Main St. Bridge

My name is Kathi Wilson, founder of Urban Sketchers Racine, becoming an official chapter of Urban Sketchers International in November 2023.  I live in the Midwest city of Racine, Wisconsin, located on Lake Michigan, one of the 5 Great Lakes in the United States.  The name of our city was chosen because it is located at the mouth of the Root River which winds its way through our city before feeding into Lake Michigan.  The French translated “racine” from “root”, the aboriginal name for the stream.

The center of Racine is our historic and quaint downtown which has two bridges that cross over the Root River. The first bridge was built in 1838 and destroyed by a flood in 1843.   The next bridge was not built until 1876.  The bridge was replaced in 1907, 1928 and most recently in 1996. The Main St. Bridge is a double-leafed bascule bridge connecting downtown to the north side of the city and designed to look like two lighthouses with copper roofs.

During 6 months of the year, the harbor and river are filled with sail boats, cabin cruisers, power boats …. and visitors from all over the world.  Winter is long though, and the boats are dry docked, always waiting for that first open water of spring.

New Year’s Day, 2025, I got up and decided to start the new year sketching one of my favorite spots, the iconic Main St. Bridge.  I asked others to join me, but it was early, and the city was just beginning to feel the cold of the new day and year, so I sketched alone.

I used micron pen and watercolor and journaled a bit about the day and place as I always do.

This is the Main St. Bridge in Downtown Racine, WI, USA.

Sketched on April 1p, 2025