Village Hall – Sister Bay WI

Description

Original Use:
“The building, one of the finest in the state for any village of this size, was made possible by the public spiritedness. of the residents of the community and the whole­hearted co-operation of the National Youth Administration that furnished all of the labor on the building with the exception of skilled craftsmen.

“The main building is 78 by 40 feet with an “V for the public library that is 20×20 In the main building, which has a large entrance hall, is the auditorium that will comfortably seat more than 300 for events on the 19×26 foot stage where all types of plays and entertainments may be presented. The local women’s club is making the draperies and curtains for the stage to be in place for the dedication”

“Downstairs there is the community kitchen, furnished with the latest in modern equipment by the women’s club. The heating and air-conditioning plants are also there, as well as the lavatories. The entire building is air-conditioned.

“The building also has a projection room for a movie machine when the community wishes to use the building for shows, and at the entrance, there is a ticket booth on the one side, and a room for village officers’ business meeting on the other.

“The library has its own entrance on the side with a concrete sidewalk running from the front to the door on the south.”
Source: The Door County (Wisconsin) Advocate, Friday, August 8, 1941 “Sister Bay’s New Village Hall Dedication August 17”
https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=1e8fc801-90a4-4104-8e86-19a1ea0947dc%2fwsbd0000%2f20131118%2f00000861

Past functions:
The earliest uses were for programs right after the attack on Pearl Harbor and focused on patriotic themes such as Christmas community programs, concerts for the Wisconsin’s Badger Bomber Fund for private fund raising to purchase new bombers for the U.S. Army.
Source: Door County Advocate, Friday, February 13, 1942. “Another Concert for Bomber Fund,” https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=1e8fc801-90a4-4104-8e86-19a1ea0947dc/wsbd0000/20141103/00000007

“Sunday afternoon with the staging, of the big home talent Cherryland Winter carnival here at 1:30, the Door County Winter sports club will ring down the curtain on its activities for the season except a party to. crown the champions next Tuesday evening, at the Sister Bay village hall. Numerous “gate” prizes will be awarded lucky attendants, and patriotic pageantry will be blended into this program.
Source: Door County Advocate, Friday, February 20, 1942 “Cherryland Winter Carnival and Meet at Peninsula Park” : https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=1e8fc801-90a4-4104-8e86-19a1ea0947dc%2fwsbd0000%2f20141103%2f00000008

Later Functions:
Library. The Village Hall was the home for the village library until it was determined to be too small. A new library on the waterfront was built to accommodate the expanded needs. About twenty years ago, an even larger library was built away from the original site and the first replacement demolished.

Meeting Hall. From the beginning the village hall was used for community programs, plays, concerts, movies, wedding receptions, and funerals; for exhibitions, art and antique shows, book sales, and the annual Fall Festival “Preachers Stew” and Lions Club plays. The Boy Scouts and other civic groups met there.

The Village Board of Trustees and village committees met there for many years until a new fire station was built with a more modern meeting room outside the village’s central core.

Present Functions:
For the past several years, the village has not adequately maintained the village hall and has increased the user fees. This, the chronic lack of parking, and new or repurposed facilities in other nearby villages has discouraged active use.

Future Functions:
In October, 2022, after concerted local efforts, the Village Board voted to create a Friends of the Village Hall Committee to recommend ways in which the Village Hall can be preserved and repurposed to meet the needs of a growing 21st Century community.