KENOSHA, Wis. — Kenosha is celebrating its annual Streetcar Day 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Joseph McCarthy Transit Center, 724 54th Street.
Visitors can tour the streetcar barn, visit a variety of displays and activities and learn more about Kenosha’s vintage, electric streetcars.
Streetcar rides on the two-mile loop are $1 for adults and 50 cents for ages 5-12.
“We’re happy to see people from Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee. A lot of people from northern Illinois come up,” said Bradley Preston of the Kenosha Streetcar Society.
"We have different people that come and ride when their families come to town and bring them down and show them what’s changed downtown and use the streetcar to do it.”
The event has attracted people from all over the world, allowing them the opportunity to get an up-close look at Kenosha’s unique transportation system.
“It’s definitely a staple of Kenosha,” said Joe Lamothe, a city mechanic. “It brings a lot of tourism. People come from all over.”
The electric streetcar was Kenosha’s top mode of transportation in the early 1900s.
The city purchased several restored streetcars nearly 25 years ago. Workers repainted them to match other streetcar lines from cities including Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Cincinnati and Toronto.
Lamothe said it’s not always easy maintaining the 70-year-old streetcars.
“There’s not much on Google for repairs,” Lamothe said. “And you can’t get parts at the parts store.”
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