Columbus to Portage
Enter Columbus
from any direction on a state or federal
highway. All these highways lead to the downtown
area of Columbus. At the stop & Go lights
downtown turn south onto Hwy 16
& 60 toward Watertown (the sign may
say East 16 or East 60). At the end of the first
block, turn north (left) onto Water
Street. Follow Water Street north. At
the second intersection with East Church
Street turn south (right) onto
East Church Street. Go almost
to the end of Church Street where you will see
to your left a large brick building which is the
Columbus
Antique Mall and the
Christopher Columbus
Museum .
Enter their large parking lot and enter through
the large glass entryway. After your
antiquing be sure to visit the attached
Christopher Columbus
Museum
.
Once finished at
the Columbus Antique Mall, follow East
Church Street straight for two (2)
blocks to the stop sign at the intersection of
Ludington Street (City Hwy
151). Turn south (left) onto
Ludington Street (City Hwy 151)
and proceed to the stop & go lights
downtown. At the stop & go lights turn west
(right) onto Hwys 16 and 60 and
proceed past the historic City
Hall at out of town. (Note: Depending
upon your time, you may wish to spend some time
shopping in Columbus or a
luncheon at the Capri
Steak House & Bar
located at 126 South Ludington
Street right downtown on City Hwy 151 and 73. Be
sure to check out the Capri's historic 1950s
style overhead neon sign suspended over the
sidewalk.)
As you exit
Columbus on Hwy
16 you will pass under Hwy
151. Continue on Hwy
16 toward Fall River
and Rio about 20 miles until
you come to the intersection with State
Hwy 22. Take the Hwy
22 exit and turn to the north (right)
onto Hwy 22 to
Wyocena. You will cross under a
railroad viaduct. Continue through Wyocena and
drive about 2 miles to
Pardeeville. As you enter the
southern village limits you will see a
Pardeeville Welcome Sign and a shopping center.
Look to the left for Industrial
Drive. You may also see a sign for the
Post Office...you may follow the Post Office
directions because your destination is next to
the Post Office.
Turn north
(left) on Industrial Drive.
After a few hundred feet you will see on the
left at 103 Industrial Drive,
the Pardeeville Antique
Mall .
Ample parking is available in their lot, so just
pull in, park and just go inside!
After leaving
the Pardeeville Antique Mall return to
Hwy 22. Turn north (left) onto
Hwy 22 and drive into
Pardeeville. Continue north on
Hwy 22 to the downtown district
of the village. Here is a fine opportunity to
each and fuel-up your vehicle. A point of
interest downtown is Wild
Bill's Saloon
(featured in our Dining, Food
& Entertainment Section) which serves a fine
luncheon menu in its northwoods style dining
room.
Continue north
on Hwy 22 about 2 miles to the
intersection with State Hwy 33.
There is a four way traffic stop here. Turn west
(left) onto Hwy 33 and travel
approximately eight (8) miles to
Portage. You will pass thru a
rural residential district with a 45 mph speed
limit area. Just after this area (near a gas
station) the highway will curve to the left. You
see a sign and driveway for the Surgeons Quarters of Old Fort
Winnebago
. If you are interested in
history, you may wish to stop. As you continue
west on Hwy 33 you will cross
the Fox River and then the
Portage Canal. Immediately
after the Canal bridge you will see a sign
to the right for Rustic Road
#69. This road parallels part of
the Portage Canal and takes you three quarters
of a mile to the Indian
Agency House
.
Continue west
on Hwy 33. You will cross a
bridge over railroad tracks as you enter
Portage. You are on Cook
Street. Cook street runs east and west.
The Antique
Mall and Strip-it Shoppe of
Portage is located downtown at 114 West
Cook Street
, on the
south side of the street. Parking is available
on the street or in a variety of parking lots
downtown and on side streets.
After visiting
the Antique Mall and Strip-it Shoppe of Portage,
you may wish to shop in Portage...a wonderful
stained glass shop, Stained Glass by
Design, is located across the
street (featured in our Shopping Section)...or
you may be hungry for a delightfully good meal
at the Blankenhaus
at
1223 East Wisconsin on Highway 51
& 16 South toward Madison (featured
in our "Dining, Food & Entertainment"
Section).
This is the end of the
Columbia County
Antiques & Collectables Day
Tour. Thank you for
visiting Columbia County and our antique and
collectibles shops and any of our other fine
businesses you may have stopped and shopped
at.
