"The Loop"

April 28, 1928, Menasha Record

June 8, 1928, Menasha Record

August 27, 1929, Menasha Record

A reader of the blog recently asked, what is "the Loop" mentioned in one of the ads I had featured regarding Karo Week in Menasha.  I did some digging and learned that the area of Main, Tayco and Kaukauna Streets was once referred to as the Loop by Menasha businessmen.  Maybe the city fathers admired Chicago and its Loop. But whether or not this designation had some basis in fact, the designation was used in the twenties and thirties and then seems to have died off.  If you look at the map pictured below, you can see that by including Chute Street, you do, indeed, get a loop that can be traveled.  Was this the reason why?  Who knows, but it does make for a bit of interesting Menasha trivia.