The street now known as S. Memorial Dr. was once called Cherry St. and it the longest street in the Old Third Ward. This street was the city limits of Appleton at one time. In 1929 the American Legion proposed renaming the street to Memorial Dr. The bridge over the Fox River had been built and named Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Bridge but the name was being lost because the bridge was referred to as the Cherry St. bridge. It was thought that changing the name of the street to also honor veterans of the Civil, Spanish-American and World wars would solidify the name of the bridge.
This street is a major thoroughfare and continues south to Menasha. Here it is known as Appleton Road or State Highway 47. Its northern path, called N. Richmond St. and also State Highway 47, extends into the far northern part of the state almost to the Michigan border where it ends at State Highway 51 at Manitowish. In the 1930's this street was the route of US-41 through the city.
Memorial Dr. is one of the lines drawn in the 1843 survey done by Theodore Conkey. It divides Sections 27 and 26, and Sections 34 and 35. The head of the portage around the Grand Chute is thought to be what is now the north end of the Memorial Bridge.
From Morrow and Gillett's Appleton city directory, for 1889-90:
CHERRY, 1043 College av, south to Front, first west of State, numbers from 325 to 600.
In 1925 a new system of numbering structures in the city of Appleton was adopted. In this directory both the new and old street numbers are given. In addition, College Ave. was designated the dividing line between north and south, and Oneida St. was the east-west divider.
From Wright's Appleton city directory 1925:
CHERRY S - From 701 W College av s to W Front, 6 w S Oneida
East side of S. Memorial, from W. Lawrence St.:
Click on the icons or addresses for more information. The street numbers given on Memorial Dr. are the same numbers for these homes on Cherry St. from 1925 to 1929. The pre-1925 addresses on Cherry St. are in parentheses.
West side of S. Memorial, from W. Lawrence St.:
215 S. Memorial Dr. (539 Cherry)
221 S. Memorial Dr. (537 Cherry)
223 S. Memorial Dr. (537 (?) Cherry)
315 S. Memorial Dr. (505 Cherry)
321 S. Memorial Dr. (497 Cherry)
525 S. Memorial Dr. (439 Cherry)
603 S. Memorial Dr. (429 Cherry)
609 S. Memorial Dr.
615 S. Memorial Dr. (413 Cherry)
621 S. Memorial Dr. (407 Cherry)
703 S. Memorial Dr. (395 Cherry)
709 S. Memorial Dr. (387 Cherry)
719 S. Memorial Dr. (377 Cherry)
803 S. Memorial Dr. (365 Cherry)
809 S. Memorial Dr. (355 Cherry)
815 S. Memorial Dr. (351 Cherry)
821 S. Memorial Dr. (347 Cherry)
212 S. Memorial Dr. (544 Cherry)
218 S. Memorial Dr. (540 Cherry)
302 S. Memorial Dr. (518 Cherry)
402 S. Memorial Dr. (486 Cherry)
408 S. Memorial Dr. (480 Cherry)
414 S. Memorial Dr. (476 Cherry)
420 S. Memorial Dr. (468 Cherry)
508 S. Memorial Dr. (450 Cherry)
512-516 S. Memorial Dr. (444 Cherry)
518-520 S. Memorial Dr. (438 Cherry)
600 S. Memorial Dr.
