A city of industry, history and culture

Your tour guide: Laurel Canan, Executive Director, The Janesville Performing Arts Center

Whenever Janesville is mentioned, people think instantly of the General Motors plant or the former Parker Pen Company. What some may not know is that Janesville is also home to a thriving cultural scene. During the past decade, Janesville has sprouted and continues to grow its cultural amenities. Two performance venues have opened and a number of new dining and entertainment destinations downtown are buzzing.

Janesville is located in northern third of Rock County and home to a large manufacturing base and large service industry. The Janesville area has a population of nearly 68,000. I'd love to take you on a tour and share with you some of our wonderful destinations and a bit of local history.

Get ready for a full day. We'll begin at 9:15 a.m. with a tour of the General Motors plant at 1000 General Motors Drive. Why include it on a cultural tour? With over 4,000 employees, the plant is a small city unto itself.

This 3.5-million-square-foot complex is the largest GM plant under one roof in the U.S. An exciting tour showcases over 600 robots on the new Suburban/Tahoe line alone. It is a rare opportunity to get a first-hand look at the automation used to put GM vehicles on the road. There is a fascinating story behind every gleaming new truck and Suburban rolling off GM's assembly line. Retired workers conduct the tours and share their stories.

Tours are offered Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 9:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. All reservations are made over the telephone at 608-756-7681 at least 48 hours in advance. Leave your name and number and GM will call you back to schedule a tour.

After leaving the plant, head up the road to Rotary Gardens at 1455 Palmer Drive. If you've always wanted to see the gardens of the world but can't afford the airfare, Rotary Gardens has the solution to your problem. This 20-acre botanical showcase is composed of various internationally themed and specialty gardens. It is dedicated to international peace and friendship, signified by the 20-foot sculpture at the garden entrance. The gardens also serve as an educational resource. Call 608-752-3885 for more information.

Take Main Street to your next stop. The Janesville Performing Arts Center (JPAC), located at 408 S. Main St., opened in September 2004. JPAC's unique setting lends it character. Its site is the original Janesville High School, which opened in 1923. The building was used continuously as a school until December 1996, when the Janesville school district sold the building to Stone House Development of Madison. The school is a wonderful example of 1920s architecture. Inside the three-story brick exterior, the building is filled with carved wood, Prairie-style stained glass and ornate plasterwork. The rest of the school building has already been converted into an unusual apartment building with 55 units by by Stone House Development. Call JPAC at 608-758-0297 for more information.

After visiting JPAC, follow Main Street downtown. Take a lunch break at The Janesville Armory, 10 S. High St. The Armory was built in 1930 and used during World War II by the 192nd Tank Battalion. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building has been renovated into an exciting entertainment venue offering three distinctive dining experiences and professional musical productions. Call 608-741-7400 for more information.

To further explore Janesville history, visit the Helen Jeffris Wood Museum Center at 426 N. Jackson St., operated by the Rock County Historical Society (RCHS). The museum center, housed in the 1912 Prairie-style residence of Stanley Dexter Tallman, is the RCHS' newest facility. This museum provides one-stop shopping for your history needs. The Lincoln-Tallman Restorations' visitors and ticketing center is located here, as well as a changing exhibit gallery, gift shop and the RCHS administrative office. Call 608-756-4509 for more information and exhibit details.

Just down the street is the Lincoln-Tallman House at 440 N. Jackson St., the crown jewel of area historic sites. The house, constructed between 1855 and 1857 by William Morrison Tallman, is a superb example of Italian villa-style architecture. The house offers a view of upper class life during the middle to late 1800s.

While on a speaking tour in 1859, Abraham Lincoln stayed two nights with the Tallman family. Today the site is the only private residence in Wisconsin still standing where Lincoln slept. More than three quarters of the home's furnishings are original, including the bed upon which Lincoln slept. The mansion made of Milwaukee cream brick boasted many conveniences that were advanced for the era. The home features large walk-in closets, a complete water system, central heating and an indoor privy. These comforts, plus marble mantels, enameled grates, wall-to-wall carpeting and porcelain washbasins, were available at mid-century to the small class of moneyed families who could afford them. Gas pipes were installed in 1857, anticipating the gasoliers (gaslight chandeliers) hung in 1870. In 1871, the Lincoln-Tallman house was called the "finest and most costly residence in Wisconsin."

Leave the Tallman house and visit another Janesville landmark, the Wisconsin Wagon Company at 507 Laurel Ave. In 1915, the Wisconsin Carriage Company, which had a reputation for building quality buggies and carriages, realized that the introduction of the automobile was adversely affecting its historic business. So the company put its efforts into the design and manufacturing of coaster wagons, "skudder" cars and other sidewalk toys. Toys were advertised regularly in such national publications as the Saturday Evening Post.

Stand side by side with these master toy makers as they construct quality toys of the past for today's children. The smell of freshly cut wood will draw you into their toy making gallery and delight you. Tours are offered Monday, Tuesday and Thursday by appointment only. Call 608-754-0026 for more information.

Enjoy your day in Janesville!