Best of the Chippewa Valley

Reader Polls

The Best of the Chippewa Valley 2022

The Best of the Chippewa Valley 2023

The Best of the Chippewa Valley 2024

The Best of the Chippewa Valley 2025

The Best of the Chippewa Valley 2026

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Best Place to Spot a Ghost

Are you looking for the ghost of the Midwest’s vanishing manufacturing sector? Eau Claire’s Banbury Place, the former Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. plant, might be a place to spot it. Legend has it there are some paranormal spirits there, too, which we’re pretty sure is why readers put it No. 1 in this category. James Sheely House Restaurant & Saloon (236 W. River St., Chippewa Falls) has been welcoming patrons for more than 140 years, and it seems some of them may have stayed … forever! And if you’re not scared away by tales of hellhounds, a creepy cemetery, and malevolent otherworldly spirits, take a cruise down Caryville Road at midnight. —Tom Giffey