Changing Landscape

Pedestrian Bridge over Rock River

Over the last few years my hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin has radically changed the downtown.

It's a significant improvement.  

When I was growing up during the 1970s, especially the early 70s, downtown was where most people went shopping.  JC Penney's, Sears, Woolworth's, Bostwick's (a locally owned department store), were within a block of each other along the Rock River.

Years before, the city responded to consumer and business needs and built a parking lot over the river covering up almost the entire river between west-bound Milwaukee Street and east-bound Court Street.

By the mid-1970s, the Janesville Mall was on Milton Avenue and most of the stores went north to follow the customers.  

The downtown is now dotted with offices, small stores, restaurants, and lots of places to live.  Back in the 1970s there were people living downtown but it wasn't the place to be.

Milwaukee St bridge - Woolworth's was to left.

 Several blocks away a pair of bald eagles built a nest and return to it annually.

 Two small restaurants on Main Street (one is located inside the office where our family doctor practiced) were recently featured on Wisconsin Foodie, a statewide TV show featuring the best cuisine in the state.

 A nice hotel stands where Sears used to be and the old Monterrey Hotel, which had low-end apartments during my time in Janesville, is soon to re-open with very nice apartment homes after a complete make-over.

It's nice to see the progress.  There are enough of the former buildings for us old-timers to recall what used to be, although I'm certain there are few of us that would want to see it looking like it did forty years ago.

Several miles south of Janesville, Beloit has changed dramatically as well with new specialty shops (a specialty grocery store, Bushel & Peck, was featured on the same episode of Foodie) and a baseball stadium along the same Rock River where industry used to crowd out the people who lived there.

The downtown's of Janesville and Beloit are friendlier and more welcoming:

An eagle sculpture frames a mural on the YMCA which now flanks a festival place west of the river.

Most of what you see, almost reaching the Court St bridge was once covered by a parking lot.

New downtown housing along the Rock River in downtown Beloit.

Bushel & Peck's features many locally grown foods and their own creations downtown Beloit.

ABC Supply Stadium next to the river is home to the Class A Beloit SkyCarp. 4/8/2023 dwm

All photos by David Mossner 4/8/2023