OverviewGreen Bay is the county seat of Brown County in Wisconsin.The city is located at the head of its namesake Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an altitude of 581 feet (177 m) above sea level and is located 112 miles (180 km) north of Milwaukee. According to the 2006 census estimate, Green Bay has a population of 100,353. The Town of Green Bay is located several miles northeast of the city. Green Bay is the third largest city in Wisconsin. It is set at the southern end of Green Bay and is divided by the Fox River. Green Bay is an industrial city with several meatpacking and paper plants. The city of Green Bay is a port on the Bay of Green Bay, an arm of Lake Michigan. Green Bay is home to the National Railroad Museum, the Neville Public Museum with exhibitions of art, history, and science, and to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Green Bay Packers professional football team has been based in the city since 1919. Green Bay is the smallest US market for a major professional sports team of any kind, although the Packers' fanbase stretches across the state of Wisconsin, and even around the world. Green Bay is nicknamed "Titletown, USA" for the number of NFL titles (12) it has won over the years (including the first two Super Bowls as well as Super Bowl XXXI). An arena football franchise, the Green Bay Blizzard, was recently awarded to the city.
NeighborhoodsGreen Bay is a homogeneous city combined with several different townships which include the city of Green Bay, the village of Bellevue, the village of Ashwaubenon, the village of Allouez, the city of DePere, the town of Ledgeview, and the villages of Howard, Suamico, Hobart.
Downtown Green Bay is the heart of the city. There are several mid rise office buildings and churches downtown. The Brown County Court House is located in the heart of downtown. The riverfront has seen a great amount of redevelopment with several new loft projects. A 17-story condominium project is planned for the riverfront in downtown Green Bay. The downtown is experiencing a regrowth and new streetscaping. HistoryA small trading post was established at this location in 1634 by French-Canadian explorer Jean Nicolet, making Green Bay the 13th oldest permanent settlement in America. In 1671, a Jesuit Mission was set up here; at the time the settlement was known as La Baye or la Baie des Puants. A fort was added in 1717. The town was incorporated in 1754, and was passed to British control in 1761. As British settlers in the area came to outnumber the French, the name "Green Bay" became the more common name for the town. In 1783 the town became part of the United States of America. The US Army built Fort Howard on the banks of the Fox River in 1816. Wisconsin's first newspaper was published here in 1833. By 1850, the town had a population of 1,923. The town was reincorporated as the city of Green Bay, joining several small towns including Navarino, Astor (created by John Jacob Astor) and Fort Howard in 1854. The Green Bay Area Public School District was founded in 1856. The railroad arrived in the 1860s. In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt came to Green Bay to honor its tricentennial. By 1950, the city had a population of 52,735.
GeographyAccording to the US Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.3 square miles, and 43.9 miles is made up of land and 10.4 is water. The total area is 19.24% water. ClimateThe city of Green Bay experiences a continental climate, moderated slightly by the city's proximity to Lake Michigan. The city's climate features four distinct seasons, with warm, frequently hot summer months, beautiful autumns, and cold and snowy winters. The variance in temperature and precipitation between months can be extreme. The warmest month is July, when the average high temperature is 81°F (28°C). During July, the average low temperature is 59°F (15°C). The coldest month of the year is January, when the high temperature averages only 24°F (-5°C), and the low temperatures average 7°F (-14°C). The wettest month in Green Bay is August, when 3.77 inches (95.8mm) of precipitation falls, mostly in the form of rainfall. The driest month in Green Bay is February, when the majority of precipitation falls as low moisture-content snow due to cold, dry air. On average, 1.01 inches (25.7mm) of precipitation falls in February.
TransportationGreen Bay is served by Austin Straubel International Airport. The city was the headquarters of the Green Bay and Western Railroad in historical times (1896-1993). Green Bay also has its own mass transit system known as Green Bay Metro (formerly known as Green Bay Transit).
Green Bay is connected to the rest of the state by four major highways. US Highway 41 connects Green Bay to the Fox Cities, Fond du Lac and Milwaukee to the south and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan via Oconto, Peshtigo, and Marinette. U.S. Route 141 starts in Green Bay and joins with US41 to the north for 18 miles before splitting off and providing access to the Upper Peninsula via Niagara. Interstate 43, which terminates at US 41/141, heads south along Lake Michigan to Milwaukee and on to Illinois via Beloit. Recently Wisconsin Highway 29 has been upgraded to four lanes to provide better access to western Wisconsin and Minnesota via Wausau and Eau Claire. DemographicsAs of the 2006 US Census estimate, there are 100,353 people residing in Green Bay. The Greater Green Bay Area consists of 279,485 people as of the 2000 census, there were 141,591 households, and 124,663 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,332.1/mile. There are 43,123 housing units at an average density of 982.9/mile. There are 41,591 households of which 30.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% are married couples living together, 10.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% are non-families. 31.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.40 and the average family size is 3.06. City demographics are as follows: 25.4% are under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 94.8 males. The median income for a household in the city is $38,820, and the median income for a family is $48,678. Males have a median income of $33,246 versus $23,825 for females. The per capita income for the city is $19,269. Green Bay is noted for having one of the lowest crime rates in the United States for a municipality of its size. ReligionThe city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay. The Cathedral of Saint Francis Xavier in Green Bay is the mother church of the Diocese. The diocese is in the province of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. In 2000, the American Religion Data Archive reported Green Bay to be predominantly Catholic (71.5%), with Lutherans composing an additional 16.4%. The remaining 12% are almost entirely protestant denominations.
Famous residents
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