The front page of The Shoreline Leader from May 24, 1984, featuring an article about North Shore’s donation to the festival site.

Racine’s Festival Park opened in 1984, and North Shore Bank helped make it happen.

In the early 1980s, the city of Racine embarked on a plan to revitalize its downtown, after the newly built Regency Mall had begun to draw business away from many local small businesses. Part of that effort was the construction of the park and Festival Hall within it. With around 85 festivals a year taking place in the area, landscape architectural firm Johnson, Johnson and Roy suggested building a park and indoor venue that could host them. As the city’s website puts it: “The consensus was that the park needed a dynamic building that could fulfill many uses from hosting concerts, weddings, banquets, and large conventions to being able to compete with other venue centers around the area, such as Oshkosh and Green Bay, for music and other entertainment.” The site’s opening also commemorated the city’s sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary. 03148

Mr. McKenna, Bob Gibson of SC Johnson, and Harold Radewan, vice president and managing officer for North Shore in Racine, with a sketch of the proposed Festival Park and Festival Hall.

North Shore Savings & Loan Association — which had become part of the community after merging with Racine’s Southeastern Savings Association in 1983 — gave $5,000 to help make the festival site a reality. At the time, then-president Jim McKenna was quoted in the Shoreline Leader newspaper: “We’re optimistic about Racine growth and sense a feeling of economic comeback here. There’s a wonderful spirit in Racine. We want to put something back into this community, not only money but also a commitment by our staff to make a personal commitment of time, energy, and talent to worthwhile causes.”