The City of Racine is located in Racine County in southeastern Wisconsin. The Manree Park Neighborhood of Racine is situated along the suburban western edge of the City and is identifiable by the prevalence of early to mid-twentieth century houses arranged along long rectilinear blocks; the Orchard Street Historic District encompasses two such blocks.

During the Great Depression, companies such as Johnson Wax, Twin Disc, and Western Printing made conscientious efforts to maintain employment of their workers on maintenance tasks such as painting and repairs during this time. Innovations by several companies prevented matters from worsening in Racine and aided the painfully gradual recovery into the 1940s. The unionizing of the Racine’s workforce during this time, increased the average weekly wage in the city to second highest in the state by the end of the decade, created better working conditions with generous benefits, and ultimately led to a disproportionately high number of blue collar homeowners.

Notable companies that were established and flourishing during the early twentieth century in Racine included Oster Manufacturing, J.I. Case, Massey-Harris, Hamilton-Beach, Dumore, Twin Disc Clutch, Modine Manufacturing, Andis Clippers, Western Printing and Lithographing, Horlick Co., and S.C. Johnson. Many of the residents in the Manree Park Neighborhood were involved with these companies, as owners, managers, or workers. Due to the steadier condition of these companies than others in the state and country, the Manree Park Neighborhood continued to develop during the 1930s and early 1940s.

The Orchard Street Historic District consists of 47 contributing and 4 non-contributing resources, all of which are single family, free-standing homes. The district’s development began in the mid-1920s, when the area was first platted and developed, and continued for three decades until the mid-1950s when the last homes were constructed. Representative of the march of prevailing architectural styles of the era in which they were constructed, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Ranch, Minimal Traditional, Mediterranean Revival, Bungalow, and Contemporary styles are prominent within the district. The houses within the Orchard Street Historic District are well preserved and have much of the same appearance today as they would have when they were originally constructed. The result is one of Racine’s most architecturally intact historic residential areas.