A photograph of downtown New Glarus from 1973 freezes a remarkably familiar view in a very different era. Looking up First Street toward the Swiss Church, the image shows the village before decades of streetscape changes, newer vehicles and modern signs altered the feel of the downtown corridor.

The Swiss Church dominates the scene much as it still does today, rising above the street from the hill at the end of the view. But nearly everything around it dates the photograph: long American sedans and coupes line both curbs, simple curved-arm streetlights stand over the roadway, utility wires cross the scene, and the broad pavement is cracked and largely unmarked.

One small sign near the center of the photograph carries an especially important piece of transportation history. In 1973, Wisconsin Highway 39 ran north through downtown on First Street and turned west at the intersection onto Sixth Avenue. State highway traffic therefore moved directly through the commercial core rather than bypassing it.

That meant travelers following Highway 39 passed the storefronts and taverns visible in the photograph. On the right side, the Glarner Stube sign is easy to pick out, while a large Blatz beer sign and a 7UP sign hang farther down the block. An old Huber beer sign can be sign on the top of the Glarner Stube. The collection of projecting signs gives the street a distinctly early-1970s commercial character.