Packers Heritage Trail

Last updated
Packers Heritage Trail
Packers Heritage Trail Logo.jpg
Location Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.
EstablishedNovember 2011
Designation Heritage trail
UseWalking/Biking/Trolley
Maintained by Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
Website Official website

The Packers Heritage Trail is a self-guided walking and biking trail that traverses locations relating to the history of the Green Bay Packers. [1] All of the 25 sites have bronze commemorative plaques that connect the history of the site and its association to the Green Bay Packers. [2] Each plaque, which has individual sponsors, is either affixed to the side of the relevant building or placed on a pole in front of the site. [3] The Trail is split into three sections: the City Walk, which includes 16 sites and the Packers Heritage Plaza generally in downtown Green Bay; the Packing Plant Spur, which includes 4 sites along Baird Creek; and the Lambeau - Lombardi Spur, which includes another 4 sites along the Fox River. [4]

Contents

The Packers Heritage Trail was developed by sportswriter Cliff Christl, who would go on to become the team historian of the Packers. It was modeled after the Freedom Trail in Boston and opened in 2012. [5] [6] It was originally led by the Packers Heritage Trail Foundation, Inc., which was formed by Christl and his wife Shirley. Two years later, the Heritage Trail Plaza was opened on the corner of Cherry St. and Washington St. in downtown Green Bay. [7] In 2017, the Foundation was taken over by the Packers and is now part of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. The Packers offer combined tickets for touring Lambeau Field, entrance to the Packers Hall of Fame and trolley tours of the Packers Heritage Trail. [8] That same year, Christl published a book covering the Trail titled Packers Heritage Trail: The Town, The Team, The Fans From Lambeau to Lombardi. [3] The Packers Heritage Plaza, which was updated and renovated in 2022, provides a larger overview history of the team with various plaques and statutes of past Packers players and coaches. [9] However, the site of the plaza has been identified for future development, which would require its relocation to another site in downtown Green Bay. [10]

The City Walk portion of the Trail includes various buildings with connections to the Packers. This includes two historic train depots that the Packers utilized for away games, multiple office buildings that either the Packers utilized or key figures worked at, cultural and religious sites, and past Packers stadiums. The entirety of downtown Green Bay is identified as one of the historic sites, with the commemorative plaque located on the CityDesk, the name of Green Bay's riverfront. The Packing Plant Spur follows Baird Creek, just outside of downtown Green Bay and includes the remains of the packing plants for the Indian Packing Company, the Riverside Ballroom, and other historic playing fields. As the name implies, the Lambeau - Lombardi Spur focuses on the history of two key Packers coaches: Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi. [4] This spur is the only one that has sites with differences in their commemorative plaques: the plaque for Lombardi's home and the plaque for Lambeau's gravesite is located a short distance from the house and the cemetery along the Fox River trail. [11] [12]

Historic sites

Packers Heritage Trail historic sites
#ImageSiteAddressTrail portionPlaque locationCoordinates
Packers Heritage Trail 2024.jpg
Packers Heritage Plaza
Washington St. & Cherry St.City Walk
44°30′55.3″N88°0′54.7″W / 44.515361°N 88.015194°W / 44.515361; -88.015194 (Packers Heritage Plaza)
1
Neville Public Museum- Green Bay, WI - Flickr - MichaelSteeber.jpg 210 Museum PlaceNear parking lot 44°31′4.8″N88°1′5.3″W / 44.518000°N 88.018139°W / 44.518000; -88.018139 (Packers Neville Museum)
2
Downtown Green Bay CityDeck along the Fox River.jpg
Downtown Green Bay
325 N. Washington St.In back along CityDeck 44°31′1.9″N88°0′54.4″W / 44.517194°N 88.015111°W / 44.517194; -88.015111 (Downtown Green Bay)
3
Birthplace of the Packers
200 N. Adams St.On Cherry St. 44°30′52.8″N88°0′48.2″W / 44.514667°N 88.013389°W / 44.514667; -88.013389 (Birthplace of the Packes)
4
Hotel Northland.jpg 304 N. Adams St.On Pine St. 44°30′56.8″N88°0′47.2″W / 44.515778°N 88.013111°W / 44.515778; -88.013111 (Hotel Northland)
5
Curly Lambeau's Office, Northern Building
305 E. Walnut St.On Adams St. 44°30′50″N88°0′52.3″W / 44.51389°N 88.014528°W / 44.51389; -88.014528 (Curly Lambeau's Office, Northern Building)
6
Bellin Building.jpg 130 E. Walnut St.On Walnut St. 44°30′51.4″N88°0′59″W / 44.514278°N 88.01639°W / 44.514278; -88.01639 (Bellin Building)
7
Milwaukee Road Depot Green Bay.jpg 400 S. Washington St.On Washington St. 44°30′38″N88°1′7.6″W / 44.51056°N 88.018778°W / 44.51056; -88.018778 (Milwaukee Road Depot)
8
Packers Office Building
321 S. Washington St.On Crooks St. 44°30′38.6″N88°1′6″W / 44.510722°N 88.01833°W / 44.510722; -88.01833 (Packers Office Building)
9
300 Crooks St.On Adams St. 44°30′36″N88°1′1.7″W / 44.51000°N 88.017139°W / 44.51000; -88.017139 (Elks Club)
10
St. Willebrord Catholic Church.jpg 209 S. Adams St.Corner of Adams St. & Doty St. 44°30′44.8″N88°0′55.8″W / 44.512444°N 88.015500°W / 44.512444; -88.015500 (St. Willebrord Catholic Church)
11
Brown County Courthouse Aerial.jpg 100 S. Jefferson St.On Jefferson St. 44°30′44.7″N88°0′51.1″W / 44.512417°N 88.014194°W / 44.512417; -88.014194 (Brown County Courthouse)
12
Columbus Community Club
115 S. Jefferson St.On Jefferson St. 44°30′46″N88°0′48.1″W / 44.51278°N 88.013361°W / 44.51278; -88.013361 (Columbus Community Club)
13
GreenBayPressGazetteBuilding.jpg 435 E. Walnut St.On Walnut St. 44°30′46.9″N88°0′44.1″W / 44.513028°N 88.012250°W / 44.513028; -88.012250 (Green Bay Press-Gazette)
14
Hagemeister Park marker at Green Bay East High School.jpg 1415 E. Walnut St.On Baird St. 44°30′26.4″N87°59′40.5″W / 44.507333°N 87.994583°W / 44.507333; -87.994583 (Hagemeister Park)
15
City Stadium Green Bay.jpg 400 S. Washington St.On front gates 44°30′29.1″N87°59′37.4″W / 44.508083°N 87.993722°W / 44.508083; -87.993722 (City Stadium)
16
Curly Lambeau's Birthplace Home
615 N. Irwin Ave.On Irwin Ave. 44°30′47″N87°59′39.6″W / 44.51306°N 87.994333°W / 44.51306; -87.994333 (Curly Lambeau's Birthplace Home)
17
Green Bay Station CN Western Rail.jpg 200 Dousman St.Near entrance 44°31′9.7″N88°1′5.5″W / 44.519361°N 88.018194°W / 44.519361; -88.018194 (Chicago and North Western Depot)
18
Packers Practice Fields
N. Baird St.Packing Plant SpurNorth of City Stadium 44°30′33.8″N87°59′35″W / 44.509389°N 87.99306°W / 44.509389; -87.99306 (Packers Practice Fields)
19
1560 Main St.Near entrance 44°30′16.9″N87°59′13.2″W / 44.504694°N 87.987000°W / 44.504694; -87.987000 (Riverside Ballroom)
20
1613 Main St.On Janquet Lumber building 44°30′15.9″N87°59′3.5″W / 44.504417°N 87.984306°W / 44.504417; -87.984306 (Bellevue Park)
21
Main St. & Elizabeth St.Start of Kress Trail 44°30′19.2″N87°59′8.2″W / 44.505333°N 87.985611°W / 44.505333; -87.985611 (Indian and Acme Packing Plants)
22
Curly Lambeau's Gravesite
2121 Riverside Dr. [lower-alpha 1] Lambeau - Lombardi SpurOn Fox River Trail near Allouez Catholic Cemetery [lower-alpha 1] 44°29′3.5″N88°1′52.8″W / 44.484306°N 88.031333°W / 44.484306; -88.031333 (Curly Lambeau's Gravesite) [lower-alpha 1]
23
667 Sunset Cir. [lower-alpha 2] On Fox River Trail near Sunset Park [lower-alpha 2] 44°27′56.9″N88°3′7.2″W / 44.465806°N 88.052000°W / 44.465806; -88.052000 (Vince Lombardi's Home) [lower-alpha 2]
24
200 N. Broadway St.Corner of Broadway St. & James St. 44°27′0.6″N88°3′37.1″W / 44.450167°N 88.060306°W / 44.450167; -88.060306 (Union Hotel)
25
505 Third St.On Third St. 44°26′34.9″N88°4′7.1″W / 44.443028°N 88.068639°W / 44.443028; -88.068639 (St. Norbert College)
Source: PackersHofTours.com [4]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 The address provided for Curly Lambeau's Gravesite is for the Allouez Catholic Cemetery, where Lambeau is buried. However, the plaque for the Packers Heritage Trail is located a short distance from the Cemetery along the public-accessible Fox River Trail. The coordinates provided are for the plaque, not the gravesite. [12]
  2. 1 2 3 The address provided for Vince Lombardi's Home is for the actual house where Lombardi lived. However, the plaque for the Packers Heritage Trail is located a short distance from the Home along the public-accessible Fox River Trail near Sunset Park. The coordinates provided are for the plaque, not the house. [11]

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References

Citations

  1. "Packers Heritage Trail". NevillePublicMuseum.org. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  2. "Packers Heritage Trail". GreenBay.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Christl 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Packers Heritage Trail Map". PackersHoFandTours.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  5. Williams, Scott Cooper (May 9, 2012). "Packers Heritage Trail nears completion: Part 1". The Post-Crescent (clipping). p. A3. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  6. Williams, Scott Cooper (May 9, 2012). "Packers Heritage Trail nears completion: Part 2". The Post-Crescent (clipping). p. A5. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  7. Ryman, Richard (September 15, 2013). "Heritage Trail Plaza open in downtown Green Bay". Green Bay Press-Gazette . p. A10. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Lambeau Field Stadium Tours". PackersHoFandTours.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  9. "Packers Heritage Trail Plaza Gets Facelift". GoPressTimes.com. July 10, 2022. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  10. Bollier, Jeff (April 10, 2024). "Green Bay committee gets first look at plans for Adams Street parking lot". Green Bay Press-Gazette . Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Vince Lombardi's Home". HMDB.org. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Curly Lambeau's Gravesite Home". HMDB.org. Retrieved May 17, 2024.

Sources