I had picked up a Janesville Public Art Trail brochure shortly after we arrived for this stay, and since it was a nice day and no other plans, Bob and I drove downtown to see some of the many public art pieces in the downtown area. We were happily surprised that some of them helped us learn more about the history of the town as well.
who was born in Janesville in 1862
and became a composer of popular music
from the 1890s through the early 1940s,
including “I Live You Truly,” which sold over 1 million copies.
the 1st female lawyer in Wisconsin,
the first woman to win a popular election in Wisconsin,
and the woman whose efforts led to the founding
of Janesville’s first successful hospital.
in Janesville
inspired by Carrie Jacob’s Bond.
part music and light show. Here, mostly just sculpture
Janesville’s General Motors and Parker Pen legacies,
the historic Lincoln-Tallman House, the Rotary Botanical Gardens, and the Rock Aqua Jays waterski show team.
that uses nature to depict wisdom, transformation,
time and energy, as well as the obstacles in life that we go through.
This uses symbols to depict different parts of Janesville’s history — arrows for forward thinking, zigzags for the river,
diamonds for wheat/agricultural past,
horizontal bars for logs/lumber industry,
vertical lines for train tracks.
a mural depicting 7 Chevrolet models between 1955 and 1960
in honor of Janesville’s former General Motors plant.
who was the namesake for Janesville.
Henry F. Janes was a native of Virginia
who was an early city planner of Janesville.
He wanted to name the city Blackhawk
after the Sauk Indian leader
but was turned down by post office officials.
Peckish Travels 