The West Bend Theater opened in the wake of a stock market crash in 1929 and survived. The now-renovated and restored venue celebrated its grand reopening a few weeks ago and was shuttered by the coronavirus social distancing that very same night.
With all due respect to the striking Museum of Wisconsin Art and the many treasures that make West Bend a great place to geek out on architecture, it is the 1889 Washington County Courthouse that is the true gem of the county seat.