Looking West

A view to the west on Main Street on a stormy day, circa 1927.  The streetcar tracks are still evident but service had been discontinued in 1925.  As reported in the book, popular belief had traditionally been that the streetcar service ended because of the rise of the automobile as a means of transportation. But for Neenah and Menasha, at least, the official reason cited in a news article of the time was simply that the streetcar company (Wisconsin Traction, Light, Heat, and Power Company) didn’t want the responsibility of paying for new bridges. The same news item argued that there was sufficient “motor bus” service to take up the slack. Streetcar service lasted in Appleton and Oshkosh until 1930.

From History of the Fox River Valley, Lake Winnebago & the Green Bay Region, Hon. Wm. A. Titus, Editor, Volume I-III, Chicago, S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1930