Packers Heritage Trail
Packers Heritage Trail | |
---|---|
Location | Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Established | November 2011 |
Designation | Heritage trail |
Use | Walking/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 but one of the 25 sites have bronze commemorative plaques that connect the history of the site and its association to the Green Bay Packers.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] The spurs originally did not include commemorative plaques, although these were eventually added except for at the site of Vince Lombardi's home.[citation needed]
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.[2][3] 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.[4] 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.[5] That same year, Christl published a book covering the Trail titled Packers Heritage Trail: The Town, The Team, The Fans From Lambeau to Lombardi.[6] 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.[7] However, the site of the plaza has been identified for future development, which would require its relocation to another site in downtown Green Bay.[8]
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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] As the name implies, the Lambeau - Lombardi Spur focuses on the history of two key Packers coaches: Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi.[citation needed] This spur is the only one that has sites with differences in their commemorative plaques: Lombardi's home has no plaque at all, while the plaque for Lambeau's gravesite is located a short distance from the cemetery along the Fox River trail.[citation needed]
Historic sites[edit]
# | Image | Site | Address | Trail portion | Plaque location | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
—
|
Packers Heritage Plaza
|
Washington St. & Cherry St. | City Walk | —
|
44°30′55.3″N 88°0′54.7″W / 44.515361°N 88.015194°W | |
1
|
Packers Neville Museum
|
210 Museum Place | Near parking lot | 44°31′4.8″N 88°1′5.3″W / 44.518000°N 88.018139°W | ||
2
|
Downtown Green Bay
|
325 N. Washington St. | In back along CityDeck | 44°31′1.9″N 88°0′54.4″W / 44.517194°N 88.015111°W | ||
3
|
—
|
Birthplace of the Packers
|
200 N. Adams St. | On Cherry St. | 44°30′52.8″N 88°0′48.2″W / 44.514667°N 88.013389°W | |
4
|
304 N. Adams St. | On Pine St. | 44°30′56.8″N 88°0′47.2″W / 44.515778°N 88.013111°W | |||
5
|
—
|
Curly Lambeau's Office, Northern Building
|
305 E. Walnut St. | On Adams St. | 44°30′50″N 88°0′52.3″W / 44.51389°N 88.014528°W | |
6
|
130 E. Walnut St. | On Walnut St. | 44°30′51.4″N 88°0′59″W / 44.514278°N 88.01639°W | |||
7
|
400 S. Washington St. | On Washington St. | 44°30′38″N 88°1′7.6″W / 44.51056°N 88.018778°W | |||
8
|
—
|
Packers Office Building
|
321 S. Washington St. | On Crooks St. | 44°30′38.6″N 88°1′6″W / 44.510722°N 88.01833°W | |
9
|
—
|
300 Crooks St. | On Adams St. | 44°30′36″N 88°1′1.7″W / 44.51000°N 88.017139°W | ||
10
|
209 S. Adams St. | Corner of Adams St. & Doty St. | 44°30′44.8″N 88°0′55.8″W / 44.512444°N 88.015500°W | |||
11
|
100 S. Jefferson St. | On Jefferson St. | 44°30′44.7″N 88°0′51.1″W / 44.512417°N 88.014194°W | |||
12
|
—
|
Columbus Community Club
|
115 S. Jefferson St. | On Jefferson St. | 44°30′46″N 88°0′48.1″W / 44.51278°N 88.013361°W | |
13
|
435 E. Walnut St. | On Walnut St. | 44°30′46.9″N 88°0′44.1″W / 44.513028°N 88.012250°W | |||
14
|
1415 E. Walnut St. | On Baird St. | 44°30′26.4″N 87°59′40.5″W / 44.507333°N 87.994583°W | |||
15
|
400 S. Washington St. | On front gates | 44°30′29.1″N 87°59′37.4″W / 44.508083°N 87.993722°W | |||
16
|
—
|
Curly Lambeau's Birthplace Home
|
615 N. Irwin Ave. | On Irwin Ave. | 44°30′47″N 87°59′39.6″W / 44.51306°N 87.994333°W | |
17
|
200 Dousman St. | Near entrance | 44°31′9.7″N 88°1′5.5″W / 44.519361°N 88.018194°W | |||
18
|
—
|
Packers Practice Fields
|
N. Baird St. | Packing Plant Spur | North of City Stadium | 44°30′33.8″N 87°59′35″W / 44.509389°N 87.99306°W |
19
|
—
|
1560 Main St. | Near entrance | 44°30′16.9″N 87°59′13.2″W / 44.504694°N 87.987000°W | ||
20
|
—
|
1613 Main St. | On Janquet Lumber building | 44°30′15.9″N 87°59′3.5″W / 44.504417°N 87.984306°W | ||
21
|
—
|
Main St. & Elizabeth St. | Start of Kress Trail | 44°30′19.2″N 87°59′8.2″W / 44.505333°N 87.985611°W | ||
22
|
—
|
Curly Lambeau's Gravesite
|
2121 Riverside Dr.[a] | Lambeau - Lombardi Spur | On Fox River Trail near Allouez Catholic Cemetery[a] | 44°29′3.5″N 88°1′52.8″W / 44.484306°N 88.031333°W[a] |
23
|
—
|
Vince Lombardi's Home
|
667 Sunset Cir. | No plaque | 44°27′56.3″N 88°3′0.3″W / 44.465639°N 88.050083°W | |
24
|
—
|
200 N. Broadway St. | Corner of Broadway St. & James St. | 44°27′0.6″N 88°3′37.1″W / 44.450167°N 88.060306°W | ||
25
|
—
|
505 Third St. | On Third St. | 44°26′34.9″N 88°4′7.1″W / 44.443028°N 88.068639°W |
Footnotes[edit]
- ^ a b c 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.
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^ "Packers Heritage Trail". NevillePublicMuseum.org. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Lambeau Field Stadium Tours". PackersHoFandTours.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ Christl 2017.
- ^ "Packers Heritage Trail Plaza Gets Facelift". GoPressTimes.com. July 10, 2022. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Packers Heritage Trail Map". PackersHoFandTours.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
Sources[edit]
- Christl, Cliff (2017). Packers Heritage Trail: The Town, The Team, The Fans From Lambeau to Lombardi. Stevens Point, Wisconsin: KCI Sports. ISBN 978-1940056586.