Como, Wisconsin

Geneva is a town in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,390 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Como is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Lake Como is also located in the town.

Geneva Lake (Potawatomi: Kishwauketoe 'Clear Water') is a body of freshwater in Walworth County in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. On its shores are the city of Lake Geneva and the villages of Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake and Williams Bay. The lake covers an area of approximately 5,401 acres (2,186 ha; 8.439 sq mi; 21.86 km2), with a maximum length of 7.7 miles (12.4 km), a mean depth of 61 feet (19 m), and a maximum depth of 135 feet (41 m). Geologists believe that it is a filled-in kettle formed from a receding glacier.

Williams Bay Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-31) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 3.1 miles (5.0 km) north of Williams Bay, Wisconsin, in the Town of Geneva, Wisconsin. It was closed in 1960.

The Belfry Music Theatre, formerly known as the Belfry Theater and The Belfry Players, is a theater facility and acting company in the town of Delavan, adjacent to the village of Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Established in a former church building, the Belfry was the first summer stock theater in Wisconsin. The theater operated as a stock company from 1935 until 1969, providing early professional experience to thespians like Paul Newman, Del Close, Gary Burghoff and Harrison Ford. The venue continued operating for local productions for many years, for a short time as an adjunct to Cleveland's Dobama Theater. In 2016, The Belfry Music Theatre was renovated, and opened to the public as a music concert and event venue. Located on Bailey Road south of the intersection of highways 50 and 67, on what was once called Delap Corners, the Belfry produced seasonal productions from the early 1930s through the 1970s and sporadically thereafter. The non-profit company was a rural "straw hat" repertory troupe. The land was owned by the Delap family. They came from Chicago and settled in the Delavan area. It was housed in a converted church of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The church was erected in 1888 and adapted for theatrical purposes in the 1930s. The producing group called the Belfry Players first leased the building in 1934, then purchased it in 1938. A large shed was later added to the theater to provide space for scenic construction and storage. Nearby Crane Hall, more recently named Belfry House, served as a dormitory for resident company members. In the late 1960s, the Belfry Theater was imperiled by a highway widening project. Although the theater building was moved and its existence saved, the company's debts forced it to suspend production between 1969 and 1976. Barry E. Silverman, a director of the Dobama Theater of Cleveland, assumed proprietorship of the Belfry in 1976, dubbed his operating company "Dobama West," and revived producing for three years, closing after the 1979 season. After regular annual productions ceased, "occasional revivals and performances were booked at the Belfry into the 1990s," as, for example, when showman Eddie Cash presented musical tributes to popular singers. The Belfry was still producing as late as 1990. The theater buildings were purchased in November 2013 by Transformative Arts, Inc., a Christian theatrical production company.

Black Point is an estate on the south shore of Geneva Lake in Wisconsin, United States, built in 1888 as a summer home by Conrad Seipp, a beer tycoon from Chicago. It has also been known as Conrad and Catherine Seipp Summer House and as Die LoreleyThe Queen Anne style mansion features a nautical-themed, four-story, "crow's nest" observation tower, which can be seen from many points on the lake; the property also features post-civil war-era furniture. It was designed by Adolph Cudell. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.The state of Wisconsin owns the property and leases it to the Black Point Historic Preserve, a nonprofit organization which manages the property for public tours, which began in June 2007.The estate and its grounds, including 620 feet of shoreline, are protected from future development by a conservation easement co-held by the Geneva Lake Conservancy, a local not-for-profit conservation organization, and the Preserve.

Horticultural Hall is a conference center in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was built in 1911 as a location for the professional gardeners working on nearby estates to meet and discuss their work. In 1968, the Horticultural Hall served as the site of the first formal Gen Con, organized by Gary Gygax. Gen Con was hosted there until it was moved to the University of Wisconsin–Parkside campus in Kenosha in 1978.The hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

The Riviera is a marina and mixed-use meeting hall at the shore of Geneva Lake in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, United States. Riviera Beach is an adjacent daily admission beach.

Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it was home to 8,277 people as of the 2020 census, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is about 40 miles southwest of Milwaukee and 65 miles northwest of Chicago. Given its relative proximity to the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, Lake Geneva has become a popular resort city that thrives on tourism. Since the late 19th century, it has been home to numerous lakefront mansions owned by wealthy Chicagoans as second homes, leading it to be nicknamed the "Newport of the West."

The Main Street Historic District in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is a 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 11, 2002. The listing was amended in some way in a revised listing on March 5, 2002. In 2002, there were 20 buildings in the district that were deemed to contribute to its historic character.The district consists of most of the buildings in the 700 block of Main Street, and is drawn to exclude non-historic buildings. Contributing buildings include, in order built: The Hanna Block at 711 Main St is a 2-story commercial building built in 1871, in Italianate style, with three second-floor windows framed by brick pilasters and round arches. The Hannas operated a cabinet shop which grew into a furniture store and undertaking business. The Walker Block at 701-709 Main St is a 3-story brick commercial building built in 1872. It initially housed Austin Walker's general store, Ferguson's dry goods, and Buhre's jewelry store. Upstairs on the third floor was a meeting room called Walker's Hall. The Metropolitan Block at 770 Main St is a 3-story commercial block designed by William Le Baron Jenney of Chicago and built in 1874. Its style is a sophisticated Italianate, with Racine pressed brick of different colors, almost hinting of Neoclassical. The building initially housed H.H. Curtis' drug store, a harness shop, a barber shop, a doctor's office, the Geneva Herald newspaper, and a 150-seat lecture hall. It was the premier commercial block in Lake Geneva in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Wachter and Ford Block, also called the Emporium Block, at 736-738 Main St. is a 2-story brick block constructed in 1881-82 in Victorian Italianate style. The iron columns and general design of the street-level storefront are largely intact. Wachter and Ford ran a large dry goods business. By 1900 the building was housing the Farmer's National Bank and Host Brothers Meat Market. The Bank of Geneva at 704 Main St is also called the Seymour Block. Its front Italianate section was constructed in 1883, a double-storefront built of cream brick and topped with an elaborate cornice. It was built by E.D. Richardson. His Bank of Geneva initially occupied the east storefront and an express office occupied the west. When E.D. died in 1892, the bank was found to be insolvent, and Henry Rogers' jewelry store rented the bank's space. John Seymour bought the building around 1900 and added a rear section in Classical Revival style around 1907. The Hammersley Block at 741 Main St is a 2-story commercial vernacular-style store built in 1885, with a red brick front and a pressed metal cornice. The original street-level storefront was replaced in 1929 with a "modern" one of copper and glass from Brasco Manufacturing of Chicago. W.H. Hammersley ran his drug store in the building until 1905, and successive generations of Hammersleys ran the drug store until the 1980s. The Frank Moore Block at 731 Main St was built in 1903, a 2-story commercial vernacular building with Classical Revival details. The front is faced in Bedford limestone. The second-story windows are topped with round-arched transoms. Moore constructed the building for his hardware store. The Stannard-Chelini Block at 725-729 Main St is a double-store built for two different owners in 1908 and 1909. The walls are rusticated concrete blocks, topped with a simple classical cornice. Initially, George Stannard ran a barber shop in the west store, and Barney Chelini ran a confectionary and ice cream parlor in the east. During the 20s and 30s, the National Tea Company opened a grocery store in the building. By the 1960s it was a Ben Franklin store. The original street-level storefront was probably replaced with the stainless steel one by one of these later owners. The Wisconsin Power and Light Company Building is a Colonial Revival-styled office building, with the street-level clad in red brick and the upper two stories in stucco. The entry is under a large round arches holding a wrought iron fanlight. The building contained offices, a showroom for appliances, a model laundry, and a room for demonstrations, cooking lessons, and meetings. The building was designed by H.V. VonHolst and built 1929-30 by T.S. Willis.

Linn is a town in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,687 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Linton and Zenda are located within the town.

Redwood Cottage is a Queen Anne-styled mansion built in 1885 as a summer cottage in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Later it served as a sanitarium and later as a hotel. In 1984 the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Charles Minton Baker was a pioneer of Walworth county who arrived in 1839 and served as district attorney and in other public roles including representative to the Territorial Council. In 1870 he built or bought the brick Italianate house at 335 Wrigley Drive, known as the Baker homestead. Charles' son Robert Hall Baker was a part-owner of J.I. Case among other investments, served as mayor of Racine, and played a key role in bringing the railroad to Lake Geneva in 1871. Robert died wealthy in 1882, leaving his widow Emily and four children. Widow Emily redecorated the old Baker homestead in 1884, both for her children and for others in the Baker family. Then in 1885 she had her own "summer cottage" built next door - the subject of this article. That July the Geneva Lake Herald wrote: The new Baker cottage being built on the east shore will be one of the handsomest about the lake when finished and the grounds are arranged. The design is not only unique but tasty and it will add much to the beauty of that shore. The 17,000+ square foot, 30 room, Queen Anne style mansion is a frame building, two stories tall plus attic. The roofline is complex, with gabled dormers, large corbelled chimneys, and a round corner tower with a witch's cap roof. Bay windows and an inset balcony add to the visual interest, and the upper surfaces are decorated with different patterns of wood shingles. A large veranda wraps around the first story.Inside, doors and windows are trimmed in redwood - hence the original name "Redwood Cottage." The floor plan is central corridor with rooms on both sides. On the first floor two parlors are on one side of the hall and three smaller rooms on the other side. A grand staircase connects the floors, lit by multicolored stained glass windows. The third floor was originally unfinished. The main rooms have fireplaces, twelve in all, some oak and some cherry, with mantles in a Victorian Renaissance style different from the Queen Anne around them.Emily Baker summered at the cottage until she died in 1894. In 1897 Celinda Walkup bought the house for $15,000, and operated it as a sanitorium connected to the Lakeside Sanitarium next door in the former Lake Geneva Seminary. This sanitorium was one of many founded by Dr. Oscar A. King of Chicago, a pioneer neurologist. King's sanitariums primarily treated psychiatric problems, but could serve as general hospital facilities. This building, called "Lakeside Cottage," kept the feel of a private home, and offered recreational and social activities for the patients. It functioned as a sanitorium until 1925.In 1926 Mr. Finsky bought the building and operated it as Lakeside Hotel until 1942. At that point Lloyd Barnard bought it and operated it as the St. Moritz Hotel, pitching a "Switzerland in America" idea with the Luzern Hotel next door. More recently, the mansion has been refashioned as a high-end B&B/restaurant.

Williams Bay is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is one of three municipalities on Geneva Lake. The population was 2,953 at the 2020 census.