| Green Bay is a city of celebrations. Over the years historical events have been the focus of celebrations including the landing of Jean Nicolet, the victory of Commodore Perry during the War of 1812, the voyage of Marquette & Joliet, arrival home of soldiers from the War to End all Wars. Some were spontaneous, such as the celebration which took place after the referendum vote to annex the City of Fort Howard, and the more organized celebration of both the arrival and demise of streetcar service here. |
| 1893 Street cars came to Fort Howard, then to Green Bay in 1894. When streetcar service began, that first convoy of four trolleys was greeted with fireworks displays, and well wishers lined the streets. |
| 1895 Union of Green Bay and Fort Howard. Even though there was a regular election that day, officials agreed to count the referendum first. The ordinance does not state merger, but rather annexation and so the City of Fort Howard became part of the City of Green Bay. A few minutes after 7:30 PM, it became clear the merger was approved. According to long-time residents, the party that followed was unlike anything seen by either Green Bay or Fort Howard. A cannon at the foot of Pine Street roared a farewell to the old and a greeting to the new, and in an instant such a din and uproar followed that was never before heard. From one end of the consolidated city to the other whistles bellowed and screeched, bells jingled and clanged, gun and cannon shots echoed, and above all arose the squawk of the kazoo, hundreds of which were in the hands of men and women and boys and girls that lined the streets. Every steam whistle in town sounded and a siren whistle that had been placed on the electric railway powerhouse and its earsplitting screech added to the din. While a bonfire of tar burned on a raft anchored in the river, a torch-lit parade moved up Washington Street to Main Street in Green Bay across the river where it picked up more people on Broadway before returning to the east side via Walnut Street and followed by two-thirds of the citizens of Fort Howard. Men, women and children, hundreds with kazoos, joined in the parade. Whistles bellowed and screeched, bells jingled and guns were fired in the air. Dozens of men with instruments formed spontaneous marching bands. The crowds on Washington Street between Main and Walnut numbered 12,000 – 15,000 and included people of all walks of life and all ages. The marching and horn blowing was kept up until the morning was breaking by two or three hundred of the more enthusiastic. In all the hurrah and excitement, not an ugly word was spoken and not a quarrel occurred. The proposition of a union was not without opposition. The Green Bay Advocate reported on a group of six, meeting in secret in a Fort Howard office with the blinds pulled down.Fort Howard residents viewed Green Bay residents as a rowdy bunch and as part of the union demanded that bars would not be allowed west of the west side of Broadway, a law that remained until 2005 when Green Bay voted to allow alcohol to be served west of Broadway in restaurants and hotels. The proposal to overturn the liquor ban had been brought up many times and always overturned. On Election Day, the opponents in Fort Howard flooded the city with flyers explaining why the two cities should remain as two. The consensus was the effort had little effect. Thus began the new City of Green Bay. |
| 1913 The one hundred year celebration of Commodore Perry's victory over the British in Lake Erie was celebrated. Why? Remember the War of 1812 was an attempt by the British to regain the colonies. Perry's victory over the British in Lake Erie played a role in the result of the War. Many communities on the Great Lakes participated. A full size replica of Perry's ship, the Niagara was taken to ports around the Great Lakes. |
| 1915 Green Bay Day" at the Fair in August . On "Green Bay Day" most of the stores closed for the afternoon, and just about everyone went to the Fair. If you were unable to get there in one of those newfangled automobiles, or by hay-burner, you could take the interurban trolley line which ran on Broadway/Fort Howard Ave. to the fairgrounds and on to Kaukauna. Activities at the Fair took place mostly in the daylight hours because the use of outdoor electricity was limited. |
| Armistice Day - November 11, 1918 Although a gray and rainy day, the mood of the community was one of relief and joy that the the war had ended. It was the greatest celebration that Green Bay had seen up to that time. Bells rang and whistles sounded all over town. Several large mills blew their whistles continuously. The parade ran down Washington Street and thousands lined the street. |
| 1919 Battery "B" returns from World War I Having done its share to help win World War I, Green Bay's Battery "B" returns to its hometown ad a gala reception on May 20, 1919. A grand parade was held on Washington Street. |
| 1934 Tercentennial Celebration of Jean Nicolet's Landing On August 9, 1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a major address at Bay Beach. Nearly 100,000 people saw and heard the President during his whirlwind visit to the area. The population in Brown County was 37,415 in 1930. During the Tercentennial many displays were put in place on the grounds of Bay Beach. A Pioneer Village reminded all of the hardships that the early settlers dealt with on a daily basis. The primitive means by which they lived was shown in this recreation. Additional recreations included a scale size model of the Fort Howard Military Post complete with stockade. |
| 1937 The trolley service was replaced with a fleet of 12 buses operated by Wisconsin Public Service Corporation. The last night of trolley service ended much the way it began, including a parade, marching band and even an anointed Queen of Transportation. The party ended with a funeral trolley, fired by St. Norbert College's ROTC squad. Then the new buses were christened. That evening trolley rides were free to all. The City of Green Bay took over bus service from Wisconsin Public Service Corporation in 1973. Today, Green Bay Metro travels over 1,300,000 miles each year. |
| 1956 New building for city offices Ground was broken for the city’s new office building on April 3, 1956. About 200 persons were present as Mayor Otto Rachaels broke ground for the new $1,700,000 city hall. J.H. Tayler, 97, at that time was the oldest living ex-mayor, was introduced. Tayler, mayor from 1902-04, was the first mayor to use offices in the old building. The new city hall was built south of the old building and after completion the old building was razed to make room for a parking lot. The new building was dedicated on September 24, 1957 during what the city dubbed as “Green Bay’s Dedication Week” which included dedications of the new city hall, the Lake Michigan pipeline and the new City Stadium. At the dedication ceremony the bands from East High School and Premontre High School (later moved to the west side and renamed Notre Dame de la baie Academy) played before the ceremony. At 7:00 PM aerial bombs were set off to start the dedication followed by lowering of the flag from the balcony at old city hall while taps were played and the American Legion firing squad gave salute. The Legion color guard led the procession to the flagpole at new city hall. The flag was raised while salute to the colors was played, followed by “Star Spangled Banner” played by Premontre High School band. There were open house hours held for the public that evening and the following two days. Water New City Stadium |
| 1982 Art Street makes its debut in downtown Green Bay. As the name implies, the event was held on the streets of downtown. It included 79 artists from northeast Wisconsin. The 3-day event has been held annually in August each year and recently features over 200 artists from 20 states, Canada and England. The event includes visual arts, edible arts, music and events for children.ell attended the event. In 1965, the stadium was renamed Lambeau Field following the death of E.L. “Curly” Lambeau, the Packers founder and first coach. |
| 1997 Super Bowl XXXI was achieved by the Green Bay Packers in 1997. The city celebrated the following day with a parade downtown followed by a ceremony at Lambeau Field. Thousands of fans attended both events. The temperature was in the teens. |
| 2003 Newly elected Mayor Jim Schmitt declares June 25 of each year as Kids’ Day. A day especially designed for Green Bay Children, the day falls exactly halfway from Christmas. The days events were free for children and included swimming, bowling, movies, rides at Bay Beach and more. The annual event draws thousand of Green Bay children and parents. |
| 2004 The city celebrated once again. This year was the 150th anniversary of Green Bay becoming a city. Planning for the year long events began in early 2003 and culminated with the celebration gala at Lambeau Field Atrium on February 25, 2004. Over 1,000 persons attended the event. The evening was packed with food, music, dancing and appearances by former mayors or the descendents of former mayors and topped off by a champagne toast and birthday song to the city. Kids’ Day was dedicated to the Sesquicentennial celebration and in August a huge parade and festival was held. The parade began at City Hall where a time capsule was buried and wound through downtown and over the Main Street Bridge to the Leicht Memorial Park Festival Grounds. |
| 2006 Bay Fest, a long-standing tradition held by UWGB, was now a city event. The newly acquired festival was held on the grounds of Leicht Memorial Park festival grounds and featured games, rides, music and ethnic food. The event is held each June. |
| 2006 On July Green Bay hosted the three-day Baylake Tall Ship Festival held on the grounds of the new Leicht Memorial Park. The event drew 16 tall ships from coast to coast with entertainers and artisans celebrating Green Bay's rich maritime history. The Baylake Bank Tall Ship Festival, the largest nautical festival in Green Bay's history, coincided with the Tall Ships Challenge Race Series. More than 100 media articles and stories of the event showcased and publicized Green Bay as a beautiful, exciting and international port city. Attendance exceeded expectations with 59,000 in attendance, including 43,000 paid admissions and thousands more viewing from the bridge, the river's edge and by boat. |
| There have been numerous parades held in Green Bay celebrating different occasions throughout the years such as the American Legion parade held in 1934 and the current Holiday Parade bringing out crowds of people to the streets. And of course, the City, along with our nation, celebrates the 4th of July each year with a daylong downtown celebration complete with a fireworks display which is considered the best north of Milwaukee. Thousands crowd the downtown for this event each year. |