Property Record
1660 E Shore Dr
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary - Wildlife Trek Piers |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | No |
| Reference Number: | 245035 |
| Location (Address): | 1660 E Shore Dr |
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| County: | Brown |
| City: | Green Bay |
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| Year Built: | 1972 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2022 |
| Historic Use: | institution |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Wood |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | In 1911, Bay Beach was sold to Murphy and Rahr, and the two incorporated the park as a public amusement venue. The 11½ acre park was donated by Rahr and Murphy to the City of Green Bay in 1920 for use as a city park called Bay Beach Park. The city added 222 acres of adjacent land in 1929 and annexed it with the intention of developing a series of lagoons and a golf course. The Green Bay Wildlife Sanctuary was incorporated and encouraged locals to clear the area and dredge a small pond in 1936. Two years later, using WPA funds, the sanctuary was expanded with heavy equipment that resulted in a series of extant lagoons that were stocked with birds and fish by 1941. The original landscape design of the park was completed with the direction of Aldo Leopold. The area served as a recreational park for Green Bay through the 1940s and the original shack used by the WPA was renovated as an observation building facing the largest pond for the public. A series of propellers were installed to keep the water open through winter months at the same large pond. The sanctuary was successful, both with the public and the animal that it cared for, with over 3,000 geese and ducks wintering at the location by 1956. A non-extant caretaker’s house was built the following year and the observation building improved in 1961. Toilets and storage buildings were added in 1964 and additional species were introduced. Non-extant bird shelters and feeding buildings were constructed in 1968. A botulism outbreak in 1969 killed hundreds of ducks and geese which led to a public effort to dredge and clean the lagoons. Water testing by the Department of Natural Resources and professionals became routine. The complex was extensively renovated in 1972 with added roads, pumps, and entry piers. A compound for Timberwolves and a woodland center building for mammals were added in 1975 along with the development of nature trails. The sanctuary doubled in size with land added east of Danz Avenue in 1980 and in 1984 a new bridge, duck shack, and various outbuildings were constructed. The new Nature Center building was completed the following year. In 2001, a new boardwalk was installed, and the observation was remodeled again. A 2005 lagoon restoration project included dredging, landscaping, and cleaning, and wells and waterfall were completed in 2007. The sanctuary is the largest park in Green Bay with over 600 acres of land and is home to the second largest wildlife rehabilitation program in Wisconsin and was the first of its kind in Wisconsin. There are presently over 200 such sanctuaries across the United States. The site of the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary serves the dual purpose of a public park and zoo and as a sanctuary charged with caring for injured and sick animals, especially birds. Funding for the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary has been conducted entirely by grants, donations, and concessions. |
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| Bibliographic References: | “History of Green Bay’s Parks – Wildlife Sanctuary at Bay Beach,” Parchive. <parchive.pivotrock.net/wildlifesanctuary/history.html> “History,” Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. <www.baybeachwildlife.com/1322/History> |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |