“The Wedge” and “The Bend” are leading the West Bend downtown cultural district to ever-wider prominence in terms of visitors and online presence.
That happy trend came clear in yearend 2025 reports from the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA and recently dubbed “The Wedge” in a newspaper headline) and from the Historic West Bend Theatre, Inc. (HWBT with a brand name of “The Bend Theater.”) They both had strong years.
MOWA president Claire Rolfs reported that 345,000 people visited the museum during the year, including members from 43 states and 65 of 72 Wisconsin counties.
The Bend sold a record 30,248 tickets, up from about 25,000 in 2024. “We are developing a better and more keen sense of our marketplace for programming, said Noelle Braun, general manger.
The museum estimated its economic impact to the community at just over $3 million for the year. The theater, using national benchmarks of spending by theater-goers, estimated its impact at just over $2 million. That $5 million total includes spending on not only tickets, but also dining, drinking, hotel rooms, shopping and gasoline.
Who says that investments in culture don’t have a return on investment for the community?
The investments in the two centerpiece attractions have been more than $17 million since they were erected and restored. Most of the money came from local donors.
Part of MOWA’s success comes from its unique exhibits, like the recent Frank Lloyd Wright chair show, and from its special events, like the annual Art & Chalk Fest and its BLOOMS event.
The Bend was host to 181 events in 2025, including 78 concerts, with about 1/3 sold out, 13 comedy shows and 34 movies.
It also hosted 54 community events, including eight fundraisers for other nonprofit organizations, such as the Kettle Moraine Symphony, West Bend band Fuel the Music fundraiser for uniforms and instruments and the Alzheimer’s Association.
The $10 million spent on the restoration of Main Street and the creation of the Riverwalk were public investments that have raised the attractiveness of the downtown to one of the best small cities in America.
It’s all good news. Those well-spent dollars from the public and private sides of our community have made West Bend increasingly well-known for its quality of life. That spells more people moving into the hundreds of new apartments in the city, many of which are in-fill projects downtown, and more good employers moving into our industrial parks. It all adds up to economic growth and prosperity. Not all communities can make that claim.
More good news is coming for our downtown cultural district:
- West Bend Friends of Sculpture will be adding two more significant pieces to the downtown this spring. About half of its 60-piece community collection are in the downtown area.
- Two downtown building owners have hung large, high quality pieces of digital art on the river façades. More such pieces are in discussion.
- The new Midwest Museum of Firefighters will go into place in the old firehouse on 7th Avenue in 2027, once the city’s new fire station is finished on the old Johnson Bus site off West Washington Street. That remodeled $4 million museum will add to the charm of the designated downtown historic district. The Historic District and the Cultural District complement each other.
- The Downtown West Bend Business Association is kicking off its ArtWalk Premier and Auction May 2. It welcomes open air artists to do their thing downtown. Banners on the downtown light posts add to the artistic ambience of the district. Will some be hung on the light posts along what could be called the RiverArtWalk?
In today’s world, you are a non-entity if you’re not vigorously represented on social media and online. There is good news on that front, too. MOWA reported 28,000 email contacts and 23,000 social media followers. Its website drew more than a half million visitors during the year.
The same kind of online growth has occurred at The Bend. It now has more than 15,000 social media followers and over 11,000 theater-goers on its email list.
What’s happening downtown is only part of the city’s social, cultural and economic dynamics. But any marketing professional would agree that the investments in downtown West Bend are having an enormous positive impact on the city’s overall marketing profile and reputation.
