Marinette’s downtown area, located along the Menominee River near the Michigan border, has been voted as one of the most deserving of a comeback in Wisconsin. According to a recent survey by MarketBeat, a financial media company, Main Street in Marinette came in second in Wisconsin, with Sixth Street in Racine taking the top spot and Tower Avenue in Superior coming in third.

What Would a Comeback Mean?

Survey respondents said they would like to see places to eat, gather, and spend time without needing a car or shopping mall. They also expressed a desire for practical revival that brings activity back while preserving the local character that made these districts matter in the first place.

Historic architecture, lakefront proximity, and broad downtown corridors still give Racine one of the most distinctive urban atmospheres along the western shore of Lake Michigan. Sixth Street developed during the manufacturing years that helped make Racine an important industrial city throughout the 20th century.

Tower Avenue in Superior, on the other hand, grew alongside shipping and rail industries connected to the western end of Lake Superior, helping shape the district’s scale and identity over generations. While quieter than during its busiest decades, as the city launches major roadway and utility overhauls to modernize the strip, the downtown still carries a strong sense of place and the kind of overlooked potential residents would love to see rediscovered.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.