Walking / Biking Tour
Shorewood is a walkable community. Nestled between Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River, it is just 1 ½ miles square. People walking or biking through Shorewood can easily spot clues that will help them understand when and how our neighborhoods developed.
Self-guided Tours
Birthday Markers, which note the date a home was built, are located in the boulevard in front of over 700 Shorewood homes. Noting the dates will help you understand how a neighborhood developed over time.
Review the variety of architectural styles.
- Many homes were built in the 1920s when a variety of “revival” styles were popular.
- Other blocks may have a variety of interpretations of one style such as bungalow.
- Original farm houses don’t conform to later set-back rules.
- Modern homes were probably added between 1945 and 1960 as “fill-ins”.
Guided Tours
The Historical Society sponsors a number of guided walking tours each year which are led by volunteers. Scheduled tours are advertised on the web site and Village Manager’s Memo. A number of tours are offered in conjunction with the Shorewood Senior Resource Center and are promoted in their newsletter.
Block Party Tours
Invite a Historical Society volunteer to your block party to lead a tour of your neighborhood and share pictures and other archival information about individual homes, former residents and changes over time. To request a Block Party tour, contact us at shorewoodhistory@yahoo.com
Resources
Six, self-guided walking tours are detailed in “A Guide to Shorewood’s Architecture,” which is available for purchase from the Society. Cost is $10. It includes information on architecture styles, architects and builders. Request a copy at shorewoodhistory@yahoo.com
A self-guided walking tour of the southwest corner of the Village, including information about the amusement parks and early Village development is available for downloading below.