The Historic Astor Neighborhood: Walk Through History

I’ve come to love Throwback Thursdays. They get me thinking about those good old days. Lately Thursdays mean I get to write about the good old days. What’s more “throwback” than historic homes? A few weeks ago my mom and I took a walking tour of Green Bay’s Historic Astor Neighborhood. I drive through this neighborhood daily. It’s gorgeous, full of lush, green trees, big old houses, each with its own personality, and sidewalks perfect for cracking mother’s back.

Many of my friends and classmates lived in the Astor neighborhood. Even though I grew up playing in and around these homes and I’ve lived in the city for nearly four decades,  I knew nothing about the buildings, the people who built them, or the people who lived in them.

The Mitchell Joannes House, built in 1900, captured my imagination when I learned the entire third floor is a ballroom. Its original owner, Mitchell Joannes, was one of four brothers who started Joannes Grocery Company in Green Bay. But for anyone that grew up on the East side in the 80s, it’s a name that makes you think of swimming at Joannes pool and playing at Joannes Park. Joannes was part of a large family grocery operation. You can find this house mansion on the corner of Porlier and Madison.

And this one, this house. Sigh. Built in 1899, The Patrick H. Martin House is the Miss Havisham of houses. Like Miss Havisham, the house must have been in its youth. Time and circumstance haven’t been kind. Though you can still see the beauty it must have been, it’s hard to see past the state of disrepair. The gorgeous Queen Anne mansion was the talk of the town with a staircase so spectacular they made it a city event when it arrived in Green Bay on a barge. The staircase was paraded through town as it made its way by horse and wagon to its home on Madison Street.

While on the walking tour we stepped out of the sunshine and through those massive wooden doors to see the striking stained-glass windows within the Union Congregational Church. Founded in 1835, it is one of the oldest in Green Bay history, though the building that stands on Madison Street today is not the original. The original building was destroyed in a fire in 1880. Notably, Union Congregational was a stop on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War era.

I’ve always loved and looked for stories of all kinds. Naturally I was drawn to a historic tour of homes. Each of these buildings is a story, many stories. Stories told through their architecture, other parts told by their state of (dis)repair. Some stories told by the guide and many stories, I’m sure, will remain unknown to current generations. Now I know some of the these stories. Now I can put a story with the buildings, a name to the face, as I zip by on my way to work.