FAMILYFUN
Photo by David Nelson. Late’s is a charming diner that has been open since 1948. Its breakfast menu offers cheese curd stuffed omelettes and a build-your-own option.
immediately on the cheese curdstuffed omelette. David built his own omelet and we both shared an order of hashbrowns, all for $20, including drinks and a tip. And it was delicious – we had a list of places to try for lunch, but the meal was filling. If we had brought in U.S. Silver Coins dated 1964 or earlier, our prices would have been significantly lower. The diner pays homage to its history by preserving the prices of its time. With those coins, hamburgers are 12 cents or 10 for $1, coffee is 7 cents and a fourpiece chicken dinner is 36 cents. The wall is adorned with historic pictures of city buildings – the marina in 1891, Lincoln High School during construction in 1923 and even a group of youngsters dubbed the “Clean Plate Club” in 1943. There is a line of plaques on the wall identifying the most expensive meals served at the diner – among the top was a group of 13 that had a tab of just over $60.
Above and below water
I could almost hear my dad’s voice as we pulled up to the Maritime Museum. “Would you look at that!” That’s what he would say whenever we would pass the submarine near the parking lot in my youth, for what always felt like the 100th time, as if it hadn’t been there since 1970. That submarine – the USS Cobia – was the original focus of this story, but the painful cold had closed that part of the museum (cutting our admission cost in half to $5). The world’s most completely restored World War II submarine, according to the museum, has an above-ground exhibit dedicated to its history, including pictures and artifacts and a video sharing its story from some of the people who occupied it. Normally, the museum admission includes a 45-minute
Wisconsin’s Underwater Treasures, one of the temporary exhibits at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, highlights some of the shipwrecks of Lake Michigan.
guided tour through the vessel, and it also offers overnight programs for schools, scout groups and summer programs. The rest of the museum, filled with such things as model boats and wood-carved fish, is self-guided, with opportunities to watch minidocumentaries. Special events throughout the year feature documentary screenings, presentations from area experts, afterhours expeditions and programs with the Friends of the Manitowoc River Watershed, a local conservation group that had a hand in preserving pieces of the museum. One of my favorite parts was exploring the model ship gallery and car ferry exhibits, but I also liked visiting the maritime history gallery that threw me back to the 1840s. I got to see how shipbuilding and shipping were some of the first industries in Wisconsin, and Manitowoc in particular, highlighting the significance of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company.
Steampunk sidequest
The hour-and-a-half we spent at the maritime museum didn’t quite quench our historical thirst, so we we drove about 5 minutes away to the Rahr-West Art Museum, located on 8th Street. The free museum is built around a Queen Anne-style Victorian mansion, built by Joseph and Mary Vilas between 1891 and 1893. While much of the mansion is closed off, the addition offers a chance for rotating exhibits to be featured throughout the year. The house, which cost between
The Rahr-West Art Museum, located at 610 N. 8th St., Manitowoc, is located in the Joseph Vilas Jr. House. The mansion was built between 1891 and 1893.
$35,000 and $50,000 to build – a fortune back then – is on the National Register of Historic Places and contains 13 bedrooms, seven full and partial bathrooms, hot-water heat with six fireplaces, gaslight and cistern water. Joseph was the mayor of Manitowoc from 1893-1895, and he lived in the house until his death by suicide in 1905. It remained empty until 1910, when the president of Rahr Malting Company, Reinhardt Rahr, purchased it. He died in 1921, and his widow donated the house to the city in 1941 to be used for educational purposes. In 1975, the City of Manitowoc took control of the mostly abandoned Rahr Civic Center and repaired and remodeled the house for creating exhibitions and displays. John and Ruth West donated from their respective foundations to purchase the land. The last renovation, in 2007, added space for an expanded educational program. Continued on page 12 SPRING 2019 YOUR FAMILY 11