{image1} What do you when you are snowbound in downtown Green Bay, after the Packers have finished their regular season?
I faced that situation before Christmas when a hefty winter storm blew into town after covering the Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars game for OMC's On the Pack and Associated Press.
Not wanting to travel across the state in tough winter conditions, my wife and I stayed a couple additional nights at the downtown Days Inn in Green Bay. What we found downtown turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
So many of the activities in the Green Bay area are centered around Lambeau Field, Oneida Casino, Heritage Hill State Park
and elsewhere on the outskirts that many visitors don't even pay attention to downtown. But, we found an interesting blend of unique shops, restaurants and pubs intertwined among a variety of other attractions.
Construction equipment also can be seen throughout the downtown as new commercial and residential properties go up, and old ones are renovated. A large renovation and addition are being done to Washington Commons, a shopping mall that has stood relatively vacant for a while. You still won't find a whole lot in the Commons, but that should change in coming months.
Parents might enjoy bringing the kids to the Children's Museum of Green Bay in the Commons.
Perhaps the jewel of the area is right across the bridge, an easy walk west from downtown. The Neville Public Museum at 210 Museum Pl. hosts an ongoing exhibit called "On The Edge of the Inland Sea," which brings you through 12,000 years of Wisconsin history beginning with a simulated glacier representing the last Ice Age.
The Neville also was hosting "Hunters of the Sky," which explores the world of eagles, hawks, falcons and other raptors, through Jan. 26. Through April 17, "Beyond the Cleavers: Life in the 1950s," is at the museum.
The Green Bay Community Theater can be found just to the west of the Neville. At Walnut and Washington Streets, the Meyer Theater brings Broadway and off Broadway shows to town. Comedy City Green Bay on Washington will keep you laughing on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Even on a snowy day, it's worth a walk to check out the historic Brown County Courthouse on Walnut. It's an old landmark of downtown Green Bay.
Another landmark is Bosses News & Tobacco, which was established in 1898 and is billed as Green Bay's oldest and largest newsstand and tobacco shop. I'm a newspaper junkie and could find every paper I wanted at the store on Cherry Street, not to mention more than 3,500 magazines.
When hunger strikes, good restaurants are easy to find. Angelina on Adams Street has been serving up fine Italian food since 1993. Maloney's and Brewbakers Pub, both on Washington Street, are good pubs for food and entertainment on Sundays.
Titletown Brewing Co. in the historic Chicago and Northwestern Depot on Dousman Street offers microbrews. If you'd rather make your own brews, you can learn how at the House of Homebrew on Dousman, a store that specializes in ingredients, equipment and instructions on beer and wine making.
Bonaventuras on Broadway, on the west side of the river, offers steaks, seafood, pasta and fish. Pier 64, located on the Fox River just south of downtown, features lunch and dinner. If you go there in warmer weather, you will be at a restaurant that earned a Golden Fork Award for best place to dine outdoors. We stayed inside on our wintry visit.
If you want to check your e-mail, have some good coffee and a bowl of soup or a sandwich, stop at Java Knights Wireless Internet Café on Washington. It's open for breakfast and lunch. The restaurant opened with the help of Urban Hope, an organization started by former Packer Reggie White and his wife, Sara, to help aspiring entrepreneurs.
Right next door to Java Knights, you can get a great sub sandwich and box lunches at Erbert & Gerbert's.
KI Convention Center brings conventions and meetings to downtown year-'round. If you start getting tired walking to these places, jump on the Titletown Trolley, which runs through downtown.
The Regency Suites also offers downtown tours on a 1967 double-decker bus called the Redline. Before the holidays, the Redline had The Griswold Tour, named after Chevy Chase's character, Clark Griswold. Proceeds went to the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Wisconsin.
Two business organizations are playing big roles in the ongoing redevelopment. Downtown Green Bay Inc. sponsored a Horse Drawn Holiday before Christmas and champions fireworks, a summer music series and other events.
On Broadway Inc. concentrates on promotion and redevelopment of Broadway Street, the historic street that runs along the west side of the Fox River. The organization is sponsoring Winterfest On Broadway in January.
By the fall of 2005, the new commercial and residential developments previously mentioned are scheduled for completion. It's hoped they lure additional people downtown.
Not long ago, Inc Magazine ranked Green Bay as the No. 1 Medium-Sized Metro Area to do business in America. Without a doubt, the Packers and the renovation of Lambeau Field had a lot to do with it.
But, downtown Green Bay should not be ignored. It has its current attractions and will be adding more in the not-too-distant future. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise for a snowbound couple this winter.
