Turnback Thursday: Marquerite was light show on wheels

The Marguerite hit Milwaukee’s streets in 1896. Glowing with 700 incandescent lights, people could rent this flashy “party on wheels” for $5 an hour. Festively lighted trolleys like the Marguerite swayed down the city's streetcar tracks as festively dressed riders climbed aboard the open cars for a trip to Whitefish Bay Resort in Whitefish Bay or Wonderland Park in Shorewood. For many years, Milwaukee's streetcars were the transit people used in every kind of weather to get to work, school, and many other places.