Kenosha's lakefront is absolutely beautiful!! I love walking along the lakefront and admiring the…read moreviews and the iconic red lighthouse.

This lovely red tower stands on the north pier of Kenosha harbor. It is not easily accessible from…read morethe Harbor Park but you can sure get some amazing photographs. I woke up early (the benefit of still living on Eastern Time) and arrived at the harbor as the sun was just starting to come up. That meant I got the sunrise over Lake Michigan and an undisturbed view of the lighthouse. This 50 foot tall structure was built in 1906, was deemed as excess by the Coast Guard in 2008 and is now an artist studio under private ownership. As near as I can tell, you can not visit the inside. And that's okay - the outside is pretty amazing all by itself. [Review 20642 overall - 216 in Wisconsin - 1623 of 2023.]

This is a really cool smaller museum that highlights Kenosha history. They have a lot of displays…read moreand artifacts related to important manufacturing (as expected there's a lot about American Motors and their predecessors). There's a recreation of how a city block appeared with shops, barbers, etc. I believe there was no fee, just a "please donate what you can" and I put a 20 into the donation box. A fun and relatively quick experience which may be beneficial for people with children!

What a Charming and lovely area. This was worth coming from New York City to see a bit of American…read morehistory encapsulated in a beautiful area that features two of the nicest lighthouse I have seen (and I've seen a lot).

While small, the library has a really good selection. The children's and young adult section is the…read morefirst you'll see when you come in, and then there are the periodicals. Fiction and nonfiction are towards the back, and there's a wide variety of stuff available. The librarians are each very friendly and knowledgeable, and after just a few visits, they'll probably remember you as a regular. My mother has become infamous there for returning books late, losing books, and misplacing her card, but the librarians are unfailingly polite and supportive when we come in. There are also several desktop computers with good internet access (in an area in which it can be hard to get high speed internet) as well as printing and copying services as well.

Memorial Hall is a pretty nice place to have an event. We attended a wedding reception here as…read moreguests, so I don't have a sense of price point for any prospective brides. There are a ton of spaces - the lower level has several different rooms that look best for meetings vs. formal events. (The look is decidedly "utilitarian"). The upper level rooms are beautiful - our event was in the Auditorium. It's a massive space, with a big stage and balcony and looks like it was made for political rallies. (I understand many have been held here) Another bonus was access to the lakeview balcony which has gorgeous views. Sadly, they allow smoking so it was filled with stinky cigarette smoke the whole night which made it unpleasant to be out there. I guess you'd feel differently if you were a smoker though. A big negative for those considering this location is that the only restrooms available are on the lower level, so if you're having an event on the main floor all of your guests will need to go up & down a flight of stairs to use the facilities. They do have an elevator, so there is accommodation for those who can't do stairs but it was a little inconvenient. Not to mention creepy as you've got to walk down a long-ish hallway past a few unused event spaces. Fun Fact - Memorial Hall was a gift to the city of Racine by one Mr. William Horlick. He made all his money (apparently quite a lot based on this facility) by holding the patent for malted milk. So anytime you enjoy a tasty malt, you can thank the guy who bestowed this fine venue on Racine.

I came to Memorial Hall to volunteer at a roller derby event for the local Racine team the Root…read moreRiver Rollers.  What a nice venue for Racine. It seems to be in the downtown area, and all the parking is on the street and you'll probably have to walk a little bit to get there, but it's a small town.   The venue must primarily be a theater as it has a stage and balcony seating and lots of floor space on the ground level and they can set up chairs in any fashion.  I was impressed with the concessions they had such as brats, burgers, and hot dogs being grilled right outside the building... and big doughy pretzels. They had a bar too...didn't get a good look at it, but they seemed to have a little bit of everything.   It seems to be a good spot for having concerts, big private events, and now roller derby.  Neato!

A beautiful library in a lovely park (though the park had several "residentially challenged" folks)…read moreand it was pretty awesome because the library's free wifi extended to the street. This meant that I could do my phone calls on high speed internet and still eat lunch out of the Sprinter van's fridge! It's an extremely impressive structure, inside and out. Don't miss the rotunda and the vaulted ceiling! [Review 20647 overall - 220 in Wisconsin - 1628 of 2023.]

The Simmons library tour exemplifies the overused term "hidden gem."…read more Kenosha is a nice town and all, but there isn't much to "do" there. My wife and I execute occasional border raids to pillage goodies that we can't get in Chicago (such as New Glarus beer and Jelly Bellys straight from the teat). I like to find other things to do to justify the trip, and on this occasion my wife sniffed out the Simmons tour. What a find for this bibliophile, history buff, and architecture enthusiast. This event surprised me three times: 1. This place exists? In Kenosha?? It's so cool! 2. We will be lonely on this tour, right? How awkward. Nope! There were thirty other guests. 3. There can't possibly be enough to say about this place to fill a 90-minute tour. Wrong! The tour guide (Bob?) was great. He taught us plenty about the town itself and the SImmons family before getting into the library itself. I won't go into the details--just take the tour and hear it all straight from the source. He did a great job. You will learn about architecture, turn-of-the-century midwestern industry, numerous other aspects of history, and even a little library science. You will also see every single room in the building (except perhaps for the restrooms--visit on your own time), even offices and storage spaces. Be prepared to climb some cramped spiral staircases. The last segment takes place in the modest board room where you can pore over several artefacts and documents. Very interesting stuff. Second Saturday of every month, 2:30pm. Check it out!

Friendly and helpful employees. I went on a Friday and expected to have a long wait but that wasn't…read morethe case. I was in and out in less then 30 minutes. Was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

Had a very good experience. Was greeted with a smile at service counter when first arriving. Got…read morein and out within an hour. All staff was very friendly.

3 stars based on my experience without visiting the museum or climbing the lighthouse because they…read morewere closed. I'm sure it may have been a four star had I been able to partake in the climb & visit the station museum. Make sure to visit on a day Thursday through Sunday when they are open until 10am-4pm ( 12pm-4pm on Sundays). Mon-Wednesday they are CLOSED. Open May through October. I was aware of the hours, however unfortunately unseen circumstances prevented us from visiting during their opening days. Rather than not see the lighthouse at all, we stopped by the day before we left. They have a placard with some brief history of the lighthouse. A few feet away is the light keeper's house/station museum which is free or a $5 donation. To climb the 72 steps in the lighthouse there is a $10 fee 12yrs and up; $5 for those 8yrs old-12yrs old. It is weather dependent so be sure to call ahead. Those 8yrs old & under are not allowed to climb. Plan accordingly. It is said on a clear day you can see the Chicago skyline from the tower. Simmons Island Park/Beach is right next to it, so you can add that to your itinerary to maximize on time. I'm not sure if they still are doing this, but it was on their website that you can pay to light the lighthouse in the evening to celebrate a birthday, anniversary etc or in memory of someone. I was planning on doing it for my in-laws' anniversary but I wasn't sure they were going to even go by the lighthouse to see it & I also never heard back from the organization when I sent an email inquiring. There is a small flower garden around the back perimeter behind the lighthouse with a few birdhouses in the trees to check out.

The Kenosha History Center has done a great job restoring this 1866 lighthouse and Lighthouse…read moreKeeper's house (open from mid-May through October). We climbed to the top of this 55-foot lighthouse and learned details of the history from the highly intelligent, knowledgeable, and personable tour guide, who also built some of the ship models in the museum. Conversing with him about history and music (since we are also musicians) was the highlight of our day! We also had a delicious lunch across the street at the Yacht Club restaurant, which is open to the public.

Sometimes, I *want* to get stuck at a drawbridge. I think there's something special about a road…read morethat moves out of the way of the boat traffic. Sharing the space, almost respectfully between the two modes of transportation. Sadly, this evening there were no boats and I was able to just drive over without delay. The bridge carries Main Street (Wisconsin State Highway 32) over the Root River. The bridge is a double leaf bascule bridge, or two span bridge. There are four lanes on the bridge. It is staffed from April 1 to December 1 of each year, around the clock. [Review 20659 overall - 229 in Wisconsin - 1640 of 2023.]