Welcome to the Monroe, Wisconsin home page on Green County Spotlight. The City of Monroe is the county seat of Green County as well as the largest community in the county with 10,843 people as of the
Year 2000 Census. The picture at the top left of this page is an aerial view of Monroe's historic Courthouse (one of the most photographed structures in southern Wisconsin) taken in November of 2008.
Monroe is a vibrant community situated to the south of Madison in the heart of some of Wisconsin's most productive farmland. Monroe (and the Green County area in general) has a long-standing reputation for its
cheese production and today is know by such monikers as "Cheese City U.S.A," "Swiss Cheese Capital of the U.S.A." and "Specialty Cheese Capital of the U.S.A." Monroe is home to the bi-annual Cheesedays event that draws a hundred-thousand people or more to downtown Monroe for a celebration of cheese that includes live music, dancing in the streets, a carnival, parades, tons of fresh cheese, beer and brats, and a healthy dose of Swiss culture. This "city of cheese" that once was on the verge of a citizen revolt over the smell of Limburger cheese is also home to the nation's second oldest brewery, (once the Joseph Huber Brewing Company, it is now known as Minhas Brewery) so you'll have no problem finding something to go with your next Limburger sandwich from world renown
Baumgartner's Cheese Store and Tavern. Monroe has the aromatic distinction of being the only place in the U.S.A that still produces Limburger cheese and Baumgartner's is the place to go if you want it served up the traditional way.
Monroe offers perhaps more dining, entertainment and cultural offerings than many cities of comparable size (particularly in the Midwest). It has one of the last remaining
drive-in movie theatres in the Midwest as well as the historic
Goetz Theatre located on the southeast corner of Courthouse Square. Built during the Great Depression of 1931, the theatre has been modernized (refitted for stadium seating with rocking seats, state-of-the-art projection equipment, etc.) but still retains much of its original design. Other notable cultural offerings in Monroe include the
Monroe Arts Center, the
Monroe Theatre Guild, and of course, the
Monroe Library. Downtown Monroe offers a number of restaurants and specialty shops to satisfy your appetite for both good food and a good deal. If you're looking for fast food, it's a short drive over to the west side of town where you'll find an assortment of drive-through restaurants to choose from.
Agriculture still plays a major roll in Monroe's economy though the city's economic picture is becoming more diverse all the time. In addition to the wide variety of businesses located in the vicinity of the square, many businesses have set up shop on the growing west side of town. In this area of Monroe you'll find everything from a state-of-the-art
Ethanol plant and national giants like
Wal-mart and
Walgreen's, to smaller local businesses covering a wide array of products and services. As Monroe continues to grow and more businesses set up in the newer areas of town, downtown Monroe faces the increasingly-difficult challenge of competing as an economic district. To address this issue, Monroe applied to become
a Wisconsin Main Street Community (officially recognized in July of 2005) and since that time, a master plan for the downtown has been created and put into motion. Starting next year, the downtown and Courthouse Square will be getting a face-lift and some much needed infrastructure improvements. Many of the government functions that now take place in the courthouse will soon be relocated to the new Justice Center (currently under construction) and the historic courthouse will be backfilled with at least on entity that can actually help draw people into the area i.e. the
Green County Tourism department.
Most of all, Monroe is a beautiful city and a great place to raise a family. The city has its fair share of parks and recreation facilities for the outdoor enthusiast in you and you really can't beat the commute. Mind you, you may have to follow a tractor hauling farm equipment once and awhile.