The ArtBoy Chronicles

In the first installment of the Artboy Chronicles I teased that I would blog a bit of history – Downtown Fond du Lac Art Center history.

So, here is a short, history of nearly everything.

I was born in the back of a circus wagon in Kalamazoo Michigan and my first memory concerns a clown and a goat…….actually the story goes further back than my blessed birth. Windhover’s story goes all the way back to 1906. You remember 1906? The year that brought you the San Francisco Earthquake, Jack London’s White Fang, the world’s first feature film The Story of the Kelly Gang, and the Masonic Temple on the corner of Sheboygan and Marr St. Yes, I work in a temple. But “my temple” had no heat in 1906. No running water. No elevator. And for the love of god, NO BAR!! All that came later…. running water arrived in the twenties -- everything else in the late nineties.

But I sense your curiosity regarding the Masons. Were they not a secret society dedicated to the destruction of Nicolas Cage? Absolutely. But they are better known for being a fraternal organization with origins in the late 16th to early 17th century that focused on charity and community events. Freemasonry continues to thrive all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million and a still active temple here in Fond du Lac now located at 500 W. Arndt Street.

In 1994, the Fond du Lac Free Masons elderly membership had a difficult time traversing the Grand Staircase to the Great Hall where the majority of rites, ceremonies, and other communal activities took place. To accommodate their older members, the Fond du Lac chapter moved to their present location on Arndt Street.

This is where the arts and a Ten million dollar investment in the heart of downtown Fond du Lac comes in….