Preservation Racine, Org

10/16/2026

Preservation Racine is being represented at the 20th Annual Local History and Historic Preservation Conference, held this year in Milwaukee by the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS).

WHS says, "This conference is a great opportunity to connect with professionals and peers to share wisdom and best practices", and this is quite true. In past years, we have learned a lot about historic tax credits and local landmark ordinances. This year, we are focusing on workshops where the topic is good governance for small non-profits.

Tonight's reception was at the historic Pabst Mansion on Wisconsin Avenue (see photos).

09/25/2026

Last night (Thursday) was our seventh and last docent walkthrough for the 2026 Tour of Historic Places! A walkthrough is an on-site meeting of our volunteer tour leaders, house captains, docents, and home owners. We review best practices and then move through the site, reading the docent scripts out loud and looking around to make sure the script tracks with what people are seeing. In this way, our docents will arrive for their shifts on Sunday already familiar with the script and location.

On tour day, a typical site set-up is for a volunteer docent to be in front of a home or public building to greet visitors, and to read or recite a short script that descibes the building's general history and architectural features. Groups of 8-to-10 visitors then enter the building and are met by a sequence of docents, each of whom read or recite a short script describing interior features or stories relating to past or present occupants, as appropriate. Of course, this plan can vary depending on the size of the building, number of docents, or other site-specific needs.

09/24/2026

Preservation Racine is grateful to SC Johnson, A Family Company, for a generous grant of $2,000 to help support this year's Tour of Historic Places. The Tour is this coming Sunday, September 27.

SC Johnson is a major business and philanthropic presence in Racine, and is familiar to people elsewhere as a manufacturer of consumer products such as Windex, Ziploc, and Glade. This article from the Racine Journal Times (September 17) shows the breadth of SC Johnson's community support in just one quarter of 2026. Our grant came in the current quarter, which is not covered in the article.

https://www.facebook.com/SCJohnson

The company said it is committed to making the communities where it operates better.

09/23/2026

If you missed this morning's appearance by Preservation Racine's Beth Roeseler and Scott Leonard, you can still hear it on CivicMedia.us (in the link), on WJRN.com, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or anywhere else you find podcasts. Just search "Don Rosen Show" on those sites.

The hour has been condensed down to 27 minutes by removing news segments and other features. We talked about the locations where we will be on the Tour of Historic Places on September 27, about how Preservation Racine was formed 50 years ago, and more.

The Don Rosen Show is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WRJN in Racine and Kenosha. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode!

09/21/2026

Reminder - Tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 22), Preservation Racine's Beth Roeseler and Scott Leonard will appear on WJRN's The Don Rosen Show, to talk about the upcoming Tour of Historic Places (Sunday, Sept. 27):

Don Rosen is a fixture at WRJN, bringing back memories with area historians, keeping people informed about fun family events, and regularly speaking with Racine leaders. Spend your early mornings with Don! Broadcasts live 6 - 8am weekdays in Racine.

09/19/2026

49th Annual Tour of Historic Places
Sunday, September 27, 12-5:30 pm
Advance tickets on sale now.
Please visit our webpage: www.PreservationRacine.org for details.
Hope to see you there!

$15 Advance-Purchase Tickets will be on sale during September at several local businesses, through close-of-business Friday, September 25. Locations are:
= Borzynski's Farm and Floral Market: 11600 Washington Ave., Sturtevant
= Mileager's: 4838 Douglas Ave.; 8717 Highway 11, Sturtevant
= Miller's Flowers: 219 Sixth St. (after September 13)
= O & H Bakeries: 1841 Douglas Ave.; 4006 Durand Ave.; 5910 Washington Ave. = Personal Touch Flowers by Julie; 5445 Spring St.
= Racine Heritage Museum; 701 Main St.
= Uncorkt; 240 Main St.
= Wilson's Coffee & Tea; 3306 Washington Ave.

Preservation Racine is a nonprofit volunteer organization preserving historic buildings, districts, and sites in Racine County, Wisconsin.

09/15/2026

Preservation Racine takes to the airwaves on Tuesday, September 22, to talk about the upcoming Tour of Historic Places!

We will appear on The Don Rosen Show sometime during the 7:00 am hour. Guests are Preservation Racine President Scott Leonard and Treasurer Beth Roeseler. You can tune in on 1400 AM, 99.9 FM (Racine), or 98.1 FM (Kenosha), or listen live on the link in this post. That link also has past episodes of The Don Rosen Show that you can hear after September 22.

So tune in and hear something about the Tour and about Preservation Racine!

Don Rosen is a fixture at WRJN, bringing back memories with area historians, keeping people informed about fun family events, and regularly speaking with Racine leaders. Spend your early mornings with Don! Broadcasts live 6 - 8am weekdays in Racine.

09/03/2026

ADDITIONAL DATE ADDED - This month's Scoopin the Loop program on August 31 and September 2 was so popular that both dates had waiting lists for seats. Our hosts, Jim Mercier, Carol Gianforte, and SC Johnson have agreed to add a third date for those who could not attend. This will be Tuesday, September 15, at 7:00 pm, at the Golden Rondelle, 1525 Howe St. (use parking lot entrance at 14th & Franklin).

If you want to attend on the 15th, please contact SC Johnson at 262-260-2154 or at scjohnson.com/CIP . You will need to leave your name and the number of people in your party.

We had a great turnout last night at SC Johnson's Golden Rondelle. Our August membership meeting featured once again Preservation Racine members Carol Gianforte and Jim Mercier, with "A 1960s Scoopin Tour of Downtown Racine". Enhanced photos and graphics and personal stories brought to life the street scenes and architecture of downtown Racine.

The Golden Rondelle seats about 290, and it was full. We gave away many yard signs for our Tour of Historic Places on September 27. There will be a repeat program tomorrow night, and we understand there is a waiting list for seats.

09/03/2026

Colette Broadway shared a very entertaining and informative presentation with Preservation Racine members about the Round Houses of Racine and architect Anton Kratochvil, back on November 3, 2025. Last week, she was interviewed by WUWM 89.7 FM in Milwaukee about some round houses near 92nd and Blue Mound which, it turns out, also are Kratochvil's work.

Read more about this chapter in Racine (and Milwaukee) architecture in the WUWM story:

In the mid-1900s, a Racine man named Anton Kratochvil built more than 20 round or semi-circular houses and apartments in southeast Wisconsin. But why round?

09/02/2026

We had a great turnout last night at SC Johnson's Golden Rondelle. Our August membership meeting featured once again Preservation Racine members Carol Gianforte and Jim Mercier, with "A 1960s Scoopin Tour of Downtown Racine". Enhanced photos and graphics and personal stories brought to life the street scenes and architecture of downtown Racine.

The Golden Rondelle seats about 290, and it was full. We gave away many yard signs for our Tour of Historic Places on September 27. There will be a repeat program tomorrow night, and we understand there is a waiting list for seats.