes, and you have
several road choices. And what's interestingis when you're especially if it's like a
(08:43):
summer or fall day, if you'reat Lions Dan Gorge up on those bluffs,
it looks like you're in California orHawaii practically, with the blue water
of Lake Michigan and the bluffs inthe sand and then you go to Port
Washington, and so many people sayit evokes a feeling in a sense of
one of those historic East Coast fishingvillages. Yeah, we hear them a
lot. And it's interesting because weget people that stop you from Door County
(09:05):
on their way home to Illinois wherethey're going, and they even make that
comparison. They said, Wow,this is even nicer than than Door County
in terms of the look of beingan old Eastern style of fishing village.
And that certainly means good fish andgood restaurants. I mean, Smith Brothers
had a huge history in Port Washington, but there's still some great places to
(09:26):
get some fresh fish and other greateats. Right, it's got great restaurants.
We actually have a fifth generations theEwick family are still selling fisher in
town. They were one of thefamilies that ran the fishboats back in the
late eighteen hundreds of early nineteen hundreds, and the fifth generation is now running
the Ewick Fish Store. So we'vegot plenty for you to to try.
(09:48):
And then you've got you know,some other classics like Bernie's the Meats.
You can't mistake that Neon sign foranything else. And like you mentioned yummy
Bones, there's a lot of wonderfulplaces to eat, some of which and
overlook the marina, right we havethe Fork and Tap and that has a
deck right out onto the harbor,so it's it's right there. We have
(10:09):
Doc Sidelli was a little saying,you know, we have everything that you
could possibly want to give um sandwiches, you can have a sit down,
you can have fine dining. Wehave a farm for a farm to table
restaurant, Twisted Willow and uh,we have some new chefs that have come
to town. We the Port Hotelhas reopened. It had been closed for
(10:31):
a couple of years and a newoperator came in for the restaurant and it's
called Moonline Taverns and it has beengetting rave reviews up here from people saying
how great the food is, moloeverything. Yeah, that you need to
come up. That's a good oneto try. That's a really good restaurant,
Okay. And then of course youhave there is a long brewing history
(10:52):
of Port. There was Port WashingtonBrewing Company, Harbor City Brewery was there
for quite a while, but Inventorsis the one that came in open up
in the VFW Hall right across fromthe lake. And they've not only thrived,
they're about to expand. Yes,they're going to go into a facility
that will allow them to have eventsto up to three hundred people, full
(11:13):
restaurant and a much larger capacity forbrewing beer. You're right, they've they
just took the town by storm andpeople just keep coming back more and more,
and they just needed more space.So they were fortunate enough to find
a space that's been built right now, right on the harbor, so they'll
again be a place you can havea beer and sit and enjoy the harbor
(11:35):
view, you know. And what'snice, all these places we just discussed
are all within a very convenient walkingdistance. Oh yeah, Sack Downtown is
very very walkable. It's it's setup such that there's parking public lots all
over the place. So although youmay not be a parker right in front
of the store you want, you'retalking to block walk at the most.
(11:56):
Yeah, and you can just keepdiscovering new things. And it's a fun
place, you know. It's afun place for solo traveler, it's a
fun place for a couples, andit's a great place to bring the family,
because not only do you have themuseums, and you have the beautiful
water and great places to stop andeat, but you have places like the
Possibility Playground, which is great forall kids of all abilities and disabilities.
(12:18):
Yes, that was built. Ithink they just sold their tenth anniversary.
And the fact they're updating a littlebit and keeping it, you know,
very high standards and on the playground, and it is a great place to
go. And you I've taken mygrandkids there and they've they ranged from age
fourteen to four and all enjoyed itand all had a great time, and
(12:41):
it's fun to watch all kids getto enjoy it. So it's it's a
great great to soli up on ourUpper Lake Park, which you're again on
top of a bluff and you're lookingout again one hundred and ten feet above.
Like Michigan, he has some incredibleviews while the kids play on the
play you know, you talk aboutthat bluff and again in the eighteen sixty
(13:01):
Lighthouse Museum is right by there too. I have with some good zoom on
my phone camera, I've seen thebuildings of downtown Milwaukee from up there.
You can see on a really clearday. From the tower and the lighthouse,
you can see the Oak Creek powerPlant on a really clear day,
so that's a good thirty five mileslong. The nice thing is both the
(13:22):
Oak Creek power Plant and where we'reat we jut out a little bit out
into the lake, so you've knowonly you high, but you've got a
really good view all the way down. And that also means refreshing lake breezes
much of the year. Oh yes, we never get quite as hot as
people more inland do, but wedon't get as cold either during the winter,
which is kind of nice. It'strue, there's kind of an interesting
(13:43):
microclimate in the downtown part of PortWashington, and that can mean it's a
little chillier in like April in May, but it's so refreshing all summer and
in the fall it's just spectacular.Yeah. And in the winter, you're
unless there's a storm right off thelake, I mean, you're kind of
sheltered a little bit from the fromthe rougher parts of winter. Yes,
yes, we are. I liveabout just about a mile from here from
(14:07):
downtown, and the difference from weatherit can be five degrees temperature just for
that one mile. It's pretty amazing, you know how much in the harbor,
the way it's shaped kind of containsa lot of the weather that comes
in here. So yeah, it'salmost like a little bit of a lot
of times. But that adds topart of the term, the geographic term
of the area, and it's it'swhat made Port Washington such a great spot
(14:28):
to to develop into a city.And now we talked about inventors. I
just I veered over to the kidsfor a minute, but we'll bring it
back to the grown ups. Thevines to seller. There's a winery in
downtown Port where you can actually makeyour own. Yes, we have a
lot of groups come in and theyhave a class and they'll teach you how
(14:50):
to make your wine. You designyour own label, they'll plant it for
you, and then if you gowith your own wine. So it's it's
a great place. I buy alot of wine there myself for myself of
what they make because they do sellretail and it's very good. Well,
they make a lot of great wines, but it's also an opportunity for you
to really get educated on it andagain make your own, which is kind
(15:11):
of a unique twist for most wineries. Yeah, yes, it is.
Yeah, it's it's not. It'sjust off the main Dragon downtown and again
they're up a little bit of greatview of the lake and uh, it's
it's quite the experience, definitely anice job of educating, of not only
educating you, but getting hands onand making you understand and appreciate really the
(15:35):
quality of the wine and what allgoes into it, well, making a
good craft beer, making a goodwine. There it's not only science,
it's art, yes, and andPort is an inspiring place for artists.
I mean it's hard to walk aroundin the summertime and not run across at
least one or two people with aneasel set up either doing street streetscapes or
(15:56):
you know, the late view ofthe water or the parks and doing some
paintings because it's an inspirational town forthat. Yes it is. We have
some great views. In fact,it's it's been going that way where we're
finding more and more artists here,but on a more organized fashion. Our
main Street group has now fully embracedthe entire artistic movement that's going on here,
(16:23):
and so we're going to have ouran art festival here on June third,
which they'll shut down the main dragand people will be able to come
out and see the artists, paintingand photography and all the different things that
are all involved in that. Andobviously we're really embracing it because we're also
going into We're gonna it was justannounced we will be putting ten murals up
(16:48):
over the next three years throughout Port, Washington. That is a huge designation,
the Midwest Regional Mural. Yes,we and that kind of kicked us
all off. We were selected tobe the home of the Midwest version of
the Mosaic Mural. So it's I'mnot exactly sure how many panels people I
know in the Port area, aboutforty people of middle school kids and some
(17:11):
adults painted a small tile. Sendit to a company up in Canada.
That's we're who does this. Theyput all the tiles together make this mosaic
and it was unveiled two weeks agoand it's beautiful. It's it's really it's
in the shape of the tree andthe idea is the roots going out.
You know, that's all of us. We're all connected with one or another,
(17:33):
and so that's kicked off this entiremovement now to put other murals up.
So we'll every year now for thenext three years, we'll be eighty
three to four murals throughout town.Oh that's fantastic. So all brick walls
on those old buildings. You know, people love those old advertisements that are
on some of those and now there'sgoing to be some new beautiful murals.
And to look at these, yeah, huge trees with the roots coming out.
(17:56):
You can see barns and big bluesky on this Tyler mural. And
they're going to do a lot ofand by the way, you got picked
out of eleven states for this.Yes, I'm not sure how we were
able to succeed, but we were. I think they just recognized that,
first of all, there is ayearning here to really add more art to
our town. Our mayor is reallygetting into he wants to add sculptures out
(18:22):
on Cold Dock Park and which Ithink he's going to start pursuing that this
summer. So we're really trying tobring the answer and they recognized it.
And so we now have this muralwhich really you talk about these old buildings
people don't know, but having readfrom the history of part Washington, right
above where that mural is at onthe building that used to be long ago
a hardware store. And if youlook real close, you'll see an old
(18:47):
ad that were a build or amural that was on the building promoting the
old hardware store. So this muraland I don't think they realized that when
they've selected that particular spot, butit's there, so it's bringing history back
alive again in Port Washington. It'skind of neat. It is very cool
to see. It's on the northwall of the Twisted Willow, which is
a restaurant on Franklin Street, whichis Highway thirty two, part of that
(19:10):
great Highway thirty two road trip acrossWisconsin. It really brings you into the
heart of town and there's just somuch to see and do when you stop
there. Yes, yes, thereis. So it's a great area.
We now have also right across thestreet from there. During the summer,
we have someone the people that ownAir and Simple bought a airstream that comes
(19:33):
out and that's an ice cream shopfor the just for the summer, so
they have lights out and you know, you go down for an ice con
ConA. They do a couple ofother things there's some candies and things like
that, and it's a great gatheringspot for the city. Boy. Yeah,
that's and you can't go wrong withice cream by the lakefront. No,
and there's a lot of great eventsin Port Washington. Would be talking
(19:56):
about that summer one off throughout theyear, but sometimes there's some thing that
goes on every weekend and we'll talkabout that with Wayne right after this on
the State Trunk Tour Podcast. Welcomeback to the State Trunk Tour Podcast.
A'm Eric Paulson, had Tour Guide, and I'm with Wayne Crucial, executive
director of Port Washington Tourism, talkingabout all the latest and greatest what's been
(20:17):
going on in Port Washington, allthat wonderful history that's still there, all
the art and kind of tying inart and food and fun and beer.
Wayne, there's a couple of repeatingevents like every weekend going on that people
can check out. Starting in June. Yes, starting the first weekend in
June, we have our Farmers Marketsthat occurs right downtown Port Washington. Again,
(20:38):
you get to see the lake whileyou're shopping for vegetables or whatever else
you might find that looks good.And that runs from eight thirty in the
morning till twelve thirty and then startingin early July, we have our beer
Garden, which happens to be upin Upper Lake Park right near We have
(20:59):
a nice band shell and beautiful areathat everyone can sit and enjoy it.
And it's right across from Possibility Playground, so you can. It's for the
whole family, even though it isobviously super selling beer. But they have
everything there and the kids would loveto go play on the Possibility Playground and
that starts at one o'clock and goestill seven o'clock, so you can spend
(21:22):
the whole day important every Saturday,ye see. And that's the thing.
Kids love having the opportunity. Likewe're the adults are just relaxing with a
beer. They're talking amongst themselves,keeping an eye on the kids, and
the kids can just have fun.And I remember this as a kid.
That's always the kid's favorite days.It seems, yes, without a doubt,
they because they get to be withtheir friends, their parents are happy
(21:45):
and off not bothering them, andthey get to do a lot of different
things and see a lot of stuff. And they enjoy the music too,
So it's really a great time forthe whole family, and we encourage families
to come. Yeah, especially ona beautiful Saturday. There's nothing better in
the summertime, and there's it's alwaysgood to go there. I like going
there in a quiet weekend when nothing'sgoing on because then you have a lot
(22:07):
of room to roam and check thingsout. But there's a lot of great
events that bring a ton of peopledown to Port and that makes it a
lot of fun too because there's somegreat camaraderie and things happening. And I
know we mentioned the Port Festival ofthe Arts, which is happening coming up
on June third, but there's otherfestivals and a huge one that's making a
comeback this year. Let's dive intosome of the cool things you can check
(22:29):
out this summer. Yeah, Well, the first and foremost is fish Day
is back. Although it's if youcould tell if you're if you're not a
local, because some are walking andsay fish Days and really it wasn't only
fish Day. Well now we reallyare going to fish Days. It's now
going to be a three day event. What happened was fish Days started fifty
(22:51):
sixty years ago and it turned intoa lot of families would use that week
or that weekend for unions. Highschool classes, college classes would have reunions.
So now we're going to make oneday We'll be reunion Day, next
day we'll be they're going to callon. That's on Thursday the fourteenth or
(23:11):
thirteenth. On the fourteenth will befish Miss Eve and that will be some
entertainment again family time, and thenthe actual fish Day will be on the
fifteenth, will include our parade,probably not quite to the degree yet that
it has been in the past inpass maybe two hours and I don't think
it will be quite that long thisyear. But then we'll have a few
(23:32):
bands and of course our fireworks.So what's interesting is the group and a
lot of unfortunately, a lot ofevents like this that take so many people
to make it happen. They're runninginto a problems getting the volunteers. With
COVID, they got out of thehabit of being there. And we have
a lot of civic groups that getinvolved because they split the proceeds of the
(23:55):
day and they use it to spendin the community to help out the community.
While they all have problems getting volunteers. Well, when the committee that
was doing it said we're not goingto do it this year. The mayor
and a core of forty people saidno, we're gonna We can't let that
happen. We're gonna have this dayhappen. So what's happened, what is
(24:15):
now occurring, which I think isoutstanding, is that we are having this
forty people. There are twenty yearolds in their thirty year olds. It's
all younger people who have embraced thisand are stepping up to help make it
happen. So I think for thelong term health and growth of Paul Washington,
it's going to be a great thing. So fish Days is kind of
(24:37):
being turned over into a new generationalmost by accident with this. Yes,
it is exactly so they have newideas. I think it's gonna again much
pipe I when it started. It'sgonna change every year for the next few
years as they figure out exactly howthey want to do it and put in
their new great ideas. So fishDays and now we can go plural again.
Fish Days this year is July thirteenthor the fifteenth. You're saying a
(25:00):
lot of reunions on Thursday, fishmiss Eve on Friday the fourteenth and then
Fish Day that parade. The fireworksare fantastic right over the lake, just
stunning. A huge fish fry aswell, right, yes, yes,
kind of the whole point. Butyeah, then they're gonna have bull the
foods too, so it's just notfish. Yeah, and of course they'll
probably be one or two beer tentshere. We tend to do that well
up here more and a kind ofreally nice lineup of live music. So
(25:26):
and also at fish Days, theyused to have the button and now you're
staying with you know, there's anew generation. Maybe they're maybe they're changing
the admission piece, right because thatused to be a big thing people that
have their fish Days button. Yes, again, I know they're working on
it right now. There's still trade. It's it's a work in progress.
So I guess the best thing tosay is if you go to our website
(25:47):
discippote Washington dot com and clip onthe date, she'll you'll have more information.
There'll be more. It'll be updatedall the time as we learn more.
Yeah, things are still unfolding withthat with fish Days, and again
that's that's the middle of July,the heart of summer, and the weather
is I don't want to screw itup. But the weather is almost always
perfect. Yes, I'm not goingto say word. Well, now you
(26:08):
know who to blame. I guessif ye storms come back for something.
But there are other events going onlater too, including they do a lot
of Ladies night out things there,especially tying in art and wine and things
like that. And you have aLadies Night Out in August, yes,
August seventeenth a Thursday, and you'reright, is a wine walk that and
(26:30):
throughout downtown. All the retailers getinvolved and it's a great day. I
think this is probably the eighth orninth Ladies Night Out, and it seems
to be growing every year, eventhrough COVID. After we missed a year
because of that, it's it's comeback strong and people enjoy it. And
while it's only women who are partof this, the husbands do usually get
(26:55):
stuff brought home to them, whichis kind of a nice thing so they
don't feel slight. Husbands get droppedoff at other places like a sports bar
or something, or their home takingcare of the kids, where the ladies
get to go out. That's nice, and I understand there's there's a Harry
Potter theme this year. Yes,there's a wizarding, so I'm not exactly
sure what that is, but Iknow they have all kinds of plans to
(27:22):
wander through the downtown and they'll haveusually various spots for the women to stop
and get involved in various events.But definitely it is they'll be wine at
just about every stop that they willgo to. And you're welcome to dresses
hermione if you wish, Yes,yes, perfect. Now when the trees
(27:44):
change, it's especially beautiful right theretoo. And what's interesting is we talked
about the microclimate of downtown Port.The way the leaves change on schedule is
different downtown in that area versus alot of the rest of the area too.
But the colors are brilliant. Inearly October in the Fall street Fest,
what happens then, and that's agreat, great event. That's again
another one that's been going on fora while. We again close down the
(28:06):
main dragon Port Washington Franklin Street andum just have a great celebration of fall
with areas for the kids, bouncehouses and all. Again. Retailers will
have their stuff out from out ofthe stores out on the street and really
just a great chance to come inand enjoy a great Saturday afternoon down here
(28:30):
right on the harbor. Yeah,and in the fall and when everything is
just crisp and wonderful, that's that'sa great time. And that that car
show, the motorcycle show, allof that kind of stuff too. That
draws a lot of different people andyou can really get a taken the town.
But you get a sense of somuch fun at these festivals. Yes,
and again we have enough parking indifferent spots, so your park once
(28:52):
in fact, they'll probably be runningshuttles. Again, you can purchase about
anywhere and be to all the differentthings in just a short time. So
it works out real well. Andyou do embrace the holiday season. We
talked about Christmas down the Corners.That's when you started pulling a lot of
residents and visitors last year. Butthat's that's already on the schedule for this
year. Oh yeah, that's personallymy favorite event. It's we have everything
(29:18):
from reindeer here to Santa will comeup well make an appearance at the parade.
But they also have a horse drawncarrage rides and just everything. You
get face painting, kids can makedecorations, It's just a great way to
kick off the holiday season right afterThanksgiving. And again we have the only
(29:44):
winter fireworks that you're going to finddown over our harbor on that night and
they always do a great job.Yeah, Christmas on the corner. It's
December second this year, which isthe first Saturday in December, like it
is every year. And yeah,Part's big on big fireworks shows and people
enjoy those up and down the shore, but the best place to enjoy them
is right from downtown in the Marinaarea, right exactly. There's a lot
(30:04):
of spots to watch it the Maria. We have actually off on our Upper
Lake Park there's a parking lot areathat you can sit and watch them shoot
off. It's what I love aboutit is that when you shoot the fireworks
off, you get that reflection offthe lake like you seem twice. So
it's it's it's really I guess we'rekind of known for that. Yeah,
(30:26):
it makes for spectacular pictures and artistswho want to capture things. It's on
Instagram all over the place every year. Right. People love doing that,
and that's one of the that's oneof the things Port Washington is such an
It's an instagram friendly town if youwant beautiful shots of things, whether you're
taking selfies with friends or you justwant some gorgeous shots of buildings in the
(30:48):
lake and parks and streets. Imean Franklin Street especially, that's such a
classic American of main street, andit's filled with a huge variety of shops
and restaurants and bars and boutiques andthings like that. I mean, it's
it's you could spend the whole day. They're just shopping up and down.
Yes, And what's again what's niceis it's all relatively close, so you
(31:10):
can go from shop to shop orstop in a restaurant and get something a
light to eat or a drink orsomething. Just keep going and uh it
the town leads itself well out tobe visited and to enjoy. So and
again, when you really want totake a break, you can go find
a bench and just sit and stirup the water. It's a it's a
(31:30):
great or all the boats during thesummer. Yeah. Well, the town
is laid out so long ago.It is designed to be walkable in that
towntown area, and it's a beautifuldrive. There's beautiful homes and so much
when you're when you're coming into town, where you're coming from the north or
the south and thirty two or fromthe west on thirty three. There's some
beautiful neighborhoods because it's it's a wonderfultown to live. There's a high quality
(31:51):
of life there. Yes, Idecided to move here in two thousand and
eight after living in Whitefish Bay fortwenty some years, and I guess I
keep saying to my wife, Idon't know why we took so long to
make the move up here. Asmuch as we like white Dish Bay,
we love up here. It's it'sa very charming. One of the things
I hear from visitors all the timeis how friendly everybody is here, and
(32:14):
it's absolutely true. It's your typicalsmall town Midwestern hospitality that you'll you'll have
here, you'll always experience. Andthe growth down there has been pretty good.
We talked about how Inventors is expandingand things like that, but I
don't think is there an even anempty storefront on Franklin. Every every time
(32:36):
something somebody comes base, we haveone empty space and it looks like it's
going to be rented, so there'snot much. Yeah, it's We've been
very fortunate. I moved here intwo thousand and eight. I was saying
that and downtown was a little barren, and now it's really it's really incredible.
People come in and say they can'tbelieve the changes. Who people come
(32:58):
in and haven't been here for awhile, you can't leave how much has
changed, and they like it somuch they move here. I just saw
a projection that by two thousand andtwenty seven. Right now, we're about
twelve thousand people, so we're nota big city, but they're expecting us
to go between fifteen and sixteen thousandand the next five years twenty five percent
growth. That's pretty good, yeah, because you were just under ten not
(33:21):
too long ago, right, right, So there are people are finding that
this is a great place to notjust visit, but to live too.
Well in the small town friendliness remains. But even being small, I mean,
you managed the mural project. Youbeat out eleven different states for that.
You landed at Duluth Trading well beforemost of the other places. Who
have our second store, Yeah,yeah, this is our second store that
(33:44):
they ever built. But yeah,we've been we've been fortunit. I think
some people would vision have been ableto commit and see and I think again
they're impressed by the people. They'reimpressed by who the people talking to the
officials, and we like to getthings done here well. And what's interesting
is, yeah, Cold Dock Parkis being redeveloped, and I love the
(34:06):
idea of the sculptures. That's kindof the perfect plot of land for something
like that. Yes, and itjust it's an interesting piece of property because
it shuts out on the lake andwe have a power plant that but right
now there's no real power to thatarea, so to do events, to
hold like a big concert or somethinglike that would be a little difficult.
(34:30):
But I kind of like it.And people do, our citizens do.
They like it as a park somethingthey can go and enjoy whenever they want.
So adding the sculptures, we're gonnathey've done some improvements to the promenade
that goes around, so there's mixture. It's nice and safe for the kids.
And that money has been invested inthe park and there'll be more coming
(34:51):
as we move forward here. Well, it's always nice to have green space
in a downtown area and that's kindof Cold Dock Park was the perfect opportunity
for that. And there's that uniquemusic history with Port Washington too, because
you're the northernmost spot in the MississippiBlues Trail. Well, yet we were
actually the home of Paramount Music andthere's another talent just for what like the
(35:15):
but there. Port Washington was thehome of the Wisconsin Chure Factory, and
I don't know if you know it, but they decided that they were going
to when they're building furniture. Theywere one of the first ones to build
the cases for the Victrolas and sothe executive said, well, you know,
we need to put something in therefor people to play. And one
of the gentlemen, the executives ofthe company based here in Port Washington,
(35:38):
I've been to Mississippi and the NewOrleans and heard the music that might be
something we want to look into.So that's how Paramount Records started and was
actually if you in our historical society, we have old albums of the music
that was produced back then. You'llsee right on their Paramount Records, Port
Washington, Wisconsin. Yeah, andParamounts history is really fascinating and it's it's
(36:00):
Grafton and Port Washington and they've hadyou've combined for the Paramount Music Festival before,
and that may come back again inthe future, but that celebrates that
music and so many varieties of musicsince. And we actually have a deep
dive episode our episode seventeen on theState Trunk Tour podcast talked about that,
and it's really fascinating because you don'tthink blues music when you think Port Washington,
(36:24):
but there's so many surprises in thecity. You never know what you're
gonna find. That's right, that'sright, So you can look for that
historic marker, and there's there's alot of other great just from the history
to the new developments through the town. If you haven't been to Port Washington
lately, and again, if you'reon I forty three drive and pass,
it's five minutes or less in fromthe interstate to get to the downtown area,
(36:46):
and it's definitely worth the drive,worth to stop, and worth some
overnights. The hotel just reopened that'sright downtown at the heart of everything.
Yes, how Ward, you justreopened. The building was built leaving the
sixties and they literally took all thedrywall out, took out all the plumbing
and electrical and replaced it all.So it's almost like a new, brand
(37:07):
new hotel and it's right on theharbor. Well, you can't beat the
location. That new restaurant in theretoo, so yes, great new restaurant
and bar. It's very nice.Well, you have to check it all
out. Visit Port Washington dot comhas all of the latest. Of course,
we keep you up to date twoon State trunk Tour dot com when
you follow them and us on socialsand boy your pictures and everything on your
(37:30):
Facebook and Instagram pages for visit PortWashington is a lot of really just gorgeous
shots. But it illustrates why it'sfun to visit there. Yes, it's
it's not hard getting a good picturehere, definitely not or something good on
your canvas if you're an artist,so definitely check it out right all right,
Wayne, Hey, thanks so muchfor taking the time to give us
a nice update on Port Washington andwe'll look forward to seeing you again soon.
(37:53):
Go ahead, Thank you, itwas great talking to you and our
thanks again to Wayne giving us thatbeautiful picture of Port Washington. You should
see it for yourself again. Justoff Highways thirty two and thirty three.
Follow thirty three east till you getwet, basically to the Lake Michigan Shore
or thirty two between Milwaukee and Sheboygan. It is right there waiting for you
to check out. It is kindof like a mini door County in a
(38:15):
lot of ways. We're going tofocus on a lot more places, follow
a lot more routes too with upcomingepisodes. We're also going to check out
Summerfest get an update on what's goingon there because that is starting up here
later in June. I'm Eric Paulisonand don't forget to go to State Trump
Tour dot Com on the regulator toget updates on what's going on around the
state, great road trip ideas andmore. I will talk with you in
(38:35):
the next episode. Thanks for listening.
And welcome back to the State Trumpto our podcast on head tour guide her
Paulson. Heading into summer with somany great activities around the state and so
many great places to visit and enjoy. And today we're going to focus on
Port Washington, which likes to callitself your homeport. A beautiful city kind
of herkens you to East coast feelright along Lake Michigan, smack between Milwaukee
(00:38):
and Sheboygan, just about a halfhour north of Milwaukee, actually along Highways
thirty two and thirty three, justoff I forty three. The lake effect
is strong there, and the historyand so much more fantastic, So many
things to do and see, anda lot of events going on not only
the summer but into the fall.In the Christmas season. Fish Days are
back, and yes it's plural fishdays. We talk about all of that
(01:00):
today right here on the State TrunkTour podcast. Stick around. It's a
fun half hour where you'll learn alot. And joining me now live from
Port Washington, your home part homePort. Wayne Crucial, executive director of
Port Washington Tourism. Hello, Wayne, how are you? I'm doing?
Great? Beautiful day up here inPort Washington. Always is there, it
(01:22):
seems even when it's bad, likehigher up Port Washington, you know,
the downtown parts nestled down a littlebit right along the water, and it's
it always seems better and more peacefuldown there, unless in events going on,
that's right, and then it getsa little crazy. Now you you
actually took over Port Washington tourism welljust about a year ago now, and
how have things been going in thepast year. Well, they've been very
(01:45):
excited with a lot of things thatare kind of not because I'm here,
but our happening. And we've gota lot of new exciting events coming on
board as well as in oldly butGoody making a strong reappearance. So it
looks like it's going to be agreat summer here in Paul Washington. It
does. We have a lot totalk about here today too, and things
(02:05):
are really growing down there. Imean there's new apartment and condo complexes going
up right by the water. InventorsBrewpub, which is now a long time
favorite, they're expanding into a brandnew facility right nearby because they've been in
that VFW hall, and then justso many other things springing up. So
we'll just drive down highways thirty twoand thirty three, hit downtown and dive
into the whole thing. Okay,all right, So first of all,
(02:29):
when you started working in the job, you decided you wanted to get some
feedback not only from visitors but fromresidents, and you started there's there's a
great event called Christmas in the Cornerthat happens every December down there, because
port does embrace all four seasons.You started a poll with people, how's
that been going. What have youfound out? Well, we surveyed visitors,
(02:50):
people who have requested information about PaulWashington and our residence and given the
opportunity to tell us what they thoughtabout Paul Washington the specifically tourism, and
what we found was really boil itdown. It's all about the lake.
People love Lake Michigan, the impactthat it has on an area. You're
talking about coming down into downtown andso many people say it is sole relaxing
(03:16):
and so bus taking to see thelake as you enter it. So we
know from everybody who talk about it, it's not just the lake, but
it's our charming, historic downtown.Also that's right on the lake, So
we have some unique attributes that we'reobviously playing up through our marketing and to
(03:36):
tell people about Paul Washington why theyshould come here. Absolutely, and the
history is real. I mean,it goes back a long way. You
have the for example, you havethe eighteen sixty Lighthouse Museum that's perched up
on the hill above downtown right bythe church. Everybody notices when they're driving
up Franklin Street, which is Highwaythirty two. So that's a great place
for people to begin exploring the city'shistory, I think right. And that
(04:00):
church was built in the mid eighteenhundreds, so we have a lot of
history. Fact, Paul Washington hasin its downtown area the largest collection of
pre Civil War buildings in Wisconsin.So we and we embrace it. It's
kind of an interesting the ecotomy thatwe go through as we try to expand.
We have many new buildings going up, condos, we have an office
(04:23):
building that went up and then andas you mentioned, inventors. But to
balance that against having such a historicarea and the fact that people not only
respect it, but embrace it andwant to continue that so it's on top
of everybody's In fact, the surveysshowed that also that no one wants to
lose that historic aspect of what PaulWashington is all about. Yeah, and
(04:46):
it's it's always tricky to blend theold with the new properly, and the
balance really seems to be there toreally get a great sense of the city's
maritime history. There is that eighteensixty Lighthouse Museum up on the hill which
we just mentioned. But then hecan come right downtown and the Port Historical
Societies right there by Yummy Bones Barbecueand you can see some of the technology
that that's been used through the yearstoo, including now right. It's a
(05:11):
great place to learn through technology aswell as artifacts and exhibits, really the
history of Paul Washington. And it'sit's quite interesting that again the area was
settled in the eighteen fifties, sixtiesand so, and we still have a
lot of structure standing. You canlearn all about them. Yeah, and
(05:32):
a lot of them are still rightdown by the water. And I gotta
say, I mean, you're Marinaand the harbor area that's that's one of
the most beautiful in the state,if not the most. Yes, it's
and it's unique. We're the onlyharbor town obviously in Ozaki County, and
we're only one of three deep harborson this side of Lake Michigan. And
(05:54):
that was because we have a powerplant here, and for many years it
was coal fired, and so thelarge ships that come in drop the coal
off. In fact, we nowhave a park called Coal Dock Park because
the power plant went to gas andso they part of the agreement with the
city originally to use that land wasthey had to give it back to the
(06:14):
city, and so the city turnedinto a beautiful park, seventeen Eco Park
that actually has a bird sanctuary onit paths and oh, it's just a
great place to go out and notonly be able to look out into Lake
Michigan, but turn around and lookback at the city. Yeah, the
views looking back at town are prettyphenomenal. And you're right there on the
water and all those all those trailsthrough the marina and Coal Dock Park,
(06:34):
which are on the opposite sides ofthe little slips that come in. You
know, you're right up by thelake, you're right up by the boats.
And for surfers it's great too,because you have the beach just to
the south of that plant, andthe waves that kick up there are something
well, we have a northeaster.If it comes in out of the northeast,
(06:56):
you can get some really good waves. In fact, when it's this
time of year especially, we'll getthose. And we have a nineteen thirty
five peer head out there that's gotarches that kind of the signal way for
originally for the boats coming into outof the harbor, and the arches about
fifteen feet high and the water willget to the top of the arch,
(07:16):
so we're talking some serious waves.So yeah, the surfers and we do
have a surf shop here, soyou really want to do it, just
come here and you get either asurfboard, a paddle board, or a
kayak and go out on the water. Yeah, you can get a little
bit of everything in and around PortWashington, really because if you love outdoor
recreation, you've got the surfing onLake Michigan, you have the boating,
(07:38):
there's some good swimming beaches nearby.And for great hiking, I mean you
can use the trails in Coldock Parkand flanking Port Washington you have Harrington Beach
State Park to the north, andthen just to the south east of Grafton
is lions Den Gorge County Park,which is in Ozaki County Park, offering
some unbelievably spectacular views over Lake Michigan, those hundred foot bluffs and you can
(08:01):
see Port Washington's downtown from there.Yes, yes you can. It's a
great park. In fact, duringCOVID, when people were kind of shut
in, they had cars parking amile away because so many people wanted to
take advantage of being able to goout and walk the trails. So it
is remember that mile wa to thepark. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
(08:22):
then you had to go down,like you said, like one hundred feet
down to the to the beach.But they have really nice walkways and bridges,
and that's what's an easy walk ifyou're thinking about coming up and go
in there and then just keep cominga little further north to Part Washington,
get lunch or dinner. It's justa couple of minutes, and you have
several road choices. And what's interestingis when you're especially if it's like a
(08:43):
summer or fall day, if you'reat Lions Dan Gorge up on those bluffs,
it looks like you're in California orHawaii practically, with the blue water
of Lake Michigan and the bluffs inthe sand and then you go to Port
Washington, and so many people sayit evokes a feeling in a sense of
one of those historic East Coast fishingvillages. Yeah, we hear them a
lot. And it's interesting because weget people that stop you from Door County
(09:05):
on their way home to Illinois wherethey're going, and they even make that
comparison. They said, Wow,this is even nicer than than Door County
in terms of the look of beingan old Eastern style of fishing village.
And that certainly means good fish andgood restaurants. I mean, Smith Brothers
had a huge history in Port Washington, but there's still some great places to
(09:26):
get some fresh fish and other greateats. Right, it's got great restaurants.
We actually have a fifth generations theEwick family are still selling fisher in
town. They were one of thefamilies that ran the fishboats back in the
late eighteen hundreds of early nineteen hundreds, and the fifth generation is now running
the Ewick Fish Store. So we'vegot plenty for you to to try.
(09:48):
And then you've got you know,some other classics like Bernie's the Meats.
You can't mistake that Neon sign foranything else. And like you mentioned yummy
Bones, there's a lot of wonderfulplaces to eat, some of which and
overlook the marina, right we havethe Fork and Tap and that has a
deck right out onto the harbor,so it's it's right there. We have
(10:09):
Doc Sidelli was a little saying,you know, we have everything that you
could possibly want to give um sandwiches, you can have a sit down,
you can have fine dining. Wehave a farm for a farm to table
restaurant, Twisted Willow and uh,we have some new chefs that have come
to town. We the Port Hotelhas reopened. It had been closed for
(10:31):
a couple of years and a newoperator came in for the restaurant and it's
called Moonline Taverns and it has beengetting rave reviews up here from people saying
how great the food is, moloeverything. Yeah, that you need to
come up. That's a good oneto try. That's a really good restaurant,
Okay. And then of course youhave there is a long brewing history
(10:52):
of Port. There was Port WashingtonBrewing Company, Harbor City Brewery was there
for quite a while, but Inventorsis the one that came in open up
in the VFW Hall right across fromthe lake. And they've not only thrived,
they're about to expand. Yes,they're going to go into a facility
that will allow them to have eventsto up to three hundred people, full
(11:13):
restaurant and a much larger capacity forbrewing beer. You're right, they've they
just took the town by storm andpeople just keep coming back more and more,
and they just needed more space.So they were fortunate enough to find
a space that's been built right now, right on the harbor, so they'll
again be a place you can havea beer and sit and enjoy the harbor
(11:35):
view, you know. And what'snice, all these places we just discussed
are all within a very convenient walkingdistance. Oh yeah, Sack Downtown is
very very walkable. It's it's setup such that there's parking public lots all
over the place. So although youmay not be a parker right in front
of the store you want, you'retalking to block walk at the most.
(11:56):
Yeah, and you can just keepdiscovering new things. And it's a fun
place, you know. It's afun place for solo traveler, it's a
fun place for a couples, andit's a great place to bring the family,
because not only do you have themuseums, and you have the beautiful
water and great places to stop andeat, but you have places like the
Possibility Playground, which is great forall kids of all abilities and disabilities.
(12:18):
Yes, that was built. Ithink they just sold their tenth anniversary.
And the fact they're updating a littlebit and keeping it, you know,
very high standards and on the playground, and it is a great place to
go. And you I've taken mygrandkids there and they've they ranged from age
fourteen to four and all enjoyed itand all had a great time, and
(12:41):
it's fun to watch all kids getto enjoy it. So it's it's a
great great to soli up on ourUpper Lake Park, which you're again on
top of a bluff and you're lookingout again one hundred and ten feet above.
Like Michigan, he has some incredibleviews while the kids play on the
play you know, you talk aboutthat bluff and again in the eighteen sixty
(13:01):
Lighthouse Museum is right by there too. I have with some good zoom on
my phone camera, I've seen thebuildings of downtown Milwaukee from up there.
You can see on a really clearday. From the tower and the lighthouse,
you can see the Oak Creek powerPlant on a really clear day,
so that's a good thirty five mileslong. The nice thing is both the
(13:22):
Oak Creek power Plant and where we'reat we jut out a little bit out
into the lake, so you've knowonly you high, but you've got a
really good view all the way down. And that also means refreshing lake breezes
much of the year. Oh yes, we never get quite as hot as
people more inland do, but wedon't get as cold either during the winter,
which is kind of nice. It'strue, there's kind of an interesting
(13:43):
microclimate in the downtown part of PortWashington, and that can mean it's a
little chillier in like April in May, but it's so refreshing all summer and
in the fall it's just spectacular.Yeah. And in the winter, you're
unless there's a storm right off thelake, I mean, you're kind of
sheltered a little bit from the fromthe rougher parts of winter. Yes,
yes, we are. I liveabout just about a mile from here from
(14:07):
downtown, and the difference from weatherit can be five degrees temperature just for
that one mile. It's pretty amazing, you know how much in the harbor,
the way it's shaped kind of containsa lot of the weather that comes
in here. So yeah, it'salmost like a little bit of a lot
of times. But that adds topart of the term, the geographic term
of the area, and it's it'swhat made Port Washington such a great spot
(14:28):
to to develop into a city.And now we talked about inventors. I
just I veered over to the kidsfor a minute, but we'll bring it
back to the grown ups. Thevines to seller. There's a winery in
downtown Port where you can actually makeyour own. Yes, we have a
lot of groups come in and theyhave a class and they'll teach you how
(14:50):
to make your wine. You designyour own label, they'll plant it for
you, and then if you gowith your own wine. So it's it's
a great place. I buy alot of wine there myself for myself of
what they make because they do sellretail and it's very good. Well,
they make a lot of great wines, but it's also an opportunity for you
to really get educated on it andagain make your own, which is kind
(15:11):
of a unique twist for most wineries. Yeah, yes, it is.
Yeah, it's it's not. It'sjust off the main Dragon downtown and again
they're up a little bit of greatview of the lake and uh, it's
it's quite the experience, definitely anice job of educating, of not only
educating you, but getting hands onand making you understand and appreciate really the
(15:35):
quality of the wine and what allgoes into it, well, making a
good craft beer, making a goodwine. There it's not only science,
it's art, yes, and andPort is an inspiring place for artists.
I mean it's hard to walk aroundin the summertime and not run across at
least one or two people with aneasel set up either doing street streetscapes or
(15:56):
you know, the late view ofthe water or the parks and doing some
paintings because it's an inspirational town forthat. Yes it is. We have
some great views. In fact,it's it's been going that way where we're
finding more and more artists here,but on a more organized fashion. Our
main Street group has now fully embracedthe entire artistic movement that's going on here,
(16:23):
and so we're going to have ouran art festival here on June third,
which they'll shut down the main dragand people will be able to come
out and see the artists, paintingand photography and all the different things that
are all involved in that. Andobviously we're really embracing it because we're also
going into We're gonna it was justannounced we will be putting ten murals up
(16:48):
over the next three years throughout Port, Washington. That is a huge designation,
the Midwest Regional Mural. Yes,we and that kind of kicked us
all off. We were selected tobe the home of the Midwest version of
the Mosaic Mural. So it's I'mnot exactly sure how many panels people I
know in the Port area, aboutforty people of middle school kids and some
(17:11):
adults painted a small tile. Sendit to a company up in Canada.
That's we're who does this. Theyput all the tiles together make this mosaic
and it was unveiled two weeks agoand it's beautiful. It's it's really it's
in the shape of the tree andthe idea is the roots going out.
You know, that's all of us. We're all connected with one or another,
(17:33):
and so that's kicked off this entiremovement now to put other murals up.
So we'll every year now for thenext three years, we'll be eighty
three to four murals throughout town.Oh that's fantastic. So all brick walls
on those old buildings. You know, people love those old advertisements that are
on some of those and now there'sgoing to be some new beautiful murals.
And to look at these, yeah, huge trees with the roots coming out.
(17:56):
You can see barns and big bluesky on this Tyler mural. And
they're going to do a lot ofand by the way, you got picked
out of eleven states for this.Yes, I'm not sure how we were
able to succeed, but we were. I think they just recognized that,
first of all, there is ayearning here to really add more art to
our town. Our mayor is reallygetting into he wants to add sculptures out
(18:22):
on Cold Dock Park and which Ithink he's going to start pursuing that this
summer. So we're really trying tobring the answer and they recognized it.
And so we now have this muralwhich really you talk about these old buildings
people don't know, but having readfrom the history of part Washington, right
above where that mural is at onthe building that used to be long ago
a hardware store. And if youlook real close, you'll see an old
(18:47):
ad that were a build or amural that was on the building promoting the
old hardware store. So this muraland I don't think they realized that when
they've selected that particular spot, butit's there, so it's bringing history back
alive again in Port Washington. It'skind of neat. It is very cool
to see. It's on the northwall of the Twisted Willow, which is
a restaurant on Franklin Street, whichis Highway thirty two, part of that
(19:10):
great Highway thirty two road trip acrossWisconsin. It really brings you into the
heart of town and there's just somuch to see and do when you stop
there. Yes, yes, thereis. So it's a great area.
We now have also right across thestreet from there. During the summer,
we have someone the people that ownAir and Simple bought a airstream that comes
(19:33):
out and that's an ice cream shopfor the just for the summer, so
they have lights out and you know, you go down for an ice con
ConA. They do a couple ofother things there's some candies and things like
that, and it's a great gatheringspot for the city. Boy. Yeah,
that's and you can't go wrong withice cream by the lakefront. No,
and there's a lot of great eventsin Port Washington. Would be talking
(19:56):
about that summer one off throughout theyear, but sometimes there's some thing that
goes on every weekend and we'll talkabout that with Wayne right after this on
the State Trunk Tour Podcast. Welcomeback to the State Trunk Tour Podcast.
A'm Eric Paulson, had Tour Guide, and I'm with Wayne Crucial, executive
director of Port Washington Tourism, talkingabout all the latest and greatest what's been
(20:17):
going on in Port Washington, allthat wonderful history that's still there, all
the art and kind of tying inart and food and fun and beer.
Wayne, there's a couple of repeatingevents like every weekend going on that people
can check out. Starting in June. Yes, starting the first weekend in
June, we have our Farmers Marketsthat occurs right downtown Port Washington. Again,
(20:38):
you get to see the lake whileyou're shopping for vegetables or whatever else
you might find that looks good.And that runs from eight thirty in the
morning till twelve thirty and then startingin early July, we have our beer
Garden, which happens to be upin Upper Lake Park right near We have
(20:59):
a nice band shell and beautiful areathat everyone can sit and enjoy it.
And it's right across from Possibility Playground, so you can. It's for the
whole family, even though it isobviously super selling beer. But they have
everything there and the kids would loveto go play on the Possibility Playground and
that starts at one o'clock and goestill seven o'clock, so you can spend
(21:22):
the whole day important every Saturday,ye see. And that's the thing.
Kids love having the opportunity. Likewe're the adults are just relaxing with a
beer. They're talking amongst themselves,keeping an eye on the kids, and
the kids can just have fun.And I remember this as a kid.
That's always the kid's favorite days.It seems, yes, without a doubt,
they because they get to be withtheir friends, their parents are happy
(21:45):
and off not bothering them, andthey get to do a lot of different
things and see a lot of stuff. And they enjoy the music too,
So it's really a great time forthe whole family, and we encourage families
to come. Yeah, especially ona beautiful Saturday. There's nothing better in
the summertime, and there's it's alwaysgood to go there. I like going
there in a quiet weekend when nothing'sgoing on because then you have a lot
(22:07):
of room to roam and check thingsout. But there's a lot of great
events that bring a ton of peopledown to Port and that makes it a
lot of fun too because there's somegreat camaraderie and things happening. And I
know we mentioned the Port Festival ofthe Arts, which is happening coming up
on June third, but there's otherfestivals and a huge one that's making a
comeback this year. Let's dive intosome of the cool things you can check
(22:29):
out this summer. Yeah, Well, the first and foremost is fish Day
is back. Although it's if youcould tell if you're if you're not a
local, because some are walking andsay fish Days and really it wasn't only
fish Day. Well now we reallyare going to fish Days. It's now
going to be a three day event. What happened was fish Days started fifty
(22:51):
sixty years ago and it turned intoa lot of families would use that week
or that weekend for unions. Highschool classes, college classes would have reunions.
So now we're going to make oneday We'll be reunion Day, next
day we'll be they're going to callon. That's on Thursday the fourteenth or
(23:11):
thirteenth. On the fourteenth will befish Miss Eve and that will be some
entertainment again family time, and thenthe actual fish Day will be on the
fifteenth, will include our parade,probably not quite to the degree yet that
it has been in the past inpass maybe two hours and I don't think
it will be quite that long thisyear. But then we'll have a few
(23:32):
bands and of course our fireworks.So what's interesting is the group and a
lot of unfortunately, a lot ofevents like this that take so many people
to make it happen. They're runninginto a problems getting the volunteers. With
COVID, they got out of thehabit of being there. And we have
a lot of civic groups that getinvolved because they split the proceeds of the
(23:55):
day and they use it to spendin the community to help out the community.
While they all have problems getting volunteers. Well, when the committee that
was doing it said we're not goingto do it this year. The mayor
and a core of forty people saidno, we're gonna We can't let that
happen. We're gonna have this dayhappen. So what's happened, what is
(24:15):
now occurring, which I think isoutstanding, is that we are having this
forty people. There are twenty yearolds in their thirty year olds. It's
all younger people who have embraced thisand are stepping up to help make it
happen. So I think for thelong term health and growth of Paul Washington,
it's going to be a great thing. So fish Days is kind of
(24:37):
being turned over into a new generationalmost by accident with this. Yes,
it is exactly so they have newideas. I think it's gonna again much
pipe I when it started. It'sgonna change every year for the next few
years as they figure out exactly howthey want to do it and put in
their new great ideas. So fishDays and now we can go plural again.
Fish Days this year is July thirteenthor the fifteenth. You're saying a
(25:00):
lot of reunions on Thursday, fishmiss Eve on Friday the fourteenth and then
Fish Day that parade. The fireworksare fantastic right over the lake, just
stunning. A huge fish fry aswell, right, yes, yes,
kind of the whole point. Butyeah, then they're gonna have bull the
foods too, so it's just notfish. Yeah, and of course they'll
probably be one or two beer tentshere. We tend to do that well
up here more and a kind ofreally nice lineup of live music. So
(25:26):
and also at fish Days, theyused to have the button and now you're
staying with you know, there's anew generation. Maybe they're maybe they're changing
the admission piece, right because thatused to be a big thing people that
have their fish Days button. Yes, again, I know they're working on
it right now. There's still trade. It's it's a work in progress.
So I guess the best thing tosay is if you go to our website
(25:47):
discippote Washington dot com and clip onthe date, she'll you'll have more information.
There'll be more. It'll be updatedall the time as we learn more.
Yeah, things are still unfolding withthat with fish Days, and again
that's that's the middle of July,the heart of summer, and the weather
is I don't want to screw itup. But the weather is almost always
perfect. Yes, I'm not goingto say word. Well, now you
(26:08):
know who to blame. I guessif ye storms come back for something.
But there are other events going onlater too, including they do a lot
of Ladies night out things there,especially tying in art and wine and things
like that. And you have aLadies Night Out in August, yes,
August seventeenth a Thursday, and you'reright, is a wine walk that and
(26:30):
throughout downtown. All the retailers getinvolved and it's a great day. I
think this is probably the eighth orninth Ladies Night Out, and it seems
to be growing every year, eventhrough COVID. After we missed a year
because of that, it's it's comeback strong and people enjoy it. And
while it's only women who are partof this, the husbands do usually get
(26:55):
stuff brought home to them, whichis kind of a nice thing so they
don't feel slight. Husbands get droppedoff at other places like a sports bar
or something, or their home takingcare of the kids, where the ladies
get to go out. That's nice, and I understand there's there's a Harry
Potter theme this year. Yes,there's a wizarding, so I'm not exactly
sure what that is, but Iknow they have all kinds of plans to
(27:22):
wander through the downtown and they'll haveusually various spots for the women to stop
and get involved in various events.But definitely it is they'll be wine at
just about every stop that they willgo to. And you're welcome to dresses
hermione if you wish, Yes,yes, perfect. Now when the trees
(27:44):
change, it's especially beautiful right theretoo. And what's interesting is we talked
about the microclimate of downtown Port.The way the leaves change on schedule is
different downtown in that area versus alot of the rest of the area too.
But the colors are brilliant. Inearly October in the Fall street Fest,
what happens then, and that's agreat, great event. That's again
another one that's been going on fora while. We again close down the
(28:06):
main dragon Port Washington Franklin Street andum just have a great celebration of fall
with areas for the kids, bouncehouses and all. Again. Retailers will
have their stuff out from out ofthe stores out on the street and really
just a great chance to come inand enjoy a great Saturday afternoon down here
(28:30):
right on the harbor. Yeah,and in the fall and when everything is
just crisp and wonderful, that's that'sa great time. And that that car
show, the motorcycle show, allof that kind of stuff too. That
draws a lot of different people andyou can really get a taken the town.
But you get a sense of somuch fun at these festivals. Yes,
and again we have enough parking indifferent spots, so your park once
(28:52):
in fact, they'll probably be runningshuttles. Again, you can purchase about
anywhere and be to all the differentthings in just a short time. So
it works out real well. Andyou do embrace the holiday season. We
talked about Christmas down the Corners.That's when you started pulling a lot of
residents and visitors last year. Butthat's that's already on the schedule for this
year. Oh yeah, that's personallymy favorite event. It's we have everything
(29:18):
from reindeer here to Santa will comeup well make an appearance at the parade.
But they also have a horse drawncarrage rides and just everything. You
get face painting, kids can makedecorations, It's just a great way to
kick off the holiday season right afterThanksgiving. And again we have the only
(29:44):
winter fireworks that you're going to finddown over our harbor on that night and
they always do a great job.Yeah, Christmas on the corner. It's
December second this year, which isthe first Saturday in December, like it
is every year. And yeah,Part's big on big fireworks shows and people
enjoy those up and down the shore, but the best place to enjoy them
is right from downtown in the Marinaarea, right exactly. There's a lot
(30:04):
of spots to watch it the Maria. We have actually off on our Upper
Lake Park there's a parking lot areathat you can sit and watch them shoot
off. It's what I love aboutit is that when you shoot the fireworks
off, you get that reflection offthe lake like you seem twice. So
it's it's it's really I guess we'rekind of known for that. Yeah,
(30:26):
it makes for spectacular pictures and artistswho want to capture things. It's on
Instagram all over the place every year. Right. People love doing that,
and that's one of the that's oneof the things Port Washington is such an
It's an instagram friendly town if youwant beautiful shots of things, whether you're
taking selfies with friends or you justwant some gorgeous shots of buildings in the
(30:48):
lake and parks and streets. Imean Franklin Street especially, that's such a
classic American of main street, andit's filled with a huge variety of shops
and restaurants and bars and boutiques andthings like that. I mean, it's
it's you could spend the whole day. They're just shopping up and down.
Yes, And what's again what's niceis it's all relatively close, so you
(31:10):
can go from shop to shop orstop in a restaurant and get something a
light to eat or a drink orsomething. Just keep going and uh it
the town leads itself well out tobe visited and to enjoy. So and
again, when you really want totake a break, you can go find
a bench and just sit and stirup the water. It's a it's a
(31:30):
great or all the boats during thesummer. Yeah. Well, the town
is laid out so long ago.It is designed to be walkable in that
towntown area, and it's a beautifuldrive. There's beautiful homes and so much
when you're when you're coming into town, where you're coming from the north or
the south and thirty two or fromthe west on thirty three. There's some
beautiful neighborhoods because it's it's a wonderfultown to live. There's a high quality
(31:51):
of life there. Yes, Idecided to move here in two thousand and
eight after living in Whitefish Bay fortwenty some years, and I guess I
keep saying to my wife, Idon't know why we took so long to
make the move up here. Asmuch as we like white Dish Bay,
we love up here. It's it'sa very charming. One of the things
I hear from visitors all the timeis how friendly everybody is here, and
(32:14):
it's absolutely true. It's your typicalsmall town Midwestern hospitality that you'll you'll have
here, you'll always experience. Andthe growth down there has been pretty good.
We talked about how Inventors is expandingand things like that, but I
don't think is there an even anempty storefront on Franklin. Every every time
(32:36):
something somebody comes base, we haveone empty space and it looks like it's
going to be rented, so there'snot much. Yeah, it's We've been
very fortunate. I moved here intwo thousand and eight. I was saying
that and downtown was a little barren, and now it's really it's really incredible.
People come in and say they can'tbelieve the changes. Who people come
(32:58):
in and haven't been here for awhile, you can't leave how much has
changed, and they like it somuch they move here. I just saw
a projection that by two thousand andtwenty seven. Right now, we're about
twelve thousand people, so we're nota big city, but they're expecting us
to go between fifteen and sixteen thousandand the next five years twenty five percent
growth. That's pretty good, yeah, because you were just under ten not
(33:21):
too long ago, right, right, So there are people are finding that
this is a great place to notjust visit, but to live too.
Well in the small town friendliness remains. But even being small, I mean,
you managed the mural project. Youbeat out eleven different states for that.
You landed at Duluth Trading well beforemost of the other places. Who
have our second store, Yeah,yeah, this is our second store that
(33:44):
they ever built. But yeah,we've been we've been fortunit. I think
some people would vision have been ableto commit and see and I think again
they're impressed by the people. They'reimpressed by who the people talking to the
officials, and we like to getthings done here well. And what's interesting
is, yeah, Cold Dock Parkis being redeveloped, and I love the
(34:06):
idea of the sculptures. That's kindof the perfect plot of land for something
like that. Yes, and itjust it's an interesting piece of property because
it shuts out on the lake andwe have a power plant that but right
now there's no real power to thatarea, so to do events, to
hold like a big concert or somethinglike that would be a little difficult.
(34:30):
But I kind of like it.And people do, our citizens do.
They like it as a park somethingthey can go and enjoy whenever they want.
So adding the sculptures, we're gonnathey've done some improvements to the promenade
that goes around, so there's mixture. It's nice and safe for the kids.
And that money has been invested inthe park and there'll be more coming
(34:51):
as we move forward here. Well, it's always nice to have green space
in a downtown area and that's kindof Cold Dock Park was the perfect opportunity
for that. And there's that uniquemusic history with Port Washington too, because
you're the northernmost spot in the MississippiBlues Trail. Well, yet we were
actually the home of Paramount Music andthere's another talent just for what like the
(35:15):
but there. Port Washington was thehome of the Wisconsin Chure Factory, and
I don't know if you know it, but they decided that they were going
to when they're building furniture. Theywere one of the first ones to build
the cases for the Victrolas and sothe executive said, well, you know,
we need to put something in therefor people to play. And one
of the gentlemen, the executives ofthe company based here in Port Washington,
(35:38):
I've been to Mississippi and the NewOrleans and heard the music that might be
something we want to look into.So that's how Paramount Records started and was
actually if you in our historical society, we have old albums of the music
that was produced back then. You'llsee right on their Paramount Records, Port
Washington, Wisconsin. Yeah, andParamounts history is really fascinating and it's it's
(36:00):
Grafton and Port Washington and they've hadyou've combined for the Paramount Music Festival before,
and that may come back again inthe future, but that celebrates that
music and so many varieties of musicsince. And we actually have a deep
dive episode our episode seventeen on theState Trunk Tour podcast talked about that,
and it's really fascinating because you don'tthink blues music when you think Port Washington,
(36:24):
but there's so many surprises in thecity. You never know what you're
gonna find. That's right, that'sright, So you can look for that
historic marker, and there's there's alot of other great just from the history
to the new developments through the town. If you haven't been to Port Washington
lately, and again, if you'reon I forty three drive and pass,
it's five minutes or less in fromthe interstate to get to the downtown area,
(36:46):
and it's definitely worth the drive,worth to stop, and worth some
overnights. The hotel just reopened that'sright downtown at the heart of everything.
Yes, how Ward, you justreopened. The building was built leaving the
sixties and they literally took all thedrywall out, took out all the plumbing
and electrical and replaced it all.So it's almost like a new, brand
(37:07):
new hotel and it's right on theharbor. Well, you can't beat the
location. That new restaurant in theretoo, so yes, great new restaurant
and bar. It's very nice.Well, you have to check it all
out. Visit Port Washington dot comhas all of the latest. Of course,
we keep you up to date twoon State trunk Tour dot com when
you follow them and us on socialsand boy your pictures and everything on your
(37:30):
Facebook and Instagram pages for visit PortWashington is a lot of really just gorgeous
shots. But it illustrates why it'sfun to visit there. Yes, it's
it's not hard getting a good picturehere, definitely not or something good on
your canvas if you're an artist,so definitely check it out right all right,
Wayne, Hey, thanks so muchfor taking the time to give us
a nice update on Port Washington andwe'll look forward to seeing you again soon.
(37:53):
Go ahead, Thank you, itwas great talking to you and our
thanks again to Wayne giving us thatbeautiful picture of Port Washington. You should
see it for yourself again. Justoff Highways thirty two and thirty three.
Follow thirty three east till you getwet, basically to the Lake Michigan Shore
or thirty two between Milwaukee and Sheboygan. It is right there waiting for you
to check out. It is kindof like a mini door County in a
(38:15):
lot of ways. We're going tofocus on a lot more places, follow
a lot more routes too with upcomingepisodes. We're also going to check out
Summerfest get an update on what's goingon there because that is starting up here
later in June. I'm Eric Paulisonand don't forget to go to State Trump
Tour dot Com on the regulator toget updates on what's going on around the
state, great road trip ideas andmore. I will talk with you in
(38:35):
the next episode. Thanks for listening.
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