Appleton Guide » More About Appleton: Overview

Overview

Sitting on bluffs high above the Fox River, Appleton has long been considered the cultural heart and soul of the Fox River Valley, in large part due to the presence of Lawrence University, a liberal arts college with strong music and performing arts programs. The city itself has spawned a few performers and artists over the years, from writer Edna Ferber to actor Willem Dafoe and master illusionist and "debunker of fake mediums and spiritualists" Harry Houdini. College Avenue – or "The Ave," as locals call it – is the city's social, economic, and cultural centerpiece, featuring an eclectic cross-section of bars, pubs, restaurants, and coffee shops, as well as specialty shops and the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, which opened in early 2003. Meanwhile, along the Highway 41 corridor are the Fox River Mall, strip malls, Regal Cinemas College Avenue 16, and dozens of popular chain restaurants, all of which give Appleton an impressive mix of old and new, of locally-owned and franchised. For outdoor enthusiasts, the area around Appleton offers the chance to enjoy nature, whether taking in views from High Cliff State Park, fishing for sturgeon on Lake Winnebago, or boating on the river itself. Indeed, Appletonians take pride in the big city opportunities available in their small town, and well they should – as Edna Ferber once wrote, "Big doesn't necessarily mean better. Sunflowers aren't better than violets."