The history of East End, Wisconsin
Part of the East End neighborhood guide. Back to the full guide.
Superior's beginning is here rather than downtown. The summer of 1853 brought the first settlement to the ground north of the Nemadji River, and the area was platted as the townsite of what would become the city. Speculative money followed the opening of the Soo canal, betting on this corner of the lake as the natural transshipment point between the Great Lakes and the western interior.
That bet took decades to pay and the neighborhood carries the evidence of both the optimism and the delay. The oldest houses are modest, built for people working the docks, the rail, and the yards, and they sit on lots laid out when land was cheap and the streetcar decided how far apart things could be. Later the city's center of gravity moved west to Tower Avenue, leaving the East End as a residential district rather than the commercial heart it was first meant to be. The name Old Town stuck.
The communities that settled here built the neighborhood's churches, taverns, and small businesses, and their institutions are what still give the streets their shape. That describes the past rather than who lives here today.
History next door
Immediately west across 13th Avenue East, the 1862 plat, with a higher ownership share and somewhat higher prices.
Allouez-Itasca (Superior)East beyond the Nemadji toward the ore docks and Wisconsin Point, cheaper again, with a taconite and rail dust disclosure worth reading.
Downtown SuperiorFive minutes west on the bay, the Tower Avenue commercial core and the most walkable district in the Twin Ports.
South End (South Superior)South along Tower toward the US 2 and US 53 strip, with the second-highest duplex share in the city.
Billings Park (Superior)The far west end of Superior on the river bluff, the highest ownership share in the city and the best outlook.