A History Lesson - 1982
May 2, 2021
This rendering is the development that was proposed in 1982. The “Point” was a hotel, recreation and conference complex to be constructed on “unimproved” lakefront property in Lakeside Park.
The “Point” was to consist of a totally self contained hotel/recreation facility to include 250 guest rooms, a theater dining room, indoor swimming pool, indoor tennis courts, a fitness center, saunas, restaurants, lounges and service marina. It connected to a conference center that would host meetings, conventions and business/trade shows.
This map shows the site of the “Point” and the convention center overlayed on a map of Lakeside Park. You can see all of the park west of the playground to the Fond du Lac River is taken by this development.
There would be no fishing or relaxing out on Fraiser point. No site for the main stage for Walleye Weekend. No place for the Christmas light show. No movies in the park.
This map shows the “Point” facilities on the main floor. You can see the convention hall with parking for 800 cars. This would be directly west of the current playground. The 800 car parking lot would have taken all of the green space that is to the west of the playground.
We would not have the potential for an outdoor skating rink and basketball courts west of the playground as proposed earlier this year.
In March of 1982, the people of Fond du Lac did a direct petition process. They collected signatures just like the citizens of Fond du Lac did in September of 2020.
The City Council accepted and adopted the ordinance in the direct petitions with a 6-1 vote. This meant that any proposed development would go to referendum. That council let the people decide the future of their park which they did on November 3, 1982.
In the largest voter turnout for a non-presidential fall election in city history, the 20 million dollar proposal was voted down.
What were the economic conditions in 1982? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: The economy entered 1982 in a severe recession and labor market conditions deteriorated throughout the year. The unemployment rate, already high by historical standards at the onset of the recession in mid-1981, reached 10.8 percent at the end of 1982.
What can we learn from our looking at our history?
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