Wisconsin 101

Marathon City Brewing and the Wee Willy Basketball Team

The Marathon City Brewery sponsored local sports teams like the Wee Willy basketball team, originally known as the Catholic Youth Organization Team, which organized in 1936. Though the team temporarily disbanded during World War II, in the mid-1940s, young men from the…

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September 14, 2021

Marathon / Industry / Related Stories / Marathon County / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / 1945-1965 / Region 4 - Center / Marathon Brewing Company "Superfine" Beer Bottle

The Marathon Brewery’s Chain of Calamities

In the early 1880s, Franz Sindermann, who was trained as a brewer in Germany, formed a brewery in Marathon, Wisconsin with his brother, August, along with a third partner, Charles Klein. The brewery got off to a good start, producing 300 barrels…

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September 14, 2021

Art & Design / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Home Furnishings / Related Stories / Iowa County / Everyday Life / 1900-1918 / Nature & Environment / 1918-1945 / Region 6 - South West / Frank Lloyd Wright Pew/Bench

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Architecture

Born in 1867 in Richland City, WI, Frank Lloyd Wright designed nearly 150 buildings in Wisconsin alone, as well as numerous homes and churches across the United States. Wright’s philosophy of matching an architectural structure to its natural environment, along with his…

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August 19, 2021

Art & Design / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Madison / Dane County / Related Stories / 1918-1945 / 1945-1965 / Society & Religion / Region 7 - South Center / Frank Lloyd Wright Pew/Bench

Unitarianism and the Madison Meeting House

Once enjoying unobstructed views of Lake Mendota and sharing its land with the University of Wisconsin’s experimental fields, the First Unitarian Society Meeting House now sits on UW-Madison’s Medical campus. Designed in 1947 by Frank Lloyd Wright to embody the mission of…

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August 19, 2021

Art & Design / La Crosse / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Industry / Ethnicity & Identity / Global Connections / La Crosse County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / 1965-1987 / Region 3 - Center West / King Gambrinus Statues of LaCrosse

OBJECT HISTORY: King Gambrinus Statues of La Crosse

The King Gambrinus statue located in La Crosse, Wisconsin depicts the king of beer and brewing.[1] The origins of the statue, specifically its sculptor and construction date, are unknown. Weighing in at approximately 2,000 pounds, this concrete statue is 15 feet tall.…

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August 17, 2021

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Grafton / Object Histories / Music, Theatre & Cinema / Ozaukee County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Nature & Environment / Region 8 - South East / Paramount Records 78

OBJECT HISTORY: Paramount Records Power Wheel

Located near the heart of Grafton, WI, a rusted power wheel sits on the steep west bank of the Milwaukee River. Despite its corroded appearance, this metal device once powered an entire factory responsible for pressing popular shellac records.The history of this…

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December 29, 2020