Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the
2020 census, Milwaukee is the
31st largest city in the United States,
the fifth-largest city in the
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
, and the second largest city on
Lake Michigan's shore behind
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
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.
It is the main cultural and economic center of the
Milwaukee metropolitan area, the fourth-most densely populated
metropolitan area in the
Midwest. Milwaukee is considered a
global city, categorized as "Gamma minus" by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershire ...
, with a regional
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
of over $102 billion in 2020.
Today, Milwaukee is one of the most
ethnically
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
and
culturally diverse cities in the U.S. However, it continues to be one of the most racially segregated, largely as a result of early-20th-century
redlining. Its
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
was heavily influenced by German immigrants in the 19th century, and it continues to be a center for
German-American
German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...
culture, specifically becoming well known for its
brewing industry
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cerea ...
. In recent years, Milwaukee has been undergoing its largest construction boom since
the 1960s
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
. Major additions to the city since the turn of the 21st century include the
Wisconsin Center
The Wisconsin Center (formerly Midwest Express Center, Midwest Airlines Center, Frontier Airlines Center and Delta Center) is a convention and exhibition center located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The center is part of a greater complex ...
,
American Family Field
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's ...
,
The Hop (streetcar system), an expansion to the
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is an art museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its collection contains nearly 25,000 works of art.
Location and Visit
Located on the lakefront of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum is one of the largest art museu ...
,
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Milwaukee Repertory Theater ("Milwaukee Rep") is a theater company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded as the Fred Miller Theatre Company, the group is housed in the Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex, which includes the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, ...
, the
Bradley Symphony Center, and
Discovery World
Discovery World is a science and technology museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of STEM majors through curiosity and creativity.
Focus
Mission
"Discovery World provides fun and educational ...
, as well as major renovations to the
UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
The UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (originally the Milwaukee Arena and formerly MECCA Arena and U.S. Cellular Arena) is an indoor arena located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The arena, which seats as many as 12,700 people and offers of floor space, is ...
.
Fiserv Forum
Fiserv Forum (stylized as fiserv.forum) () is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the home of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball tea ...
opened in late 2018, and hosts sporting events and concerts. Since 1968, Milwaukee has been home to
Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district. Summerfest attracts app ...
, one of the largest music festivals in the world. With regard to education, Milwaukee is home to the
Medical College of Wisconsin
The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) is a private medical school, pharmacy school, and graduate school of sciences headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school was established in 1893 and is the largest research center in eastern Wisconsin ...
,
UW-Milwaukee,
Marquette University
Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...
,
MSOE, and several other universities and colleges. The city is home to two
major professional sports teams − the
Bucks and the
Brewers. It is home to several
''Fortune'' 500 companies, including
Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investm ...
,
WEC Energy Group
WEC Energy Group is an American company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that provides electricity and natural gas to 4.4 million customers across four states.
Subsidiaries Wisconsin
* We Energies, the umbrella name for Wisconsin Electric Power ...
,
Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. is an American provider of industrial automation whose brands include Allen-Bradley, FactoryTalk software and LifecycleIQ Services.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 ...
, and
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
.
History
Name
The name "Milwaukee" comes from the
Algonquian word , meaning "good", "beautiful", and "pleasant land" (compare pot, minwaking, oj, ominowakiing) or "gathering place
y the water
Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or sevent ...
( pot, manwaking, links=no, oj, omaniwakiing, links=no).
Native American peoples
Indigenous cultures lived along the waterways for thousands of years. The first recorded inhabitants of the Milwaukee area were various
Native American tribes: the
Menominee
The Menominee (; mez, omǣqnomenēwak meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recog ...
,
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
,
Mascouten
The Mascouten (also ''Mascoutin'', ''Mathkoutench'', ''Muscoden,'' or ''Musketoon'') were a tribe of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans located in the Midwest. They are believed to have dwelt on both sides of the Mississippi River, adjacent to ...
,
Sauk,
Potawatomi, and
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
(all Algic/Algonquian peoples), and the
Ho-Chunk (Winnebago, a Siouan people). Many of these people had lived around
Green Bay before migrating to the Milwaukee area about the time of European contact.
In the second half of the 18th century, the Native Americans living near Milwaukee played a role in all the major European wars on the American continent. During the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, a group of "Ojibwas and Pottawattamies from the far
ake
Ake (or Aké in Spanish orthography) is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It's located in the municipality of Tixkokob, in the Mexican state of Yucatán; 40 km (25 mi) east of Mérida, Yucatán.
The name ...
Michigan" (i.e., the area from Milwaukee to Green Bay) joined the French-Canadian
Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu
Daniel Hyacinthe Liénard de Beaujeu (9 or 19 August 1711 – 9 July 1755) was a French officer during King George's War and the French and Indian War. He participated in the Battle of Grand Pre (1747). He also organized the force that attacked ...
at the
Battle of the Monongahela
The Battle of the Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness) took place on 9 July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, at Braddock's Field in what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, e ...
. In the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, the Native Americans around Milwaukee were some of the few groups to ally with the rebel Continentals.
After the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, the Native Americans fought the United States in the
Northwest Indian War as part of the
Council of Three Fires
The Council of Three Fires (in oj, label=Anishinaabe, Niswi-mishkodewinan, also known as the People of the Three Fires; the Three Fires Confederacy; or the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians) is a long-standing Anishina ...
. During the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
, they held a council in Milwaukee in June 1812, which resulted in their decision to attack
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
in retaliation against American expansion. This resulted in the
Battle of Fort Dearborn
The Battle of Fort Dearborn (sometimes called the Fort Dearborn Massacre) was an engagement between United States troops and Potawatomi Native Americans that occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn in what is now Chicago, Illinois (at tha ...
on August 15, 1812, the only known armed conflict in the Chicago area. This battle convinced the American government to remove these groups of Native Americans from their indigenous land. After being attacked in the
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...
in 1832, the Native Americans in Milwaukee signed the
1833 Treaty of Chicago
The 1833 Treaty of Chicago struck an agreement between the United States government that required the Chippewa Odawa, and Potawatomi tribes cede to the United States government their of land (including reservations) in Illinois, the Wiscon ...
with the United States. In exchange for ceding their lands in the area, they were to receive monetary payments and lands west of the Mississippi in
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
.
European settlement and thereafter
![Solomon Juneau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Solomon_Juneau.jpg)
Europeans had arrived in the Milwaukee area prior to the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. French missionaries and traders first passed through the area in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Alexis Laframboise, coming from Michilimackinac (now in Michigan), settled a trading post in 1785 and is considered the first resident of European descent in the Milwaukee region.
[St-Pierre, T. ''Histoire des Canadiens du Michigan et du comté d'essex, Ontario''. ''Cahiers du septentrion'', vol. 17. Sillery, Québec: Septentrion. 2000; 1895.] Early explorers called the Milwaukee River and surrounding lands various names: Melleorki, Milwacky, Mahn-a-waukie, Milwarck, and Milwaucki, in efforts to transliterate the native terms. In the 19th century, the populace of the western side of Milwaukee used the spelling "Milwaukee", while on the eastern side "Milwaukie" was used until the modern-day spelling became accepted in the 1880s.
One story on the origin of Milwaukee's name says,
The spelling "Milwaukie" lives on in
Milwaukie,
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, named after the Wisconsin city in 1847, before the current spelling was universally accepted.
Milwaukee has three "
founding fathers":
Solomon Juneau,
Byron Kilbourn
Byron Kilbourn (September 8, 1801December 16, 1870) was an American surveyor, railroad executive, and politician who was an important figure in the founding of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the 3rd and 8th mayor of Milwaukee.
Biography
Kilbo ...
, and
George H. Walker. Solomon Juneau was the first of the three to come to the area, in 1818. He founded a town called Juneau's Side, or Juneautown, that began attracting more settlers. In competition with Juneau, Byron Kilbourn established Kilbourntown west of the
Milwaukee River
The Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 Once a locus of industry, the river is now the c ...
. He ensured the roads running toward the river did not join with those on the east side. This accounts for the large number of angled bridges that still exist in Milwaukee today. Further, Kilbourn distributed maps of the area which only showed Kilbourntown, implying Juneautown did not exist or the river's east side was uninhabited and thus undesirable. The third prominent developer was George H. Walker. He claimed land to the south of the Milwaukee River, along with Juneautown, where he built a log house in 1834. This area grew and became known as Walker's Point.
The first large wave of settlement to the areas that would later become Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee began in 1835, following removal of the tribes in the Council of Three Fires. Early that year it became known that Juneau and Kilbourn intended to lay out competing town-sites. By the year's end both had purchased their lands from the government and made their first sales. There were perhaps 100 new settlers in this year, mostly from New England and other Eastern states. On September 17, 1835, the first election was held in Milwaukee; the number of votes cast was 39.
By 1840, the three towns had grown, along with their rivalries. There were intense battles between the towns, mainly Juneautown and Kilbourntown, which culminated with the
Milwaukee Bridge War
The Milwaukee Bridge War, sometimes simply the Bridge War, was an 1845 conflict between people from different regions of what is now the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, over the construction of a bridge crossing the Milwaukee River.
Background
The ...
of 1845. Following the Bridge War, on January 31, 1846, the towns were combined to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee, and elected Solomon Juneau as Milwaukee's first mayor.
Milwaukee began to grow as a city as high numbers of immigrants, mainly
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, made their way to Wisconsin during the 1840s and 1850s. Scholars classify
German immigration to the United States
German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...
in three major waves, and Wisconsin received a significant number of immigrants from all three. The first wave from 1845 to 1855 consisted mainly of people from
Southwestern Germany
Southern Germany () is a region of Germany which has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, historically the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia or, in a modern context, Bavaria ...
, the second wave from 1865 to 1873 concerned primarily
Northwestern Germany
Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...
, while the third wave from 1880 to 1893 came from
Northeastern Germany.
[Bungert, Heike, Cora Lee Kluge and Robert C. Ostergren. ''Wisconsin German Land and Life''. Madison: ]Max Kade Institute
Dr. h.c. Max Kade (13 October 1882, Steinbach near Schwäbisch Hall, Württemberg, Germany – 15 July 1967, Davos, Switzerland) was an emigrant from Germany to New York City who became successful in the pharmaceutical industry. Kade was committed ...
for German-American Studies, 2006. In the 1840s, the number of people who left German-speaking lands was 385,434, in the 1850s it reached 976,072, and an all-time high of 1.4 million immigrated in the 1880s. In 1890, the 2.78 million first-generation German Americans represented the second-largest foreign-born group in the United States. Of all those who left the German lands between 1835 and 1910, 90 percent went to the United States, most of them traveling to the Mid-Atlantic states and the Midwest.
By 1900, 34 percent of Milwaukee's population was of German background.
The largest number of German immigrants to Milwaukee came from
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
, followed by
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
,
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
,
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, and
Hesse-Darmstadt
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...
. Milwaukee gained its reputation as the most German of American cities not just from the large number of German immigrants it received, but for the sense of community which the immigrants established here.
[Conzen, Kathleen Neils. ''Immigrant Milwaukee, 1836–1860''. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: ]Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...
, 1976.
Most German immigrants came to Wisconsin in search of inexpensive farmland.
However, immigration began to change in character and size in the late 1840s and early 1850s, due to the
1848 revolutionary movements in Europe. After 1848, hopes for a united Germany had failed, and revolutionary and radical Germans, known as the "
Forty-Eighters
The Forty-Eighters were Europeans who participated in or supported the Revolutions of 1848 that swept Europe. In the German Confederation, the Forty-Eighters favoured unification of Germany, a more democratic government, and guarantees of human r ...
", immigrated to the U.S. to avoid imprisonment and persecution by German authorities.
One of the most famous "liberal revolutionaries" of 1848 was
Carl Schurz. He later explained in 1854 why he came to Milwaukee,
"It is true, similar things ultural events and societieswere done in other cities where the Forty-eighters had congregated. But so far as I know, nowhere did their influence so quickly impress itself upon the whole social atmosphere as in 'German Athens of America' as Milwaukee was called at the time."
Schurz was referring to the various clubs and societies Germans developed in Milwaukee. The pattern of German immigrants to settle near each other encouraged the continuation of the German lifestyle and customs. This resulted in
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...
organizations that encompassed all aspects of life; for example, singing societies and gymnastics clubs. Germans also had a lasting influence on the American school system.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
was created as a pre-school for children, and sports programs of all levels, as well as music and art were incorporated as elements of the regular school curriculum. These ideas were first introduced by radical-democratic German groups, such as the Turner Societies, known today as the
American Turners
Turners (german: Turner) are members of German-American gymnastic clubs called Turnvereine. They promoted German culture, physical culture, and liberal politics. Turners, especially Francis Lieber, 1798–1872, were the leading sponsors of g ...
. Specifically in Milwaukee, the American
Turners
Turners (german: Turner) are members of German-American gymnastic clubs called Turnvereine. They promoted German culture, physical culture, and liberal politics. Turners, especially Francis Lieber, 1798–1872, were the leading sponsors of gy ...
established its own
Normal College
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turn ...
for teachers of physical education and a German-English Academy.
Milwaukee's German element is still strongly present today. The city celebrates its German culture by annually hosting a German Fest in July and an
Oktoberfest
The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...
in October. Milwaukee boasts a number of German restaurants, as well as a traditional German beer hall. A German language
immersion school
Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction ...
is offered for children in grades
K–5.
![Lake Front Depot 1898 LOC ds](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Lake_Front_Depot_1898_LOC_ds.00203.jpg)
Although the German presence in Milwaukee after the Civil War remained strong and their largest wave of immigrants had yet to land, other groups also made their way to the city. Foremost among these were
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
immigrants. The Poles had many reasons for leaving their homeland, mainly poverty and political oppression. Because Milwaukee offered the Polish immigrants an abundance of low-paying entry level jobs, it became one of the largest
Polish settlements in the USA.
For many residents,
Milwaukee's South Side is synonymous with the
Polish community that developed here. The group maintained a high profile here for decades, and it was not until the 1950s and 1960s that families began to disperse to the southern suburbs.
By 1850, there were seventy-five Poles in
Milwaukee County and the
US Census shows they had a variety of occupations: grocers, blacksmiths, tavernkeepers, coopers, butchers, broommakers, shoemakers, draymen, laborers, and farmers. Three distinct Polish communities evolved in Milwaukee, with the majority settling in the area south of Greenfield Avenue. Milwaukee County's Polish population of 30,000 in 1890 rose to 100,000 by 1915. Poles historically have had a strong national cultural and social identity, often maintained through the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. A view of Milwaukee's South Side skyline is replete with the steeples of the many churches these immigrants built that are still vital centers of the community.
St. Stanislaus Catholic Church and the surrounding
neighborhood was the center of
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
life in Milwaukee. As the Polish community surrounding St. Stanislaus continued to grow, Mitchell Street became known as the "Polish Grand Avenue". As Mitchell Street grew more dense, the Polish population started moving south to the
Lincoln Village neighborhood, home to the
Basilica of St. Josaphat
The Basilica of St. Josaphat, located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, is one of 82 minor basilicas found in the United States. In its grandeur and opulence it is an e ...
and
Kosciuszko Park. Other Polish communities started on
the East Side of Milwaukee.
Jones Island was a major
commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
center settled mostly by
Kashubians
The Kashubians ( csb, Kaszëbi; pl, Kaszubi; german: Kaschuben), also known as Cassubians or Kashubs, are a Lechitic ( West Slavic) ethnic group native to the historical region of Pomerania, including its eastern part called Pomerelia, in nor ...
and other Poles from around the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
.
Milwaukee has the fifth-largest Polish population in the U.S. at 45,467, ranking behind
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
(211,203),
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
(165,784),
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
(60,316) and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
(52,648).
The city holds
Polish Fest
Polish Fest is an annual ethnic festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was established in 1982. One of the largest Polish festivals in the United States, it attracts Polish Americans from all over Wisconsin an ...
, an annual celebration of
Polish culture and
cuisine.
In addition to the Germans and Poles, Milwaukee received a large influx of other
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
an immigrants from
Lithuania,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
,
Bohemia and
Sweden, who included
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
,
Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
, and
Catholics.
Italian Americans total 16,992 in the city, but in Milwaukee County, they number at 38,286.
The largest Italian-American festival in the area, ''Festa Italiana'', is held in the city, while ''Irishfest'' is the largest Irish-American festival in southeast Wisconsin. By 1910, Milwaukee shared the distinction with
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
of having the largest percentage of foreign-born residents in the United States. In 1910, whites represented 99.7% of the city's total population of 373,857. Milwaukee has a strong
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
Community, many of whom attend the Greek Orthodox Church on Milwaukee's northwest side, designed by Wisconsin-born architect
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
. Milwaukee has a sizable
Croatian population, with Croatian churches and their own historic and successful soccer club
The Croatian Eagles at the 30-acre Croatian Park in Franklin, Wisconsin.
Milwaukee also has a large
Serbian population, who have developed Serbian restaurants, a
Serbian K–8 School, and Serbian churches, along with an American Serb Hall. The American Serb Hall in Milwaukee is known for its Friday fish fries and popular events. Many U.S. presidents have visited Milwaukee's Serb Hall in the past. The Bosnian population is growing in Milwaukee as well due to late-20th century immigration after the war in
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
During this time, a small community of
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s migrated from the
South in the
Great Migration. They settled near each other, forming a community that came to be known as
Bronzeville. As industry boomed, more migrants came and African-American influence grew in Milwaukee.
![Slums in milwaukee 1936](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Slums_in_milwaukee_1936.png)
By 1925, around 9,000
Mexicans lived in Milwaukee, but the
Great Depression forced many of them to move back south. In the 1950s, the Hispanic community was beginning to emerge. They arrived for jobs, filling positions in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. During this time there were labor shortages due to the immigration laws that had reduced immigration from eastern and southern Europe. Additionally, strikes contributed to the labor shortages.
[Wisconsinhistory.org](_blank)
additional text.
In the mid-20th century African Americans from Chicago moved to the north side of Milwaukee. Milwaukee's
East Side has attracted a population of Russians and other Eastern Europeans who began migrating in the 1990s after the end of the
Cold War. Many Hispanics of mostly Puerto Rican and Mexican heritage live on the south side of Milwaukee.
During the first sixty years of the 20th century, Milwaukee was the major city in which the
Socialist Party of America earned the highest votes. Milwaukee elected three
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
s who ran on the ticket of the Socialist Party:
Emil Seidel
Emil Seidel (December 13, 1864 – June 24, 1947) was a prominent German-American politician. Seidel was the mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912. The first Socialist mayor of a major city in the United States, Seidel became the Vice Presidential ...
(1910–1912),
Daniel Hoan
Daniel Webster Hoan (March 12, 1881 – June 11, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 32nd Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1940. A lawyer who had served as Milwaukee City Attorney from 1910 to 1916, Hoan was a promin ...
(1916–1940), and
Frank Zeidler
Frank Paul Zeidler (September 20, 1912 – July 7, 2006) was an American socialist politician and mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948, to April 18, 1960. Zeidler, a member of the Socialist Party of America, i ...
(1948–1960). Often referred to as "
Sewer Socialists", the Milwaukee Socialists were characterized by their practical approach to government and labor.
Historic neighborhoods
![Third Ward MKEa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Third_Ward_MKEa.jpg)
In 1892,
Whitefish Bay
Whitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of Lake Superior between Michigan, United States, and Ontario, Canada. It is located between Whitefish Point in Michigan and Whiskey Point along the more rugged, largely wilderness Canadian Shield o ...
,
South Milwaukee
South Milwaukee is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 20,795 at the 2020 census.
History
South Milwaukee was laid out in 1891 by the South Milwaukee company within the Town of Oak Creek, with the purpose o ...
, and
Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa (; known informally as Tosa; originally Wau-wau-too-sa or Hart's Mill) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, and is a pa ...
were incorporated. They were followed by
Cudahy (1895), North Milwaukee (1897) and East Milwaukee, later known as
Shorewood, in 1900. In the early 20th century,
West Allis
West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census.
History
The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...
(1902), and
West Milwaukee (1906) were added, which completed the first generation of "inner-ring" suburbs.
In the 1920s,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
gangster activity came north to Milwaukee during the
Prohibition era
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic be ...
.
Al Capone, noted Chicago mobster, owned a home in the Milwaukee suburb
Brookfield, where
moonshine was made. The house still stands on a street named after Capone.
In the 1930s the city was severely segregated via redlining and is apparent to this day. In 1960, African American residents made up 15 percent of the Milwaukee's population, yet the city was still among the most segregated of that time. And as of 2019, at least three out of four black residents in Milwaukee would have to move in order to establish racially integrated neighborhoods.
By 1960, Milwaukee had grown to become one of the largest cities in the United States. Its population peaked at 741,324. In 1960, the Census Bureau reported city's population as 91.1% white and 8.4% black.
By the late 1960s, Milwaukee's population had started to decline as people moved to suburbs, aided by federal subsidies of highways. They moved to take advantage of new housing and lower taxation. Milwaukee had a population of 594,833 by 2010, while the population of the overall metropolitan area increased. Given its large immigrant population and historic neighborhoods, Milwaukee avoided the severe declines of some of its fellow "
Rust Belt
The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions an ...
" cities.
![Brady Street, Milwuakee, Wisconsin in 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Brady_Street%2C_Milwaukee%2C_Wisconsin_in_2007.jpg)
Since the 1980s, the city has begun to make strides in improving its economy, neighborhoods, and image, resulting in the revitalization of neighborhoods such as the
Historic Third Ward
The Historic Third Ward is a historic warehouse district located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This Milwaukee neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Third Ward is home to over 450 businesses and maintai ...
,
Lincoln Village, the
East Side, and more recently Walker's Point and
Bay View, along with attracting new businesses to its downtown area. These efforts have substantially slowed the population decline and have stabilized many parts of Milwaukee.
Milwaukee's European history is evident today. Largely through its efforts to preserve its history, Milwaukee was named one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by the
National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2006.
Historic Milwaukee walking tours provide a guided tour of Milwaukee's historic districts, including topics on Milwaukee's architectural heritage, its glass skywalk system, and the
Milwaukee Riverwalk
The Milwaukee Riverwalk is a continuous pedestrian walkway along the Milwaukee River in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Description
Conceived in the 1990s to increase public access to the waterway, the Milwaukee Riverwalk has grown to include ar ...
.
Geography
![Milwaukee aerial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Milwaukee_aerial.jpg)
Milwaukee lies along the shores and bluffs of
Lake Michigan at the confluence of three rivers: the
Menomonee, the
Kinnickinnic, and the
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
. Smaller rivers, such as the
Root River and Lincoln Creek, also flow through the city.
Milwaukee's terrain is sculpted by the glacier path and includes steep bluffs along Lake Michigan that begin about a mile (1.6 km) north of downtown. In addition, southwest of Milwaukee is the Kettle Moraine and lake country that provides an industrial landscape combined with inland lakes.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.
The city is overwhelmingly (99.89% of its area) in
Milwaukee County, but there are two tiny unpopulated portions that extend into neighboring counties.
Cityscape
![Downtown Milwaukee from the Milwaukee River](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Downtown_Milwaukee_from_the_Milwaukee_River.jpg)
North–south streets are numbered, and east–west streets are named. However, north–south streets east of 1st Street are named, like east–west streets. The north–south numbering line is along the Menomonee River (east of Hawley Road) and Fairview Avenue/Golfview Parkway (west of Hawley Road), with the east–west numbering line defined along 1st Street (north of Oklahoma Avenue) and Chase/Howell Avenue (south of Oklahoma Avenue). This numbering system is also used to the north by
Mequon
Mequon () is the largest city in Ozaukee County, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and the third-largest city in Wisconsin by land area. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore with significant commercial developments along Interstate 43, the com ...
in
Ozaukee County
Ozaukee County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,503. Its county seat is Port Washington, making it one of three Wisconsin counties on Lake Michigan not to have a county seat with the same ...
, and by some
Waukesha County
Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha.
Waukesha Co ...
communities.
Milwaukee is crossed by
Interstate 43
Interstate 43 (I-43) is a Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highway ...
and
Interstate 94, which come together
downtown at the
Marquette Interchange. The
Interstate 894
Interstate 894 (I-894) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in Milwaukee County in the US state of Wisconsin. The route serves as a bypass of downtown Milwaukee, connecting with I-94 at the Zoo Interchange west of downtown and the Mitche ...
bypass (which as of May 2015 also contains
Interstate 41
Interstate 41 (I-41) is a north–south Interstate Highway connecting the interchange of I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41), located south of the Wisconsin–Illinois border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway in metropolitan C ...
) runs through portions of the city's southwest side, and
Interstate 794 comes out of the Marquette interchange eastbound, bends south along the lakefront and crosses the harbor over the
Hoan Bridge
The Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge is a tied-arch bridge that connects Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to the Lake Freeway across the Milwaukee River inlet. Originally called the Harbor Bridge, it was renamed after Daniel Hoan, one ...
, then ends near the
Bay View neighborhood and becomes the "Lake Parkway" (
WIS-794).
One of the distinctive traits of Milwaukee's residential areas are the neighborhoods full of so-called
Polish flat
A Polish flat (sometimes referred to as a German duplex) is a two-family home with separate entrances, with the units stacked on top of one another instead of side by side. Most homes of this type were constructed in the early 20th century.
Const ...
s. These are two-
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
homes with separate entrances, but with the units stacked one on top of another instead of side-by-side. This arrangement enables a family of limited means to purchase both a home and a modestly priced
rental
Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for a ...
apartment unit. Since
Polish-American
Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83% ...
immigrants to the area prized land ownership, this solution, which was prominent in their areas of settlement within the city, came to be associated with them.
The tallest building in the city is the
U.S. Bank Center.
Climate
Milwaukee's location in the
Great Lakes Region
The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...
often has rapidly changing weather, producing a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Dfa''), with cold, snowy winters, and hot, humid summers. The warmest month of the year is July, when the 24-hour average is , while January is the coldest month, with a 24-hour average of .
Because of Milwaukee's proximity to Lake Michigan, a convection current forms around mid-afternoon in light wind, resulting in the so-called "lake breeze" – a smaller scale version of the more common
sea breeze
A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land. As such, sea breezes ar ...
. The lake breeze is most common between the months of March and July. This onshore flow causes cooler temperatures to move inland usually , with much warmer conditions persisting further inland. Because Milwaukee's official climate site,
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is a civil–military airport south of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States., effective May 21, 2020. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Ai ...
, is only from the lake, seasonal temperature variations are less extreme than in many other locations of the
Milwaukee metropolitan area.
As the sun sets, the convection current reverses and an offshore flow ensues causing a land breeze. After a land breeze develops, warmer temperatures flow east toward the lakeshore, sometimes causing high temperatures during the late evening. The lake breeze is not a daily occurrence and will not usually form if a southwest, west, or northwest wind generally exceeds . The lake moderates cold air outbreaks along the lakeshore during winter months.
Aside from the lake's influence, overnight lows in downtown Milwaukee year-round are often much warmer than suburban locations because of the
urban heat island effect
An urban heat island (UHI) is an urban area, urban or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human impact on the environment, human activities. The temperature difference is usually larger at nigh ...
. Onshore winds elevate daytime
relative humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity dep ...
levels in Milwaukee as compared to inland locations nearby.
Thunderstorms in the region can be dangerous and damaging, bringing
hail and high winds. In rare instances, they can bring a
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
. However, almost all summer rainfall in the city is brought by these storms. In spring and fall, longer events of prolonged, lighter rain bring most of the
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
. A moderate snow cover can be seen on or linger for many winter days, but even during meteorological winter, on average, over 40% of days see less than on the ground.
Milwaukee tends to experience highs that are on or above seven days per year, and lows at or below on six to seven nights.
Extremes range from set on July 24, 1934 down to on both January 17, 1982 and February 4, 1996.
The 1982 event, also known as
Cold Sunday, featured temperatures as low as in some of the
suburbs as little as to the north of Milwaukee.
Climate change
According to the United States'
Environmental Protection Agency, Milwaukee is threatened by ongoing
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
which is warming the planet. These risks include worsened heat waves because many of its residents do not possess
air conditioners, concerns about the water quality of Lake Michigan, and increased chances of flooding from intense rainstorms.
In 2018, Milwaukee mayor
Tom Barrett announced that the city would uphold its obligations under the
Paris Agreement, despite the United States' withdrawal, and set a goal moving a quarter of the city's electricity sources to renewable energy by 2025. These have included expansions in the city's solar power-generating capacity and a
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...
's installation near the Port of Milwaukee. Other actions being taken include local incentives for energy-saving upgrades to homes and businesses.
Water
In the 1990s and 2000s, Lake Michigan experienced large
algae blooms, which can threaten aquatic life. Responding to this problem, in 2009 the city became an "Innovating City" in the
Global Compact Cities Program. The Milwaukee Water Council was also formed in 2009. Its objectives were to "better understand the processes related to freshwater systems dynamics" and to develop "a policy and management program aimed at balancing the protection and utilization of freshwater". The strategy used the
Circles of Sustainability
Circles of Sustainability is a method for understanding and assessing sustainability, and for project management directed towards socially sustainable outcomes. It is intended to handle 'seemingly intractable problems' such as outlined in ...
method. Instead of treating the water quality problem as a single environmental issue, the Water Council draws on the Circles method to analyze the interconnection among ecological, economic, political and cultural factors. This holistic water treatment helped Milwaukee win the US Water Alliance's 2012 US Water Prize. In 2009 the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee also established the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences, the first graduate school of
limnology
Limnology ( ; from Greek λίμνη, ''limne'', "lake" and λόγος, ''logos'', "knowledge") is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems.
The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteris ...
in the United States.
There are more than 3,000 water fountains in the Milwaukee Public School District, 183 had lead levels above 15 parts per billion (ppb). 15 ppb is the federal action level in which effort needs to be taken to lower these lead levels. In Milwaukee, more than 10% of children test positive for dangerous lead levels in their blood.
Demographics
Milwaukee is the
31st most populous city in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, and anchors the
39th most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States. Its combined statistical area population makes it the
29th most populous Combined Statistical Area of the United States. In 2012, Milwaukee was listed as a gamma global city by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershire ...
.
2020 census
As of the
census of 2020,
the population was 577,222. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was . There were 257,723 housing units at an average density of . Ethnically, the population was 20.1%
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race. When grouping both Hispanic and non-Hispanic people together by race, the city was 38.6%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 36.1%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 5.2%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.9%
Native American, 9.0% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 10.1% from two or more races.
The 2020 census population of the city included 1,198 people incarcerated in adult correctional facilities and 9,625 people in university student housing.
According to the
American Community Survey estimates for 2016-2020, the median income for a household in the city was $43,125, and the median income for a family was $51,170. Male full-time workers had a median income of $42,859 versus $37,890 for female workers. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $24,167. About 19.6% of families and 24.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 35.1% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.
Of the population age 25 and over, 84.4% were high school graduates or higher and 24.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher.
Racial and ethnic groups
![Race and ethnicity 2010- Milwaukee (5559895075)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Race_and_ethnicity_2010-_Milwaukee_%285559895075%29.png)
According to the 2010 Census, 44.8% of the population was White (37.0%
non-Hispanic white), 40.0% was Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.5% Asian, 3.4% from two or more races. 17.3% of Milwaukee's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (they may be of any race) (11.7% Mexican, 4.1% Puerto Rican).
According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, 38.3% of Milwaukee's residents reported having
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
ancestry and 20.8% reported
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
ancestry. Other significant population groups include
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
(8.8%),
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
(6.5%),
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
(3.6%),
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
(2.8%), and
French (1.7%). According to the 2010 United States Census, the largest Hispanic backgrounds in Milwaukee as of 2010 were: Mexican (69,680), Puerto Rican (24,672), Other Hispanic or Latino (3,808), Central American (1,962), South American (1,299), Cuban (866) and Dominican (720).
The
Milwaukee metropolitan area was cited as being the most segregated in the U.S. in a ''Jet Magazine'' article in 2002.
The source of this information was a segregation index developed in the mid-1950s and used since 1964. In 2003, a non-peer reviewed study was conducted by hired researchers at the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...
which claimed Milwaukee is not "hypersegregated" and instead ranks as the 43rd most integrated city in America. According to research by demographer
William H. Frey using the
index of dissimilarity
The index of dissimilarity is a demographic measure of the evenness with which two groups are distributed across component geographic areas that make up a larger area. A group is evenly distributed when each geographic unit has the same percentage ...
method and data from the
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...
, Milwaukee has the highest level of black-white segregation of any of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Through continued dialogue between Milwaukee's citizens, the city is trying to reduce racial tensions and the rate of segregation.
With demographic changes in the wake of
white flight
White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
, segregation in metropolitan Milwaukee is primarily in the suburbs rather than the city as in the era of
Father Groppi.
In 2015, Milwaukee was rated as the "worst city for black Americans" based on disparities in employment and income levels. The city's black population experiences high levels of
incarceration and a severe
educational achievement gap.
In 2013, Mark Pfeifer, the editor of the ''
Hmong Studies Journal
The ''Hmong Studies Journal'' is an irregularly published, peer-reviewed academic journal covering studies on the Hmong people. The journal was established in 1996 and the editor in chief and publisher is Mark Pfeifer.[Hmong
Hmong may refer to:
* Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand
* Hmong cuisine
* Hmong customs and culture
** Hmong music
** Hmong textile art
* Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...]
in Milwaukee had recently been moving to the northwest side of Milwaukee; they historically lived in the north and south areas of Milwaukee.
[Pabst, Georgia.]
Report shows growth in Hmong community
. ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', January 6, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014. The
Hmong American Peace Academy The Hmong American Peace Academy (HAPA) is a charter school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, under the authority of Milwaukee Public Schools.[International Peace Academy
The International Peace Institute (IPI, formerly the International Peace Academy) is an independent non-profit lobby group based in New York (beside the headquarters of the United Nations, with which IPI works closely). The institute has regional ...]
, a K–12 school system in Milwaukee centered on the
Hmong community, opened in 2004.
Religion
![Basilica of St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Basilica_of_St._Josaphat.jpg)
As of 2010, approximately 51.8% of residents in the Milwaukee area said they regularly attended religious services. 24.6% of the Milwaukee area population identified as
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, 10.8% as
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
, 1.6% as
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
, and 0.6% as
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. The Milwaukee metro area contains the majority of the state's Jewish population,
and has a long
history of Jewish immigration from German-speaking and Eastern European countries.
The
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee ( la, Archidiœcesis Milvauchiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States. It encompasses the City of Milwaukee, ...
and the
Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee
Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee, originally the Diocese of Wisconsin is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America located in the southern area of Wisconsin. It is in Province V (for the Midwest region). The Rt. Reverend ...
are headquartered in Milwaukee. The
School Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis
The School Sisters of St. Francis (abbreviated SSSF) are an international religious congregation of Catholic sisters, part of the Third Order of Saint Francis, founded in 1874 in New Cassel, Wisconsin. The congregation’s mission covers the Unite ...
have their mother house in Milwaukee, and several other religious orders have a significant presence in the area, including the
Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
and
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
s. Milwaukee, where
Father Josef Kentenich was exiled for 14 years from 1952 to 1965, is also the center for the
Schoenstatt Movement
The Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt (german: Schönstatt-Bewegung) is a Catholic Marian movement founded in Germany in 1914 by Fr Joseph Kentenich, who saw the movement as a means of spiritual renewal for the Catholic Church.
The movement i ...
in the United States.
St. Joan of Arc Chapel, the oldest church in Milwaukee, is on the
Marquette University
Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...
campus.
St. Josaphat Basilica was the first church to be given the Basilica honor in Wisconsin and the third in the United States.
Holy Hill National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians
Holy Hill Basilica and National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians is a Roman Catholic shrine in the north central United States, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The centerpiece of the shrine is a minor basilica. It is located in the town ...
, northwest of Milwaukee, in
Hubertus, Wisconsin, was also made a Basilica in 2006.
Milwaukee is home for several
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
synods, including the
Greater Milwaukee Synod of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), which operates
Concordia University Wisconsin
Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) is a private Lutheran university in Mequon, Wisconsin. It is part of the eight-member Concordia University System operated by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS).
The university is a coeducational in ...
in
Mequon
Mequon () is the largest city in Ozaukee County, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and the third-largest city in Wisconsin by land area. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore with significant commercial developments along Interstate 43, the com ...
and
Milwaukee Lutheran High School
Milwaukee Lutheran High School (MLHS) is a secondary school located in Milwaukee, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The school was originally known as Lutheran High School (LHS). LHS was established in 1903, making Milwaukee Lutheran the oldest L ...
, the nation's oldest Lutheran high school; and the
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwauke ...
(WELS), which was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee.
The
St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral is a landmark of the Serbian community in Milwaukee, located by the American Serb hall, which the congregation also operated until putting it up for sale in January 2021 due to financial challenges caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
has a presence in the Milwaukee area. The Milwaukee area has two stakes, with fourteen wards and four branches among them. The closest temple is the
Chicago Illinois Temple
The Chicago Illinois Temple is the thirty-fifth temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the second of three church temples that have been built in Illinois (The first and the third being the Nauvoo Temple and the Nauv ...
. The area is part of the
Wisconsin Milwaukee Mission.
2000 census
About 30.5% of households in 2000 had children under the age of 18 living with them. 32.2% of households were
married couples living together, 21.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were single individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 people per household, with the average family size at 3.25 people per family.
In 2000, the Census estimated at least 1,408 same-sex households in Milwaukee, or about 0.6% of all households in the city.
Gay-friendly communities have developed primarily in
Walker's Point, but also in Bay View,
Historic Third Ward
The Historic Third Ward is a historic warehouse district located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This Milwaukee neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Third Ward is home to over 450 businesses and maintai ...
,
Washington Heights,
Riverwest, and the
East Side. In 2001, Milwaukee was named the #1 city for
lesbians
A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with femal ...
by ''
Girlfriends'' magazine.
The city's population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,216, and the median income for a family was $37,879. Males had a median income of $32,244 versus $26,013 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $16,181. 21.3% of the population and 17.4% of families were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
. In 2010, rent increased an averaged 3% for home renters in Milwaukee.
Out of the total population, 31.6% of those under the age of 18 and 11.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Economy
Early economy
Milwaukee's founding fathers had a vision for the city: they knew it was perfectly situated as a port city, a center for collecting and distributing produce. Many of the new
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
who were pouring into the new state of Wisconsin during the middle of the 19th century were wheat farmers. By 1860, Wisconsin was the second ranked
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
-growing state in the country and Milwaukee shipped more wheat than any place in the world.
Railroads
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
were needed to transport all this grain from the wheat fields of Wisconsin to Milwaukee's
harbor
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
. Improvements in railways at the time made this possible.
There was intense competition for markets with Chicago, and to a lesser degree, with
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...
and
Kenosha
Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...
. Eventually Chicago won out due to its superior financial and transposition status, as well as being a hub on major railroad lines throughout the United States. Milwaukee did solidify its place as the commercial capital of Wisconsin and an important market in the Midwest.
![Menomonee Valley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Menomonee_Valley.jpg)
Because of its easy access to Lake Michigan and other waterways, Milwaukee's
Menomonee Valley
The Menomonee Valley or Menomonee River Valley is a U-shaped land formation along the southern bend of the Menomonee River in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Because of its easy access to Lake Michigan and other waterways, the neighborhood has historically ...
has historically been home to
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
,
stockyards,
rendering plants,
shipping
Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
, and other
heavy industry
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
.
Reshaping of the valley began with the
railroads
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
built by city co-founder
Byron Kilbourn
Byron Kilbourn (September 8, 1801December 16, 1870) was an American surveyor, railroad executive, and politician who was an important figure in the founding of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the 3rd and 8th mayor of Milwaukee.
Biography
Kilbo ...
to bring product from Wisconsin's farm interior to the port. By 1862 Milwaukee was the largest shipper of
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
on the planet, and related industry developed.
Grain elevators were built and, due to Milwaukee's dominant
German immigrant population,
breweries sprang up around the processing of
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
and
hops. A number of
tanneries
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
were constructed, of which the
Pfister & Vogel tannery grew to become the largest in America.
In 1843 George Burnham and his brother Jonathan opened a
brickyard
A brickyard or brickfield is a place or yard where bricks are made, fired, and stored, or sometimes sold or otherwise distributed from. Brick makers work in a brick yard. A brick yard may be constructed near natural sources of clay or on o ...
near 16th Street. When a durable and distinct cream-colored brick came out of the clay beds, other brickyards sprang up to take advantage of this resource. Because many of the city's buildings were built using this material it earned the nickname "Cream City", and consequently the brick was called
Cream City brick
Cream City brick is a cream or light yellow-colored brick made from a clay found around Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the Menomonee River Valley and on the western banks of Lake Michigan. These bricks were one of the most common building materials u ...
. By 1881 the Burnham brickyard, which employed 200 men and peaked at 15 million bricks a year, was the largest in the world.
Flour mills
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
, packing plants, breweries, railways and tanneries further industrialized the valley. With the
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
lands drained and the
Kinnickinnic and
Milwaukee River
The Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 Once a locus of industry, the river is now the c ...
s dredged, attention turned to the valley.
Along with the processing industries, bulk commodity storage, machining, and manufacturing entered the scene. The valley was home to the
Milwaukee Road,
Falk Corporation,
Cutler-Hammer
Eaton Corporation plc is an American-Irish multinational power management company with 2021 sales of $19.63 billion, founded in the United States with global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and a secondary administrative center in Beachwood ...
,
Harnischfeger Corporation
Joy Global Inc. was a company that manufactured and serviced heavy equipment used in the extraction and haulage of coal and minerals in both underground and surface mining. The company had manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Tex ...
,
Chain Belt Company
Chain Belt Company was an agricultural equipment manufacturer in the US. It produced chain belts specifically to replace leather-based belts, which were used inside engine-powered agricultural equipment at the time.
History
The company was esta ...
,
Nordberg Manufacturing Company Nordberg Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of steam engines, large diesel engines, pumps, hoists and compressors for the mining and quarry industries located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
History
The company was founded by Bruno V. Nordberg a ...
and other industry giants.
Early in the 20th century, Milwaukee was home to several pioneer
brass era
The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915 ...
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarde ...
makers, including Ogren (1919–1922).
Brewing
Milwaukee became synonymous with
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
and
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
beginning in the 1840s. The Germans had long enjoyed beer and set up breweries when they arrived in Milwaukee. By 1856, there were more than two dozen breweries in Milwaukee, most of them owned and operated by Germans. Besides making beer for the rest of the nation, Milwaukeeans enjoyed consuming the various beers produced in the city's breweries. As early as 1843, pioneer historian
James Buck recorded 138 taverns in Milwaukee, an average of one per forty residents. Today,
beer halls and taverns are abundant in the city, but only one of the major breweries—
Miller
A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...
—remains in Milwaukee.
![Former brewery Pabst Brewing Company in Milwaukee Wisconsin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Former_brewery_Pabst_Brewing_Company_in_Milwaukee_Wisconsin.jpg)
Milwaukee was once the home to four of the world's largest beer breweries (
Schlitz,
Blatz,
Pabst Pabst is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Adolf Pabst (1899–1990), American mineralogist and geologist
*Daniel Pabst (1826–1910), American furniture maker
*Frederick Pabst (1836–1904), American brewer
*Georg Wilhelm ...
, and Miller), and was the number one beer producing city in the world for many years. As late as 1981, Milwaukee had the greatest brewing capacity in the world.
Despite the decline in its position as the world's leading beer producer after the loss of two of those breweries, Miller Brewing Company remains a key employer by employing over 2,200 of the city's workers. Because of Miller's position as the second-largest beer-maker in the U.S., the city remains known as a beer town. The city and surrounding areas are seeing a resurgence in microbreweries, nanobreweries and brewpubs with the craft beer movement.
The historic Milwaukee Brewery in "Miller Valley" at 4000 West State Street, is the oldest functioning major brewery in the United States. In 2008,
Coors beer also began to be brewed in Miller Valley. This created additional brewery jobs in Milwaukee, but the company's world headquarters moved from Milwaukee to Chicago.
In addition to Miller and the heavily automated
Leinenkugel's brewery in the old Blatz 10th Street plant, other stand-alone breweries in Milwaukee include
Milwaukee Brewing Company, a microbrewery in
Walker's Point neighborhood;
Lakefront Brewery, a
microbrewery in Brewers Hill; and
Sprecher Brewery
Sprecher Brewery is a brewery in Glendale, Wisconsin, U.S. It was founded in 1985 in Milwaukee by Randal Sprecher, and is Milwaukee's first craft brewery since Prohibition. Sprecher produces an assortment of beers, flavored malt beverages, a ...
, a German brewery that also brews craft sodas. Since 2015, nearly two dozen craft brewing companies have been established in the city.
Three beer brewers with Wisconsin operations made the 2009 list of the 50 largest beermakers in the United States, based on beer sales volume. Making the latest big-breweries list from Wisconsin is
MillerCoors
MillerCoors was a beer brewing company in the United States. MillerCoors was formed in 2008 as a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors to combine their brewing, marketing and sales operations in the United States. The company was acqui ...
at No. 2. MillerCoors is a joint venture formed in 2008 by Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co. and Golden, Colorado-based
Molson Coors Brewing Company
The Molson Coors Beverage Company is an American-Canadian multinational drink and brewing company incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law and headquartered in Golden, Colorado and Montreal, Quebec.
Molson Coors was formed in 2005 t ...
. The
Minhas Craft Brewery
The Minhas Craft Brewery is located in Monroe, Wisconsin, owned by brother and sister, Ravinder and Manjit Minhas. It is the Midwest's oldest brewery and the second oldest in the United States. It survived the Great Depression, Prohibition and ...
in
Monroe, Wisconsin
Monroe, known as "the Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA", is a city in and the county seat of Green County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,661 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered by the Town of Monroe to the north and the ...
, which brews Huber, Rhinelander and Mountain Crest brands, ranked No. 14 and
New Glarus Brewing Company,
New Glarus, Wisconsin
New Glarus is a village in Green County, Wisconsin, United States at the intersection of Wisconsin Highways 69 and 39. It has a population of 2,266 according to the 2020 census. The village, and the town that surrounds it, were named after the ...
, whose brands include Spotted Cow, Fat Squirrel and Uff-da, ranked No. 32.
Present economy
![Allen-Bradley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Allen-Bradley.jpg)
Milwaukee is the home to the international headquarters of six
Fortune 500 companies:
Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls International is an American
Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate headquartered in Cork, Ireland, that produces fire, HVAC, and security equipment for buildings. As of mid-2019, it employed 105,000 people in around 2,00 ...
,
Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investm ...
,
Manpower
Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...
,
Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. is an American provider of industrial automation whose brands include Allen-Bradley, FactoryTalk software and LifecycleIQ Services.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 ...
,
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
and
WEC Energy Group
WEC Energy Group is an American company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that provides electricity and natural gas to 4.4 million customers across four states.
Subsidiaries Wisconsin
* We Energies, the umbrella name for Wisconsin Electric Power ...
. Other companies based in Milwaukee include
Briggs & Stratton
Briggs & Stratton Corporation is an American manufacturer of gasoline engines with headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
Engine production averages 10 million units per year as of April 2015. The company reports that it has 13 large facili ...
,
Brady Corporation
Brady Corporation is an American developer, manufacturer of specialty products, technical equipment and services for identifying components used in workplaces. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Brady employs 6,600 people in North and South ...
,
Baird (investment bank),
Alliance Federated Energy,
Sensient Technologies,
Marshall & Ilsley (acquired by
BMO Harris Bank
BMO Harris Bank, N.A. is an American bank based in Chicago, Illinois. It is a member of the Federal Reserve System and operates branches in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Arizona, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Florida, Wisconsin, and California ...
in 2010),
Hal Leonard,
Direct Supply
Direct Supply is an employee-owned company that specializes in providing equipment, eCommerce, and services to healthcare organizations and the senior living industry. Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the company offers ...
,
Rite-Hite, the
American Society for Quality
The American Society for Quality (ASQ), formerly the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), is a society of quality professionals, with nearly 80,000 members.
History
ASQC was established on 16 February 1946 by 253 members in Milwaukee, ...
,
A. O. Smith
A. O. Smith Corporation is an American manufacturer of both residential and commercial water heaters and boilers and the largest manufacturer and marketer of water heaters in North America. It also supplies water treatment products in the Asian ...
,
Rexnord,
Master Lock
Master Lock is an American company that develops padlocks, combination locks, safes, and related security products. Now a subsidiary of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Master Lock Company LLC was formed in 1921 by locksmith-inventor Harry E. ...
,
Marcus Corporation
The Marcus Corporation () is an American publicly held company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company operates two principal divisions: Marcus Theatres and Marcus Hotels and Resorts.
History
Marcus Corporation was founded on Novemb ...
,
REV Group
REV Group (formerly Allied Specialty Vehicles) is an American manufacturer of ambulances, buses, firefighting vehicles, recreational vehicles and other specialty vehicles. The company has yearly revenue of over $1 billion.
History
Allied Speci ...
,
American Signal Corporation
American Signal Corporation (ASC) is an outdoor warning siren and mass notification company in the United States. ASC was founded in 1942 as Biersach and Niedermeyer (B&N). After performing poorly, the company reformed as The Alerting Communi ...
,
GE Healthcare
GE HealthCare is a subsidiary of American multinational conglomerate General Electric incorporated in New York and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2017, it is a manufacturer and distributor of diagnostic imaging agents and radiopharma ...
, Diagnostic Imaging and Clinical Systems, and
MGIC Investments. The Milwaukee metropolitan area ranks fifth in the United States in terms of the number of
Fortune 500 company headquarters as a share of the population. Milwaukee also has a large number of financial service firms, particularly those specializing in mutual funds and transaction processing systems, and a number of publishing and printing companies.
Service and managerial jobs are the fastest-growing segments of the Milwaukee economy, and
health care alone makes up 27% of the jobs in the city.
Culture
![Milwaukee Art Museum 1 (Mulad)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Milwaukee_Art_Museum_1_%28Mulad%29.jpg)
Milwaukee is a popular location for sailing, boating, and kayaking on Lake Michigan, ethnic dining, and cultural festivals. Often referred to as the City of Festivals, Milwaukee has various cultural events which take place throughout the summer at
Henry Maier Festival Park
Henry Maier Festival Park is a 75-acre festival park located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the shore Lake Michigan and is the site of the annual Summerfest musical festival and the home of the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.
History Be ...
, on the lake. Museums and cultural events, such as Jazz in the Park, occur weekly in downtown parks. A 2011 study by
Walk Score
Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin, provides walkability analysis and apartment search tools. Its flagship product is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the United States, U ...
ranked Milwaukee 15th most walkable of fifty largest U.S. cities. In 2018, the city was voted "The Coolest City in the Midwest" by Vogue.
Museums
Art
* The
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is an art museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its collection contains nearly 25,000 works of art.
Location and Visit
Located on the lakefront of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum is one of the largest art museu ...
is perhaps Milwaukee's most visually prominent cultural attraction; especially its $100 million wing designed by
Santiago Calatrava
Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stadiums, and museums, whose sculp ...
in his first American commission.
The museum includes a ''brise soleil'', a moving sunscreen that unfolds similarly to the wing of a bird.
* The
Grohmann Museum, at
Milwaukee School of Engineering
The Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is a private university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The campus is in the List of neighborhoods of Milwaukee, East Town neighborhood of downtown Milwaukee. The school's enrollment of 2,820 includes 224 g ...
contains the world's most comprehensive art collection dedicated to the evolution of human work. It houses the ''Man at Work'' collection, which comprises more than 700 paintings and sculptures dating from 1580 to the present. The museum also features a rooftop sculpture garden.
*
Haggerty Museum of Art
The Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Museum of Art, sometimes referred to simply as "the Haggerty", is located at 13th and Clybourn Streets on the campus of Marquette University in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The museum opened in 1 ...
, on the Marquette University campus houses several classical masterpieces and is open to the public.
* The
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
Villa Terrace is a historic house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was built in 1924 for the Lloyd R. Smith family - an Italian Renaissance-style home on a bluff above Lake Michigan. Since 1966 the house and grounds have housed the Villa Terrace Dec ...
is the former home of Lloyd Smith, president of the
A.O. Smith corporation, and has a terraced garden, an assortment of Renaissance art, and rotating exhibits.
*
Charles Allis Art Museum
The Charles Allis Art Museum is a museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Charles Allis House.
Allis Mansion history
The Charles Allis Art Museum was originally the home of Milwaukee native C ...
, in the Tudor-style mansion of Charles Allis, hosts several changing exhibits every year in the building's original antique furnished setting.
Science and natural history
![Discovery World Milwaukee Wisconsin 5598](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Discovery_World_Milwaukee_Wisconsin_5598.jpg)
* The
Milwaukee Public Museum
The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) is a natural and human history museum in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum was chartered in 1882 and opened to the public in 1884; it is a not-for-profit organization operated by the Milwaukee Public Mus ...
has been Milwaukee's primary
natural history and
human history
Human history, also called world history, is the narrative of humanity's past. It is understood and studied through anthropology, archaeology, genetics, and linguistics. Since the invention of writing, human history has been studied throug ...
museum for 125 years, with over of permanent exhibits. Exhibits feature Africa, Europe, the Arctic, Oceania, and South and Middle America, the ancient Western civilizations ("Crossroads of Civilization"), dinosaurs, the
tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equa ...
, streets of Old Milwaukee, a European Village, live insects and arthropods ("Bugs Alive!") a Samson Gorilla replica, the Puelicher Butterfly Wing, hands-on laboratories, and animatronics. The museum also contains an
IMAX movie theater/planetarium. Milwaukee Public Museum owns the world's largest dinosaur skull.
*
Discovery World
Discovery World is a science and technology museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of STEM majors through curiosity and creativity.
Focus
Mission
"Discovery World provides fun and educational ...
, Milwaukee's largest museum dedicated to science, is just south of the
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is an art museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its collection contains nearly 25,000 works of art.
Location and Visit
Located on the lakefront of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum is one of the largest art museu ...
along the lake front. Visitors are drawn by its high-tech, hand-on exhibits, salt water and freshwater aquariums, as well as touch tanks and digital theaters. A
double helix staircase
Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...
wraps around the kinetic sculpture of a human genome. The S/V Dennis Sullivan Schooner Ship docked at Discovery World is the world's only re-creation of an 1880s-era three-masted vessel and the first schooner to be built in Milwaukee in over 100 years. It teaches visitors about the Great Lakes and Wisconsin's maritime history.
*
Betty Brinn Children's Museum
The Betty Brinn Children's Museum is a non-profit children's museum located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
About the Museum
The museum is a "hands-on" exhibit based educational museum primarily targeted for children between the ages of 1 and 10. It inc ...
is geared toward children under ten years of age and is filled with hands-on exhibits and interactive programs, offering families a chance to learn together. Voted one of the top ten museums for children by
Parents Magazine
''Parents'' was an American monthly magazine founded in 1926 that featured scientific information on child development geared to help parents in raising their children. Subscribers were notified of the magazine’s dissolution via a postcard maili ...
, it exemplifies the philosophy that constructive play nurtures the mind.
*
Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory
Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory (Mitchell Park Domes or The Domes) is a conservatory located at Mitchell Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is owned and operated by the Milwaukee County Park System, and replaced the origina ...
(Mitchell Park Domes or, simply, the Domes) is a conservatory at Mitchell Park. It is owned and operated by the Milwaukee County Park System, and replaced the original Milwaukee Conservatory which stood from 1898 to 1955. The three domes display a large variety of plant and bird life. The conservatory includes the Tropical Dome, the Arid Dome and the Show Dome, which hosts four seasonal (cultural, literary, or historic) shows and one Christmas exhibit held annually in December for visitors to enjoy. The Domes are deteriorating rapidly "and the popular horticultural conservatory will close within a few years unless $30 million is found to do just basic repairs."
Social and cultural history
![Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee seen from Wisconsin Avenue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Pabst_Mansion_in_Milwaukee_seen_from_Wisconsin_Avenue.jpg)
*
Pabst Mansion
The Pabst Mansion is a grand Flemish Renaissance Revival-styled house built in 1892 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA for Captain Frederick Pabst (1836–1904), founder of the Pabst Brewing Company. In 1975 it was placed on the National Register of His ...
Built in 1892 by beer tycoon Frederick Pabst, this Flemish Renaissance Mansion was once considered the jewel of Milwaukee's famous avenue of mansions called the "Grand Avenue". Interior rooms have been restored with period furniture, to create an authentic replica of a Victorian Mansion. Nationally recognized as a house museum.
*
Milwaukee County Historical Society
The Milwaukee County Historical Society, also known as MCHS, is a local historical society in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Founded in 1935, the organization was formed to preserve, collect, recognize, and make available materials related to Milwau ...
features Milwaukee during the late 19th century through the mid-20th century. Housed within an architectural landmark, the Milwaukee's Historical Society features a
panoramic painting of Milwaukee, firefighting equipment, period replicas of a pharmacy and a bank, and Children's world – an exhibit that includes vintage toys, clothes and school materials. The museum houses a research library, where scenes from the movie ''
Public Enemies'' were shot.
*
Wisconsin Black Historical Society
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michi ...
, whose mission is to document and preserve the historical heritage of African descent in Wisconsin, exhibiting collecting and disseminating materials depicting this heritage.
*
America's Black Holocaust Museum, founded by
lynching survivor
James Cameron, featured exhibits which chronicle the injustices suffered throughout history by African Americans in the United States. The museum first closed in July 2008 as a result of financial difficulties. The museum reopened in 2012 as a
virtual museum
A virtual museum is a digital entity that draws on the characteristics of a museum, in order to complement, enhance, or augment the museum experience through personalization, interactivity, and richness of content. Virtual museums can perform as t ...
with the original building demolished. As of 2018 a new building housing the museum has opened.
*
Jewish Museum Milwaukee
Jewish Museum Milwaukee is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The Jewish Museum Milwaukee's mission is to preserve and present the Jewish experience through the lens of Greater Milwaukee, and to celebrate the continuum of Jewish heritage and ...
, is dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of the Jewish people in southeastern Wisconsin and celebrating the continuum of Jewish heritage and culture.
*
Mitchell Gallery of Flight
The Mitchell Gallery of Flight is an aviation museum located inside Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States.
Description
Permanent gallery exhibits highlight aviation history ...
, at
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is a civil–military airport south of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States., effective May 21, 2020. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Ai ...
, Milwaukee's
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...
and historical enthusiasts experience the history of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport with a visit to the Gallery of Flight. Exhibits include General Billy Mitchell; replicas of past and present aircraft including the Lawson Airline, the first commercial airliner; the Graf Zeppelin II, the sistership to the tragically legendary Hindenburg; a 1911 Curtis Pusher, an airplane with the propeller in the rear of the plane; and the present day giant of the sky, the 747. Other exhibits include commercial air memorabilia, early aviation engines and airport beacons.
*
Harley-Davidson Museum
The Harley-Davidson Museum is an American museum located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin celebrating the more than 100-year history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The three-building complex on along the Menomonee River bank contains more than 450 Har ...
, opened in 2008, pays tribute to
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
motorcycles and is the only museum of its type in the world.
*
Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear
The Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear is a former museum that was started by Avrum (Abe) M. Chudnow in 1991. The museum was housed in an 1869 residence on 839 North 11th Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. This house was formerly a clinic and h ...
Arenas and performing arts
Performing arts groups and venues include:
*
Bel Canto Chorus
The Bel Canto Chorus is a Milwaukee-area community chorus, and one of the oldest musical organizations in Wisconsin.
History
The choir was first founded in 1931 as the Festival Singers of Milwaukee. The group first consisted of four women and fou ...
*
First Stage Children's Theater
The First Stage Children's Theater is a professional American children's theater based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin founded in 1987. Its season consists of six “mainstage” shows, two shows for very young audiences, and two shows from its award-wi ...
*
Florentine Opera
The Florentine Opera Company is one of Wisconsin's oldest professional performing arts centers and the sixth-oldest opera company in the United States. The company presents three to five staged productions per season largely from the standard ope ...
*
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
*
Miller High Life Theatre
Miller High Life Theatre (previously Milwaukee Theatre and originally Milwaukee Auditorium) is a theatre located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building was extensively renovated between 2001 and 2003, at which point its name changed to the Milw ...
*
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The orchestra performs primarily at the Bradley Symphony Center in Allen-Bradley Hall. The orchestra also serves as the orchestra for Florentine ...
*
Milwaukee Youth Arts Center
*
Milwaukee Ballet
The Milwaukee Ballet is a professional ballet company founded by Roberta Boorse of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is located in Milwaukee, and is currently run by Michael Pink, the artistic director.
History
The Milwaukee Ballet was fo ...
*
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Milwaukee Repertory Theater ("Milwaukee Rep") is a theater company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded as the Fred Miller Theatre Company, the group is housed in the Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex, which includes the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, ...
*
Milwaukee Opera Theatre
Milwaukee Opera Theatre, known colloquially as MOT, is a professional opera and musical theatre company that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely pop ...
*
Milwaukee Public Theatre
*
Milwaukee Youth Theatre
The Milwaukee Youth Theatre (MYT) is a theatre company for youth based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. I ...
*
Pabst Theater
The Pabst Theater is an indoor performance and concert venue and landmark of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Colloquially known as "the Pabst", the theater hosts about 100 events per year. Built in 1895, it is the fourth-oldest continuously o ...
*
Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps
The Pioneer Drum & Bugle Corps was a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Pioneer is a former member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI).
History
Pioneer traces its roots to the St. Patrick's (Ca ...
*
Present Music
The present (or here'' and ''now) is the time that is associated with the events perceived directly and in the first time, not as a recollection (perceived more than once) or a speculation (predicted, hypothesis, uncertain). It is a period of ...
*
The Melody Top
*
The Rave
The Rave/Eagles Club (commonly known as simply The Rave, formerly known as the Eagles Club and Central Park Athletic Club and Entertainment Center or commonly Central Park Ballroom) is a concert venue and landmark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Divi ...
/Eagles Ballroom
*
Riverside Theater
*
Skylight Music Theatre
*
Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music is an independent music school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It teaches classical, jazz, rock, folk, and blues and hosts musical concerts throughout the year. It is housed in a Neoclassical-style mansion built ...
*
Turner Hall
*
Fiserv Forum
Fiserv Forum (stylized as fiserv.forum) () is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the home of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball tea ...
*
Miller Park
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...
*
UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
The UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (originally the Milwaukee Arena and formerly MECCA Arena and U.S. Cellular Arena) is an indoor arena located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The arena, which seats as many as 12,700 people and offers of floor space, is ...
*
Marcus Amphitheater
The American Family Insurance Amphitheater (formerly known as the Marcus Amphitheater) is an amphitheater on the south end of the Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The amphitheater serves as the venue for headlining acts perfor ...
on the Henry Maier Festival Park
Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district. Summerfest attracts app ...
Grounds
In 1984
ComedySportz
ComedySportz (CSz) is an improvisational comedy organization started in 1984 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by a group of local comedians including Dick Chudnow, Bob Orvis, Brian Green, and others.
Match format
The traditional format of a ComedySportz ...
was founded in Milwaukee by native
Dick Chudnow
ComedySportz (CSz) is an improvisational comedy organization started in 1984 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by a group of local comedians including Dick Chudnow, Bob Orvis, Brian Green, and others.
Match format
The traditional format of a ComedySportz ...
and has since become a franchise, with numerous venues throughout the United States and England. In July 2009 the
ComedySportz
ComedySportz (CSz) is an improvisational comedy organization started in 1984 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by a group of local comedians including Dick Chudnow, Bob Orvis, Brian Green, and others.
Match format
The traditional format of a ComedySportz ...
world championship returned to Milwaukee to coincide with its 25th anniversary.
File:Eagles-club milwaukee-apr09.jpg, The Rave
The Rave/Eagles Club (commonly known as simply The Rave, formerly known as the Eagles Club and Central Park Athletic Club and Entertainment Center or commonly Central Park Ballroom) is a concert venue and landmark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Divi ...
/Eagles Ballroom
File:Milwaukee Youth Arts Center.jpg, Milwaukee Youth Arts Center
File:Turner Hall Milwaukee 2014.jpg, Turner Hall
Public art and monuments
Milwaukee has some 75 sculptures to honor the many people and topics reflecting the
city's history. Among the more prominent monuments are:
*
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben (born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben (), was a Prussian military officer who ...
*
Tadeusz Kościuszko
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...
*
Casimir Pulaski
Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of the Ślepowron coat of arms (; ''Casimir Pulaski'' ; March 4 or March 6, 1745 Makarewicz, 1998 October 11, 1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called, tog ...
*
Solomon Juneau
*
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
*
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
*
Bronze Fonz
*
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
*
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
* ''
The Victorious Charge
''The Victorious Charge'' is a public artwork by American artist John S. Conway located on the Court of Honor on West Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The 1898 bronze sculpture is 9'10" high and sits on a 20' sq ...
''
*
Leif Ericson
Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, ; Modern Icelandic: ; Norwegian: ''Leiv Eiriksson'' also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have set foot on continental Nort ...
*
Jacques Marquette
Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Ign ...
*
''Goethe-Schiller Monument''
*
''Immigrant Mother''
* ''
Letter Carriers' Monument'', a memorial to the
National Association of Letter Carriers
The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) is an American labor union, representing non-rural letter carriers employed by the United States Postal Service. It was founded in 1889. The NALC has 2,500 local branches representing letter ca ...
File:Leif Ericson statue in Milwaukee.JPG, Leif Ericson
Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, ; Modern Icelandic: ; Norwegian: ''Leiv Eiriksson'' also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have set foot on continental Nort ...
monument
File:Milwaukee Kosciuszko edit.jpg, Tadeusz Kościuszko
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...
monument in Kosciuszko Park in Historic Lincoln Village.
Additionally, Milwaukee has a burgeoning mural arts scene.
Black Cat Alley
''Black Cat Alley'' is an arts destination in a one-block alleyway in Milwaukee, Wisconsin known for its street art mural installations. It is located behind the historic Oriental Theatre (Milwaukee) and includes both temporary and semi-permanent i ...
is a well-known arts destination in a one-block alleyway in the
East Side neighborhood of Milwaukee, recognized for its street art mural installations. It is behind the historic
Oriental Theatre and includes both temporary and semi-permanent installations by a variety of artists and art groups. Another highly visible corridor of street art in Milwaukee is on the south side in the Walker's Point neighborhood, especially along 5th and 2nd streets.
Festivals
![Summerfest Pabst Showcase 1994](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Summerfest_Pabst_Showcase_1994.jpg)
The city hosts an annual lakefront music festival called
Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district. Summerfest attracts app ...
. Listed in the ''1999
Guinness Book of World Records'' as the largest
music festival in the world, in 2017 Summerfest attracted 831,769. The adjacent city of
West Allis
West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census.
History
The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...
has been the site of the
Wisconsin State Fair
The Wisconsin State Fair is an annual event held at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The modern fair takes place in August (occasionally beginning late July) and lasts 11 days.
History
The first W ...
for over a century.
Milwaukee hosts a variety of primarily ethnically themed festivals throughout the summer. Held generally on the lakefront
Summerfest grounds, these festivals span several days (typically Friday plus the weekend) and celebrate Milwaukee's history and diversity. Festivals for the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
(
PrideFest) and
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
(
Polish Fest
Polish Fest is an annual ethnic festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was established in 1982. One of the largest Polish festivals in the United States, it attracts Polish Americans from all over Wisconsin an ...
) communities are typically held in June. Summerfest spans 11 days at the end of June and beginning of July. There are
French (Bastille Days),
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
(
Festa Italiana) and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
(
German Fest
German Fest is an ethnic festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the Henry Maier Festival Park, on the Lake Michigan lakefront. The genesis of German Fest occurred when Mayor Henry Maier challenged the local German-American community during a speech ...
) festivals in July. The
African
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
,
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
,
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
(
Irish Fest),
Mexican, and
American Indian events wrap it up from August through September. Milwaukee is also home to
Trainfest, the largest operating model railroad show in America, in November.
Cuisine
Milwaukee's ethnic cuisines include
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
,
Hmong
Hmong may refer to:
* Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand
* Hmong cuisine
* Hmong customs and culture
** Hmong music
** Hmong textile art
* Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...
,
French,
Serbian,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
,
Thai,
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
,
Mexican,
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
, Korean, Vietnamese, Turkish, Middle Eastern, and Ethiopian.
Milwaukee County hosts the Zoo-A La Carte at the
Milwaukee County Zoo
The Milwaukee County Zoo is a zoo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operated by the Milwaukee County Parks Commission. The zoo houses 1,800 animals and covers an area of . It is noted for the second birth of polar bears and siamangs in captivity and for ...
, and various ethnic festivals like Summerfest,
German Fest
German Fest is an ethnic festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the Henry Maier Festival Park, on the Lake Michigan lakefront. The genesis of German Fest occurred when Mayor Henry Maier challenged the local German-American community during a speech ...
, and
Festa Italiana to celebrate various types of cuisine in summer months.
Music
![Jazz in the park Milwaukee 6062](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Jazz_in_the_park_Milwaukee_6062.jpg)
Milwaukee has a long history of musical activity. The first organized musical society, called "Milwaukee Beethoven Society" formed in 1843, three years before the city was incorporated.
The large concentrations of German and other European immigrants contributed to the musical character of the city.
Saengerfeste were held regularly.
In the early 20th century, guitarist
Les Paul and pianist
Liberace
Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...
were some of the area's most famous musicians. Both Paul, born in Waukesha, and Liberace, born in West Allis, launched their careers in Milwaukee music venues.
Paramount Records, primarily a jazz and blues record label, was founded in
Grafton, a northern suburb of Milwaukee, in the 1920s and 1930s.
Hal Leonard Corporation
Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Curre ...
, founded in 1947 is one of the world's largest music print publishers, and is headquartered in Milwaukee. More recently, Milwaukee has a history of
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
hip hop,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
,
blues,
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
,
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
,
industrial music,
electronica,
world music, and
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
bands.
Milwaukee's most famous music venue is
Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district. Summerfest attracts app ...
. Founded in 1968, Summerfest features 700–800 live musical acts across 12 stages during 11 days over a 12-day period beginning in late June; while the dates adjust each year, Summerfest always includes July 4. On the Summerfest grounds, the largest venue is the American Family Insurance Amphitheater with a 23,000 person capacity. Adjacent is the BMO Harris Pavilion, which has a capacity of roughly 10,000. The BMO Harris Pavilion also hosts numerous concerts and events outside of Summerfest; other stages are also used during the numerous other festivals held on the grounds.
![Pabst Theater 1895 front view 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Pabst_Theater_1895_front_view_2012.jpg)
Venues such as
Pabst Theater
The Pabst Theater is an indoor performance and concert venue and landmark of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Colloquially known as "the Pabst", the theater hosts about 100 events per year. Built in 1895, it is the fourth-oldest continuously o ...
,
Marcus Center
The Marcus Performing Arts Center is a performing arts center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Managed by a non-profit organization, it is marketed as Milwaukee's premier presenter of the performing arts. It is located at 929 North Water St ...
for Performing Arts, the
Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts The Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts (more often referred to as the "Zelazo Center" or the "ZPAC") is a performing arts center located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (U ...
,
Marcus Amphitheater
The American Family Insurance Amphitheater (formerly known as the Marcus Amphitheater) is an amphitheater on the south end of the Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The amphitheater serves as the venue for headlining acts perfor ...
(
Summerfest Grounds),
Riverside Theater, the
Northern Lights Theater, and
The Rave
The Rave/Eagles Club (commonly known as simply The Rave, formerly known as the Eagles Club and Central Park Athletic Club and Entertainment Center or commonly Central Park Ballroom) is a concert venue and landmark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Divi ...
frequently bring internationally known acts to Milwaukee. 'Jazz in the Park', a weekly jazz show held at downtown
Cathedral Square Park Cathedral Square Park is a small urban Milwaukee County Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, located to the west of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. The park only takes the name of the nearby cathedral, with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee ho ...
, has become a summer tradition; free, public performances with a picnic environment. Nearby Pere Marquette Park hosts "River Rhythms" on Wednesday nights.
The Milwaukee area is known for producing national talents such as
Steve Miller (rock), Wladziu Valentino
Liberace
Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...
(piano),
Al Jarreau (jazz),
Eric Benet
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
(neo-soul),
Speech (hip hop),
Daryl Stuermer
Daryl Mark Stuermer (born November 27, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer best known for playing the guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most solo tours and albums. He has ...
(rock),
Streetz-n-Young Deuces (Hip-Hop),
BoDeans
BoDeans is an American rock band formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin. BoDeans came to prominence in the 1980s. The band's sound encompasses multiple rock genres, including roots rock, heartland rock, and alternative rock. The band's biggest hit to da ...
(rock),
Les Paul (jazz), the
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 200 ...
(alternative),
Coo Coo Cal
Calvin Bellamy (born July 4, 1970), better known as Coo Coo Cal, is an American rapper and truck driver from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His single "My Projects" went to #1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart in 2001.
Coo Coo Cal's first album, '' ...
(rap),
Die Kreuzen
Die Kreuzen (/ˈdiːˈkɹɔɪtsn̩/) is an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin formed in 1981. The name, which was taken from a German Bible, is grammatically incorrect German for "the crosses."Larkin, Colin (1995) "Die Kreuzen", in ''T ...
(punk),
Andy Hurley
Andrew John Hurley (born May 31, 1980) is an American musician. He is the drummer for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Prior to Fall Out Boy, Hurley played in several hardcore punk bands. He joined Fall Out Boy as the full-time drummer in 2003 and ...
of
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurle ...
(punk), Eyes To The Sky (hardcore),
Rico Love
Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...
(R&B),
Andrew 'The Butcher' Mrotek of
The Academy Is... (alt-rock), Showoff (pop-punk),
The Promise Ring
The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: '' 30° Everywhere'' ...
(indie),
Lights Out Asia (post-rock),
the Gufs
The Gufs are an American pop and rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band's latest album ''A Different Sea'' was released on October 17, 2006. Their first single from the album was "Beautiful Disaster", which was the #2 unsigned artist dow ...
(alt rock), Brief Candles (rock),
IshDARR
Ishmael 262 Ali (known professionally as IshDARR) is an American rapper, hip hop artist, and actor from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has released 2 EPs and 3 LPs. His most recent project, the mixtape ''Slow Down, KID'', was released in November 20 ...
(rap),
Decibully
Decibully was an indie rock band based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin that formed in 2001 and played their final show early in 2011.
History
Since 1992, vocalist and guitarist William Seidel and guitarist Ryan Weber had been playing in the same band ...
(indie), and
Reyna (synth-pop).
Sports
![Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center - Northeast view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Wisconsin_Entertainment_and_Sports_Center_-_Northeast_view.jpg)
Currently, Milwaukee's sports teams include:
The city currently has no teams in the
NFL or
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
, two of the
. Milwaukee supported the NFL's
Milwaukee Badgers
The Milwaukee Badgers was a professional American football team, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Mil ...
in the 1920s, and today the city is considered a home market for the NFL's
Green Bay Packers. The team split its home schedule between
Green Bay and Milwaukee from 1933 to 1994, with the majority of the Milwaukee games being played at
County Stadium
Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packer ...
. Former season ticketholders for the Milwaukee games continue to receive preference for one pre-season and the second and fifth regular season games at
Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing ...
each season, along with playoff games through a lottery under the "Gold Package" plan. The Packers' longtime
flagship station is Milwaukee-based
WTMJ AM 620.
Milwaukee has a rich history of involvement in professional and nonprofessional sports, since the 19th century.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
watched
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
in Milwaukee in 1849 when he attended a game between Chicago and Milwaukee. In 1854, the Milwaukee Cricket Club had 150 members.
Milwaukee was also the host city of the ''International Cycling Classic'', which included the men's and women's ''Superweek'' Pro Tour races, featuring professional and amateur cyclists and teams from across the U.S. and more than 20 foreign countries.
The city's two major professional sports teams are the Milwaukee Brewers of MLB and the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. The Milwaukee Bucks have won two NBA Championships, in 1971 and 2021.
Parks and recreation
![Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Mitchell_Park_Horticultural_Conservatory.jpg)
Milwaukee County is known for its well-developed
Parks of Milwaukee
Most parks in Milwaukee are owned and maintained by Milwaukee County as part of a county-wide system. However, some parks are administered by other entities, such as the state of Wisconsin, the city of Milwaukee, or neighborhood organizations.
Pa ...
park system. The "Grand Necklace of Parks", designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...
, designer of New York's Central Park, includes
Lake Park, River Park (now Riverside Park), and West Park (now
Washington Park). Milwaukee County Parks offer facilities for sunbathing, picnics, grilling,
disc golf, and ice skating.
Milwaukee has over 140 parks with over of parks and parkways. In its 2013 ParkScore ranking,
The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...
, a national land conservation organization, reported Milwaukee had the 19th best park system among the 50 most populous U.S. cities.
Parks and nature centers
Milwaukee's parks are home to several nature centers. The
Urban Ecology Center offers programming for adults and children from its three branches located in Riverside Park, Washington Park, and the
Menomonee Valley
The Menomonee Valley or Menomonee River Valley is a U-shaped land formation along the southern bend of the Menomonee River in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Because of its easy access to Lake Michigan and other waterways, the neighborhood has historically ...
(near Three Bridges Park). The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources operates a nature center at
Havenwoods State Forest. The city is also served by two nearby suburban nature centers.
Wehr Nature Center
Wehr Nature Center is a nature preserve located in Hales Corners, Wisconsin
Hales Corners is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,692 at the 2010 census. History
The land in the area that would eventu ...
is operated by Milwaukee County in
Whitnall Park
Whitnall Park is Milwaukee County, Wisconsin's largest park and it is located in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. The park was named for Charles B. Whitnall and planning for the park began in 1924. Major work in the park was completed during the Great ...
, located in
Franklin, Wisconsin. Admission is free, and parking costs $4 per vehicle. Th
Schlitz Audubon Nature Centerin
Bayside, Wisconsin
Bayside is a village in Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 4,482 at the 2020 census. Of this, 4,378 were in Milwaukee County, and only 104 were in Ozaukee County.
Geography
Bayside is located at ( ...
charges admittance fees for visitors.
The Monarch Trail, on the Milwaukee County Grounds in Wauwatosa, is a trail that highlights the fall migration of the
monarch butterflies
The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. ...
.
During the summer months,
Cathedral Park in Downtown Milwaukee hosts "Jazz in the Park" on Thursday nights. Nearby Pere Marquette Park hosts "River Rhythms" on Wednesday nights.
Public and farmers markets
![Milwaukee Wisconsin 7949](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Milwaukee_Wisconsin_7949.jpg)
Milwaukee Public Market, in the
Third Ward neighborhood, is an indoor market that sells produce, seafood, meats, cheeses, vegetables, candies, and flowers from local businesses.
Milwaukee County Farmers Markets, held in season, sell fresh produce, meats, cheeses, jams, jellies, preserves and syrups, and plants. Farmers markets also feature artists and craftspeople. Locations include: Aur Farmers Market, Brown Deer Farmers Market, Cudahy Farmers Market, East Town Farm Market, Enderis Park Farmers Market, Fondy Farmers Market, Mitchell Street Market, Riverwest Gardeners' Market, Silver Spring Farmers Market, South Milwaukee Farmers Market, South Shore Farmers Market, Uptown Farmers Market, Wauwatosa Farmers Market, West Allis Farmers Market, and Westown Market on the Park.
Government and politics
Milwaukee has a
mayor-council form of government. With the election of Mayor
John O. Norquist in 1988, the city adopted a cabinet form of government with the mayor appointing department heads not otherwise elected or appointed—notably the Fire and Police Chiefs. While this gave the mayor greater control of the city's day-to-day operations, the Common Council retains almost complete control over the city's finances and the mayor, with the exception of his proposed annual budget, cannot directly introduce legislation. The Common Council consists of 15 members, one from each district in the city.
Milwaukee has a history of giving long tenures to its mayors; from
Frank Zeidler
Frank Paul Zeidler (September 20, 1912 – July 7, 2006) was an American socialist politician and mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948, to April 18, 1960. Zeidler, a member of the Socialist Party of America, i ...
to
Tom Barrett, the city had only four elected mayors (and one acting) in a 73-year period. When 28-year incumbent
Henry Maier
Henry Walter Maier (February 7, 1918 – July 17, 1994) was an American politician and the longest-serving mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, holding office from 1960 to 1988. A Democrat, Maier was a powerful and controversial figure, presiding over ...
retired in 1988, he held the record for longest term of service for a city of Milwaukee's size, and when Barrett retired in 2021, he was the longest-serving mayor of any of the United States' 50 largest cities.
In addition to the election of a Mayor and Common Council on the city level, Milwaukee residents elect county representatives to the
Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, as well as a Milwaukee County Executive. The current
County Executive
A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county.
The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...
is
David Crowley.
Milwaukee has been a
Democratic stronghold for more than a century at the federal level. At the local level,
Socialists
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...
often won the mayorship and (for briefer periods) other city and county offices during much of the first sixty years of the 20th century. The city is split between seven
State Senate
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
districts, each of which is divided between three
state Assembly districts. All but four state legislators representing the city are Democrats; the four
Republicans—two in the State Assembly and two in the State Senate—represent outer portions of the city that are part of districts dominated by heavily Republican suburban counties. In 2008,
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
won Milwaukee with 77% of the vote.
Tim Carpenter
Timothy W. Carpenter (born February 24, 1960) is an American politician and Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing the 3rd Senate district since 2003. He previously served 18 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1985&n ...
(D),
Lena Taylor
Lena C. Taylor (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 4th district. She previously served in the Wisconsin Assembly, representing the 18th district from 2003 to 2005.
Tay ...
(D),
Robyn Vining (D),
LaTonya Johnson
LaTonya Johnson (born 17 August 1975) is a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for seven seasons. She also played overseas in Israel and Bulgaria.
College
Johnson played at Memphis from 1994 to 1998, where she was a ...
(D),
Chris Larson
Christopher J. Larson (born November 12, 1980) is an American Democratic politician and a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing southeast Milwaukee County since 2011. He was Senate Minority Leader from 2013 through 2014, and currently s ...
(D),
Alberta Darling
Alberta Darling (born April 28, 1944) is an American politician and former member of the Wisconsin State Senate. She represented Wisconsin's 8th State Senate district from 1993 through 2022 as a Republican. Her constituency included many of the ...
(R), and
Dave Craig (R) represent Milwaukee in the State Senate;
Daniel Riemer
Daniel G. Riemer (born December 10, 1986) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing central Milwaukee County since 2013.
Early life and education
Daniel Riemer was born in M ...
(D),
JoCasta Zamarripa
JoCasta Zamarripa (born March 8, 1976) is an American politician and former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. A Democrat, she represented the 8th assembly district for 10 years. She is now a member of the Milwaukee Common Council. Prior ...
(D),
Marisabel Cabrera
Marisabel Cabrera (born December 12, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Wisconsin. She serves in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the south side of Milwaukee. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Biograph ...
(D),
David Bowen (D),
Jason Fields
Jason M. Fields (born January 29, 1974) is an American politician, and a former stockbroker, financial advisor, and banker from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for six terms (2005–2013 & 201 ...
(D),
LaKeshia Myers
LaKeshia N. Myers (born May 21, 1984) is an American educator and politician. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the northwest corner of the city of Milwaukee. She was elected to her first term in the Assembly in Nove ...
(D),
Sara Rodriguez
Sara Rodriguez (born July 25, 1975) is an American registered nurse, health care executive, and Democratic politician. She is the 46th and incumbent lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, having been elected on a ticket with Governor Tony Evers in ...
(D),
Dale P. Kooyenga
Dale Kooyenga (born February 12, 1979) is an American C.P.A. and Republican politician from Waukesha County, Wisconsin. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate from 2019 through 2022, representing the 5th Senate district. He previously ...
(R),
Kalan Haywood (D),
David Crowley (D),
Evan Goyke
Evan Goyke (born November 24, 1982) is an American attorney and academic serving as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. He was first elected in 2012 as a Democrat, succeeding fellow Democrat Tamara Grigsby. His father is former state sena ...
(D),
Jonathan Brostoff
Jonathan Brostoff (born September 25, 1983) is an American Democratic legislator from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He represents the 3rd District of the Milwaukee Common Council, succeeding fellow Democrat Nik Kovac. Between 2015 and 2022, he represen ...
(D),
Christine Sinicki
Christine M. Sinicki (born March 28, 1960) is an American Democratic politician and a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly since 1999. She represents the 20th Assembly district, which comprises the cities of Cudahy and St. Francis, and so ...
(D),
Janel Brandtjen
Janel Brandtjen (born March 27, 1966) is an American businesswoman and far-right politician from Waukesha County, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 22nd Assembly district since January 2015.
Biograp ...
(R), and
Mike Kuglitsch
Mike Kuglitsch (born February 3, 1960) is an American consultant and Republican politician from Waukesha County, Wisconsin. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for six terms, representing the 84th district from 2011 through 2022.
Bi ...
(R) represent Milwaukee in the State Assembly.
Milwaukee makes up the overwhelming majority of
Wisconsin's 4th congressional district
Wisconsin's 4th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin, encompassing a part of Milwaukee County and including almost all of the city of Milwaukee (except the slivers of the c ...
. The district is heavily Democratic, with victory in the Democratic primary often being considered
tantamount to election
A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinati ...
. The district is currently represented by Democrat
Gwen Moore. A Republican has not represented a significant portion of Milwaukee in Congress since
Charles J. Kersten
Charles Joseph Kersten (May 26, 1902 – October 31, 1972) was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.'Wisconsin Blue Book 1954,' Biographical Sketch of Charles J. Kersten, pg. 17
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kersten graduated from Marquette Unive ...
lost his seat in the
5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to:
Europe
* District 5 (Zürich)
* District 5, Düsseldorf
* V District, Turku
* Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta
* Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...
in 1954 to Democrat
Henry S. Reuss
Henry Schoellkopf Reuss (February 22, 1912 – January 12, 2002) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.
Early life
Henry Schoellkopf Reuss was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the son of Gustav A. Reuss (pronounced ''Royce' ...
. The small portions of the city extending into Waukesha and Washington counties are part of the
5th District District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to:
Europe
* District 5 (Zürich)
* District 5, Düsseldorf
* V District, Turku
* Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta
* Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...
, represented by Republican
Scott L. Fitzgerald
Scott Lawrence Fitzgerald (born November 16, 1963) is an American politician and former newspaper publisher. A Republican, he represents in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district includes many of Milwaukee's northern and western suburb ...
.
Milwaukee's Mexican Consultate serves 65 counties in Wisconsin and the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...
.
Crime
In 2001 and 2007, Milwaukee ranked among the ten most dangerous large cities in the United States. Despite its improvement since then, Milwaukee still fares worse when comparing specific crime types to the national average (e.g., homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault)
The
Milwaukee Police Department
The Milwaukee Police Department is the police department organized under the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The department has a contingent of about 1,800 sworn officers when at full strength and is divided into seven districts. Jeffrey B. Norm ...
's Gang Unit was reactivated in 2004 after
Nannette Hegerty
Nannette Hegerty was Chief of the Milwaukee Police Department.
Early career
Hegerty first joined the police department in 1976. She later became the first female lieutenant and the first female captain in the department's history. In 1994, Hegert ...
was sworn in as chief. In 2006, 4,000 charges were brought against suspects through Milwaukee's Gang Unit. In 2013 there were 105 murders in Milwaukee and 87 homicides the following year. In 2015, 146 people were killed in the city. In 2018, Milwaukee was ranked the eighth most dangerous city in the US.
In 2020, Milwaukee recorded 189 homicides, exceeding the all-time homicide record of 174 which was set in 1993.
Poverty
, Milwaukee currently ranks as the second poorest U.S. city with over 500,000 residents, falling behind only
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
. In 2013, a Point-In-Time survey estimated 1,500 people were homeless on Milwaukee's streets each night. The city's homeless and poor are aided by several local nonprofits, including the
Milwaukee Rescue Mission
The Milwaukee Rescue Mission (MRM) provides meals, shelter, education and recovery services to struggling men, women and children. MRM's mission statement says: ''Sharing God's love by caring for those who are poor in body, mind and spirit, to s ...
.
Election results
Education
Primary and secondary education
Milwaukee Public Schools
Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is the largest school district in Wisconsin. As of the 2015–16 school year, MPS served 75,568 students in 154 schools and had 9,636 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. The Milwaukee Public Schools system i ...
(MPS) is the largest school district in Wisconsin and
thirty third in the nation. As of 2007, it had an enrollment of 89,912 students and as of 2006 employed 11,100 full-time and substitute teachers in 323 schools. Milwaukee Public Schools operate as
magnet school
In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...
s, with individualized specialty areas for interests in academics or the arts.
Washington High School,
Riverside University High School
Riverside University High School is a public high school located on the East Side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a college preparatory curriculum. It is a part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system.
History
Pre-1912
Starting in the early 18 ...
,
Rufus King High School
Rufus King International High School, or Rufus King, is a public magnet high school located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools district. The school is ranked the 1,658th best public high school in the ...
,
Ronald Wilson Reagan College Preparatory High School,
Samuel Morse Middle School for the Gifted and Talented,
Golda Meir School
The Golda Meir School (originally Fourth Street School) for gifted and talented students is a Milwaukee Public Schools district elementary, middle, and high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school offers classes for students in grades three th ...
,
Milwaukee High School of the Arts
Established in 1895, Milwaukee High School of the Arts (MHSA), formerly West Division Sr. High School, is a high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is a part of the Milwaukee Public Schools system. It specializes in preparation for ...
, and
Lynde & Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School (also known as Bradley Tech) is a high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, North America. Located in the Walker's Point neighborhood, Bradley Tech is the primary high school for t ...
are some of the magnet schools in Milwaukee. In 2007, 17 MPS high schools appeared on a national list of "dropout factories"—schools where fewer than 60% of freshmen graduate on time.
Milwaukee is also home to over two dozen private or parochial high schools, such as
Marquette University High School
Marquette University High School (MUHS) is a private, all-male, Jesuit, Roman Catholic school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), an ac ...
, and many private and
parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to:
* Parishes, in religion
** Parish churches, also called parochial churches
* Parochial schools, primary or secondary schools affiliated to a religious organisation
* Parochialism
Parochialism is the ...
middle and elementary schools. In 1990, Milwaukee became the first city in the United States to offer a
school voucher
A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...
program.
Of persons in Milwaukee aged 25 and above, 86.9% have a high school diploma, and 29.7% have a bachelor's degree or higher. (2012)
Higher education
Milwaukee area universities and colleges:
*
Alverno College
Alverno College is a private Roman Catholic women's college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
History
Chartered in 1887 as St. Joseph's Normal School, Alverno became Alverno Teachers College in 1936. It adopted its current name in 1946.
Academics
Alve ...
* The Art Institute of Wisconsin
*
Bryant and Stratton
Bryant & Stratton College (BSC) is a private for-profit college with campuses in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as an online campus. Founded in 1854, the college offers associate degree programs at all campuses and bachelor's ...
*
Cardinal Stritch University
, mottoeng = To value the better things
, established = 1937 ( years ago)
, type = Private university
, religious_affiliation = Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi (Roman Catholic)
, endowment ...
*
Carroll University
Carroll University is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Established in 1846, Carroll was Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning.
History
Prior to its estab ...
(
Waukesha)
*
Concordia University Wisconsin
Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) is a private Lutheran university in Mequon, Wisconsin. It is part of the eight-member Concordia University System operated by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS).
The university is a coeducational in ...
*
Herzing University
Herzing University is a private university with its headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and several locations throughout the United States. The university offers degrees in professions including nursing, technology, business, and healthcare.
H ...
*
Marquette University
Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...
*
Medical College of Wisconsin
The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) is a private medical school, pharmacy school, and graduate school of sciences headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school was established in 1893 and is the largest research center in eastern Wisconsin ...
(
Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa (; known informally as Tosa; originally Wau-wau-too-sa or Hart's Mill) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, and is a pa ...
)
*
Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee Area Technical College (or MATC) is a public two-year vocational-technical college based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. MATC offers day, evening, and weekend classes at campuses in downtown Milwaukee, Oak Creek, West Allis, and Mequon. ...
*
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
*
Milwaukee School of Engineering
The Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is a private university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The campus is in the List of neighborhoods of Milwaukee, East Town neighborhood of downtown Milwaukee. The school's enrollment of 2,820 includes 224 g ...
*
Mount Mary University
Mount Mary University is a private Roman Catholic women's university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The university was founded in 1913 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame[Nashotah House
Nashotah House is an Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically conservative seminaries i ...]
*
Saint Francis de Sales Seminary
Saint Francis de Sales Seminary is a seminary for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, located in the Milwaukee suburb of St. Francis, Wisconsin. Its main building, called Henni Hall, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...
*
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...
*
Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study
The Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study (WITS), also known as Yeshivas Ohr Yechezkel, is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Judaism, Jewish school for boys (''yeshiva'') in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and an affiliate of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim.
History
...
*
Wisconsin Lutheran College
Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and located on the border of Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. It has an enrollment of about 1,200 students and is accre ...
Media
![Witi tv tower shorewood wisconsin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Witi_tv_tower_shorewood_wisconsin.JPG)
Milwaukee's daily
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...
is the ''
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' which was formed when the morning paper the ''Milwaukee Sentinel'' merged with the afternoon paper ''Milwaukee Journal''. The city has two free distribution alternative publications, ''
Shepherd Express
The ''Shepherd Express'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
History
The paper originated in May 1982 as the ''Crazy Shepherd'', its name derived from a line in Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Footnotes to Howl” ...
'' and ''
Wisconsin Gazette
Wisconsin () is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 25th-largest state by total area and the List of U.S. states and territories by populatio ...
''. Other local newspapers, city guides and magazines with large distributions include ''
M Magazine
''M Magazine'' was a monthly print teen magazine and website. It was published by Bauer Publishing, the United States division of the German firm Bauer Verlagsgruppe. The first issue was released in January 2000.
Bauer Media announced in November ...
'', ''
Milwaukee Magazine'', ''The Bay View Compass'', ''Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service'', ''Milwaukee Independent'', ''
Riverwest Currents The ''Riverwest Currents'' is a monthly newspaper published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin since 2001 by owner/publisher Vince Bushell. It has sometimes used the slogan "The Community Voice of Milwaukee's Left Bank," which was coined in 2001 by Dan Knauss ...
'', ''The Milwaukee Courier'' and ''Milwaukee Community Journal''.
Urban Milwaukee
''Urban Milwaukee'' is an online daily that provides real drama, politics, arts and entertainment news about Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The site features approximately 5-10 articles a day focusing on city council hearings, dramatic reports, real-estat ...
and
OnMilwaukee.com
''OnMilwaukee'' is a digital media company and online magazine that provides lifestyle and culture news about Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The site features approximately 10-15 articles, blogs and briefs each day, focusing on dining, arts and entertainm ...
are online publications providing political and real-estate news as well as stories about cultural events and entertainment. The ''
UWM Post
The ''UWM Post'' is a student newspaper independently run by the students of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Published weekly in print from 1915 to 2012, it became independently operated in 1956.[University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...]
.
Milwaukee's major
network television
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
affiliates are
WTMJ 4 (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
),
WITI
Witiness Chimoio João Quembo (born 26 August 1996), known as Witi, is a Mozambican professional footballer who plays for Portuguese club C.D. Nacional as a winger.
Club career
Born in Beira, Witi began his career with Sporting Club da Be ...
6 (
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
),
WISN 12 (
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
),
WVTV
WVTV (channel 18) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with The CW and owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on Calumet Road in the Park Place office park near the I-41/ US 45 ...
18 (
CW),
WVTV-DT2
WCGV-TV (channel 24) was a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, which operated from 1980 to 2018. In its latter years, it was owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV; it had common ownership with ...
24 (
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
), and
WDJT
WDJT-TV (channel 58) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with CBS. It has been owned by Weigel Broadcasting since its inception (and is the company's only CBS affiliate), and is sister to Racine-licensed i ...
58 (
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
). Spanish-language programming is on
WTSJ-LD
WTSJ-LD, virtual channel 38 (UHF digital channel 26), is a low-power Azteca America- owned-and-operated television station licensed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings. WTSJ-LD's transmitter is located ...
38 (
Azteca America
Azteca is the Spanish word for Aztec. In English, Azteca or Aztecas may refer to:
Animals
* ''Azteca'' (ant), a genus of ants
* Azteca horse, a breed of horse
Games
* Azteca, a world in the online game of ''Wizard101''
Sport
* Aztecas de la U ...
) and
WYTU-LD
WYTU-LD (channel 63) is a low-power television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with the Spanish-language Telemundo network. Owned by Weigel Broadcasting (as the company's only Telemundo affiliate), it is sister to CBS ...
63 (
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...
). Milwaukee's
public broadcasting stations are
WMVS 10 and
WMVT 36.
Other television stations in the Milwaukee market include
WMKE-CD
WMKE-CD, virtual channel 21 ( UHF digital channel 36), is a low-powered, Class A television station licensed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Owned by CNZ Communications, it is a sister station to Fond du Lac-licensed Cozi TV affil ...
7 (
Quest),
WVCY 30 (
FN),
WBME-CD
WBME-CD, virtual channel 41 (UHF digital channel 17), is a low-power, Class A MeTV owned-and-operated television station licensed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Owned by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting, it is sister to CBS affi ...
41 (
Me-TV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
),
WMLW-TV
WMLW-TV (channel 49) is an independent television station licensed to Racine, Wisconsin, United States, serving the Milwaukee area. It is owned by Weigel Broadcasting alongside CBS affiliate WDJT-TV (channel 58) and two low-power stations: T ...
49 (
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
),
WWRS 52 (
TBN),
Sportsman Channel
Sportsman Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Outdoor Sportsman Group subsidiary of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. The channel is dedicated to programming about outdoor sports, incl ...
, and
WPXE
WPXE-TV (channel 55) is a television station licensed to Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Milwaukee area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company alongs ...
55 (
ION
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
)
There are numerous
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
stations throughout Milwaukee and the surrounding area.
There are two cable
PEG channels in Milwaukee: channels 13 and 25.
Until 2015,
Journal Communications
Journal Media Group (formerly Journal Communications) was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based newspaper publishing company. The company's roots were first established in 1882 as the owner of its namesake, the ''Milwaukee Journal'', and expanded into br ...
(a
NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...
-traded corporation) published the ''Journal Sentinel'' and well over a dozen local weekly newspapers in the metropolitan area. At that time, Journal was split into the Journal Media Group for publishing, while the television and radio stations went to the
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
(Journal founded WTMJ-TV, along with
WTMJ and
WKTI
WKTI (94.5 FM) – branded 94.5 ESPN Milwaukee – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKTI is an affiliate for ESPN Radio. WKTI is known ...
). As a result, it was criticized for having a near-
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
in local news coverage. Journal Media Group merged with
Gannett in 2017, while Scripps sold the radio stations in 2018 to
Good Karma Brands
Good Karma Brands, LLC (GKB, formerly Good Karma Broadcasting) is an American conglomerate. Based in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, it has interests in radio broadcasting, sports marketing, retail, and real estate. GKB was founded in 1997 by Craig Karma ...
, effectively splitting off the monopoly completely.
Infrastructure
Health care
Milwaukee's health care industry includes several health systems. The Milwaukee Regional Medical Complex, between 8700 and 9200 West Wisconsin Avenue, is on the Milwaukee County grounds. This area includes the
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin,
Froedtert Hospital
Froedtert Hospital , located in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, is a teaching hospital and a Level I adult trauma center, one of two such facilities in Wisconsin. Froedtert is the primary teaching affiliate of the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), where ...
, BloodCenter of Wisconsin, the
Ronald McDonald House, Curative Rehabilitation, and the
Medical College of Wisconsin
The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) is a private medical school, pharmacy school, and graduate school of sciences headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school was established in 1893 and is the largest research center in eastern Wisconsin ...
.
Aurora Health Care
Advocate Aurora Health (AAH) is a non-profit health care system with dual headquarters located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Downers Grove, Illinois. As of 2021, the AAH system has 26 hospitals and more than 500 sites of care, with 75,000 em ...
includes
St. Luke's Medical Center, Aurora Sinai Medical Center, Aurora West Allis Medical Center, and St. Luke's SouthShore.
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare is a not-for-profit, Catholic health care system and housing organization sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, of Wheaton, Illinois. The system became a subsidiary of ...
includes St. Joseph's Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, The Wisconsin Heart Hospital, Elmbrook Memorial (Brookfield), and other outpatient clinics in the Milwaukee area. Columbia St. Mary's Hospital is on Milwaukee's lakeshore and has established affiliations with Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin. The Medical College of Wisconsin is one of two medical schools in Wisconsin and the only one in Milwaukee.
Other health care non-profit organizations in Milwaukee include national headquarters of the
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
Founded in 1943, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) is a professional medical membership organization of nearly 6,800 allergist/ immunologists and related professionals around the world with advanced training and experie ...
and the Endometriosis Association.
Transportation
Airports
![Timmerman Field (MWC)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Timmerman_Field_%28MWC%29.JPG)
Milwaukee has two airports:
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is a civil–military airport south of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States., effective May 21, 2020. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Ai ...
(KMKE) on the southern edge of the city, which handles the region's commercial traffic, and
Lawrence J. Timmerman Airport
Lawrence J. Timmerman Airport , known locally as Timmerman Field, is an airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, owned by Milwaukee County. Located 5 miles (8 km) northwest of the city center, it is used ma ...
(KMWC), known locally as Timmerman Field, on the northwest side along Appleton Avenue.
Mitchell is served by twelve airlines,
which offer roughly 240 daily departures and 245 daily arrivals. Approximately 90 cities are served nonstop or direct from Mitchell International. It is the largest airport in Wisconsin and the 34th largest in the nation.
The airport terminal is open 24 hours a day. Since 2005, Mitchell International Airport has been connected by the Amtrak Hiawatha train service, which provides airport access via train to Chicago and downtown Milwaukee.
Southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
,
Frontier Airlines,
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
,
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. ,
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled an ...
, and
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...
are among the carriers using Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport gates.
In July 2015, it served 610,271 passengers.
Intercity rail and bus
![Milwaukee Intermodal Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Milwaukee_Intermodal_Station.jpg)
Milwaukee's
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
station was renovated in 2007 to create
Milwaukee Intermodal Station
Milwaukee Intermodal Station is the main intercity bus and train station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, located downtown. The station is served by Amtrak's ''Empire Builder'' and ''Hiawatha Service'' as well as bus companies Coach USA - Wisconsin Coac ...
near downtown Milwaukee and the Third Ward to provide Amtrak riders access to
Greyhound Lines,
Jefferson Lines
Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in the United States. Their current operations expands over 14 states throughout the Midwest.
Background
The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Mi ...
, 24 hour
Megabus Megabus may refer to:
*Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro.
*Megabus (North America)
Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...
service, and other intercity bus operators. The station itself replaces the previous main railway station,
Everett Street Depot
Everett Street Station, also called Milwaukee Union Station, was a railway station located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, built by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), commonly known as the Milwaukee Road. The stati ...
. Milwaukee is served by Amtrak's ''
Hiawatha Service
The ''Hiawatha Service'', or simply ''Hiawatha'', is an 86-mile (138 km) train route operated by Amtrak on the western shore of Lake Michigan between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, the name was historically applied to ...
'' passenger train up to seven times daily between Milwaukee Intermodal Station and
Chicago Union Station
Chicago Union Station is an intercity and commuter rail terminal located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The station is Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest. While serving long-distance passenger trains, it is also ...
, including a stop at the
Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station
Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station is an Amtrak railway station which opened for service on January 18, 2005. It is located at 5601 South 6th Street, just south of Wisconsin Highway 119, near the western edge of Milwaukee Mitchell International ...
,
Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and
Glenview, Illinois
Glenview is an incorporated village located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, approximately 15 miles northwest of the Chicago Loop. Per the 2020 census, the population was 48,705. The current Village President is Michael Jenny.
Geography ...
. Amtrak's ''
Empire Builder
The ''Empire Builder'' is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northe ...
'' stops at Milwaukee Intermodal Station and connects to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...
, with several stops along the way.
In 2010, $800 million in federal funds were allocated to the creation of high-speed rail links from Milwaukee to Chicago and
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
, but the funds were rejected by the then newly elected
Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker. and the trains were sold to
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. In 2016,
WisDOT
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin responsible for planning, building and maintaining the state's highways. It is also responsible for planning transportation in the state ...
and
IDOT
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel ...
conducted studies to upgrade service on the Amtrak ''Hiawatha'' line from seven to ten times daily between downtown Milwaukee and downtown Chicago. As a result of the 2021 infrastructure bill and the "Amtrak Connects Us" initiative, the Milwaukee Intermodal Station is again projected to serve passenger trains to Madison and Green Bay, with the goal of the new routes being operational by 2035.
Transit
*
![2 MCTS buses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/2_MCTS_buses.jpg)
Bus: The
Milwaukee County Transit System
The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is the largest transit agency in Wisconsin, and is the primary transit provider for Milwaukee County. It ranks among the top 50 transit agencies in the United States for total passenger trips. Milwaukee ...
provides bus services within Milwaukee County. The
Badger Bus
The Badger Bus is an interurban bus line operated between Madison, Wisconsin and Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Badger Coaches, Inc. It also offers charters and tours, and operates school buses under contract.
History
Founded in 1920 by Herman E. Mei ...
station in downtown Milwaukee provides bus service between Milwaukee and Madison. An East/West
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line between downtown and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center is also currently under construction.
*
![The HOP MKE Streetcar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/The_HOP_MKE_Streetcar.jpg)
Streetcar: A modern
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...
system,
The Hop, connects Milwaukee Intermodal Station, downtown Milwaukee, and Ogden Avenue on the city's
Lower East Side. The line began service November 2, 2018 with future plans for extensions the lakefront and surrounding neighborhoods.
* Commuter rail: Milwaukee currently has no commuter rail system. Previous efforts to develop one proposed a 0.5% sales tax in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
,
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...
and
Kenosha
Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...
counties to fund an expansion of
Metra
Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...
's
Union Pacific / North Line
The Union Pacific North Line (UP-N) is a Metra line in the Chicago metropolitan area. It runs between Ogilvie Transportation Center and Kenosha, Wisconsin; however, most trains terminate in Waukegan, Illinois. Although Metra owns the rolling stoc ...
from
Kenosha
Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...
to Milwaukee Intermodal Station. However, Wisconsin repealed the legislation authorizing such efforts in June 2011, and the project is now defunct.
Highways
![ISS045-E-110180 reversed from original Milwaukee at night](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/ISS045-E-110180_reversed_from_original_Milwaukee_at_night.jpg)
Three of Wisconsin's
Interstate highways intersect in Milwaukee.
Interstate 94 (I-94) comes north from Chicago to enter Milwaukee and continues west to
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
. The stretch of I-94 from Seven Mile Road to the
Marquette Interchange in Downtown Milwaukee is known as the North-South Freeway. I-94 from downtown Milwaukee west to Wisconsin 16 is known as the East-West Freeway.
I-43
Interstate 43 (I-43) is a Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/ I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highwa ...
enters Milwaukee from
Beloit in the southwest and continues north along Lake Michigan to
Green Bay via
Sheboygan and
Manitowoc. I-43 southwest of I-41/I-894/US 41/US 45
Hale Interchange
The Hale Interchange is the major interchange between Interstate 41 (I-41), I-43, I-894, US Highway 41 (US 41), and US 45 in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, southwest suburb of Greenfield, though it takes it name from the nearby comm ...
is known as the Rock Freeway. I-43 is cosigned with I-894 East and I-41/US 41 South to I-94 is known as the Airport Freeway. At I-94, I-43 follows I-94 to the Marquette Interchange. I-43 continues north known as the North-South Freeway to Wisconsin Highway 57 near Port Washington.
Approved in 2015,
Interstate 41
Interstate 41 (I-41) is a north–south Interstate Highway connecting the interchange of I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41), located south of the Wisconsin–Illinois border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway in metropolitan C ...
follows I-94 north from the state line before turning west at the
Mitchell Interchange to the Hale Interchange and then north to Green Bay via
Fond du Lac,
Oshkosh and
Appleton. I-41/US 41/US 45 from the Hale Interchange to Wisconsin Hwy 145 is known as the Zoo Freeway.
Milwaukee has two auxiliary Interstate Highways,
I-894 and
I-794. I-894 bypasses downtown Milwaukee on the west and south sides of the city from the
Zoo Interchange
The Zoo Interchange is a freeway interchange on the west side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It forms the junction of Interstate 94 (I-94, East–West Freeway), I-894, I-41, US Highway 41 (US 41) and US 45 (Zoo Freeway). It is the ...
to the Mitchell Interchange. I-894 is part of the Zoo Freeway and the Airport Freeway. I-794 extends east from the Marquette Interchange to Lake Michigan before turning south over the
Hoan Bridge
The Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge is a tied-arch bridge that connects Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to the Lake Freeway across the Milwaukee River inlet. Originally called the Harbor Bridge, it was renamed after Daniel Hoan, one ...
toward Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, turning into
Highway 794 along the way. This is known as the Lake Freeway.
Milwaukee is also served by three
US Highways.
U.S. Highway 18 (US 18) provides a link from downtown to points west heading to
Waukesha along Wells Street, 17th/16th Streets, Highland Avenue, 35th Street, Wisconsin Avenue, and Blue Mound Road.
US 41 and
US 45 both provide north–south freeway transportation on the western side of the city. The freeway system in Milwaukee carries roughly 25% of all travel in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee County is also served by several
Wisconsin highways. These include the following:
*
Hwy. 24 (Forest Home Avenue)
*
Hwy. 32 (Chicago Avenue, College Avenue, S. Lake Drive, Howard Avenue, Kinnickinnic Avenue, 1st Street, Pittsburgh Avenue, Milwaukee Street, State Street, Prospect Avenue NB/Farwell Avenue SB, Bradford Avenue, N. Lake Drive, Brown Deer Road)
*
Hwy. 36 (Loomis Road)
*
Hwy. 38 (Howell Avenue, Chase Avenue, 6th Street)
*
Hwy. 57 (27th Street, Highland Avenue, 20th Street, Capitol Drive, Green Bay Avenue)
*
Hwy. 59 (Greenfield Avenue/National Avenue)
*
Hwy. 100 (Ryan Road, Lovers Lane Road, 108th Street, Mayfair Road, Brown Deer Road)
*
Hwy. 119 (Airport Spur)
*
Hwy. 145 (Fond du Lac Ave, Fond du Lac Freeway)
*
Hwy. 175 (Appleton Avenue, Lisbon Avenue, Stadium Freeway)
*
Hwy 181 (84th Street, Glenview Avenue, Wauwatosa Avenue, 76th Street)
*
Hwy. 190 (Capitol Drive)
*
Hwy. 241 (27th Street)
* Wisconsin Highway 794, Hwy. 794 (Lake Parkway)
In 2010, the Milwaukee area was ranked the 4th best city for commuters by Forbes (magazine), ''Forbes''.
Water
![Lake express terminal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Lake_express_terminal.jpg)
Milwaukee's main port, Port of Milwaukee, handled 2.4 million metric tons of cargo through its municipal port in 2014. Steel and salt are handled at the port.
Milwaukee connects with Muskegon, Michigan, through the Lake Express high-speed automobile, auto and passenger ferry. The Lake Express travels across Lake Michigan from late spring to the fall of each year.
Bicycle
![Oak leaf trail milwaukee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Oak_leaf_trail_milwaukee.jpg)
Milwaukee has over of bicycle lanes and trails, most of which run alongside or near its rivers and Lake Michigan. The Oak Leaf Trail, a multi-use recreational trail, provides bicycle trails throughout the city and county. Still pending are the creation of bicycle lanes along major commuting routes, such as the Hoan Bridge connector between downtown and the suburbs to the south. The city has also identified over of streets on which bike lanes will fit. It has created a plan labeling of those as high priority for receiving bike lanes. As part of the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force's mission to "make Milwaukee more bicycle and pedestrian friendly", over 700 bike racks have been installed throughout the city. The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin holds an annual Bike to Work Week. The event, held in May each year, has frequently featured a commuter race between a car, a bus, and a bike; and also a morning ride into work with the mayor. In 2006, Milwaukee obtained bronze-level status from the League of American Bicyclists, a rarity for a city its size.
In 2009, the
Milwaukee County Transit System
The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is the largest transit agency in Wisconsin, and is the primary transit provider for Milwaukee County. It ranks among the top 50 transit agencies in the United States for total passenger trips. Milwaukee ...
began installing bicycle racks to the front of county buses. This "Environmental movement, green" effort was part of a settlement of an asbestos lawsuit filed by the state against the county in 2006. The lawsuit cites the release of asbestos into the environment when the Milwaukee County Courthouse, Courthouse Annex was demolished.
In August 2014, Milwaukee debuted a bicycle sharing system called Bublr Bikes, which is a partnership between the City of Milwaukee and a local non-profit, Midwest Bike Share (dba Bublr Bikes). As of September 2016, the system operates 39 stations throughout downtown, the
East Side, and the UW-Milwaukee campus area and near downtown neighborhoods. The City of Milwaukee installed another ten Bublr Bikes stations in October 2016, and the adjacent suburb of
Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa (; known informally as Tosa; originally Wau-wau-too-sa or Hart's Mill) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, and is a pa ...
installed eight stations in September 2016, which will bring the system size to 58 stations by the end of 2016. More stations are scheduled for installation in the Village of
Shorewood and the City of
West Allis
West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census.
History
The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...
in 2017. Future system expansion in the City of Milwaukee is also expected as the City was awarded a second federal Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) program grant ($1.9 million) to add more stations starting in 2018.
Walkability
A 2015 study by
Walk Score
Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin, provides walkability analysis and apartment search tools. Its flagship product is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the United States, U ...
ranked Milwaukee as the 15th most walkable out of the 50 largest U.S. cities. As a whole, the city has a score of 62 out of 100. However, several of the more densely populated neighborhoods have much higher scores: Juneautown has a score of 95; the
Lower East Side has a score of 91; Yankee Hill scored 91; and the Marquette and Murray Hill neighborhoods both scored 89 each. Those ratings range from "A Walker's Paradise" to "Very Walkable."
Modal characteristics
According to the 2016
American Community Survey, 71% of working city of Milwaukee residents commuted by driving alone, 10.4% carpooled, 8.2% used public transportation, and 4.9% walked. About 2% used all other forms of transportation, including taxicab, motorcycle, and bicycle. About 3.4% of working city of Milwaukee residents worked at home. In 2015, 17.9% of city of Milwaukee households were without a car, which increased to 18.7% in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Milwaukee averaged 1.3 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 per household.
City development
On February 10, 2015, a streetcar connecting the Milwaukee Intermodal Station with the city's
Lower East Side was approved by the Common Council, bringing decades of sometimes acrimonious debate to a pause. On a 9–6 vote, the council approved a measure that established the project's $124 million capital budget, its estimated $3.2 million operating and maintenance budget and its route, which includes a lakefront spur connecting the line to the proposed $122 million, 44-story Couture. Construction on the Milwaukee Streetcar began March 2017, with initial operation by mid-2018.
The Lakefront service is expected to start operation by 2019.
Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons stands tall and has 32 stories, making it the second tallest building in Milwaukee.
Fiserv Forum
Fiserv Forum (stylized as fiserv.forum) () is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the home of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball tea ...
, a new multipurpose arena at 1111 Vel R. Phillips Avenue, has been built to accommodate the Milwaukee Bucks and Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball, Marquette Golden Eagles, as well as college and professional ice hockey games. Construction on the $524 million project began in November 2015 and opened to the public on August 26, 2018. The arena is intended to be the focal point of a "live block" zone that includes public space surrounded by both commercial and residential developments. The arena has a transparent facade and a curved roof and side that is meant to evoke the water forms of nearby Lake Michigan and the
Milwaukee River
The Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 Once a locus of industry, the river is now the c ...
.
In popular culture
* The American sitcom ''Happy Days'' was set in Milwaukee and ran for 11 seasons from 1974 to 1984, becoming one of the most successful sitcoms in American television history. It presented an idealized vision of life in the 1950s and early-1960s
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
.
* The American sitcom television series, ''Laverne & Shirley'', that played for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983, followed the lives of Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney, two friends and roommates who work as bottle-cappers in the fictitious Shotz Brewery in late 1950s Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
* The 2004 sports comedy film, ''Mr. 3000,'' takes place in Milwaukee and features actor Bernie Mac as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.
* In the 1992 movie, Wayne's World (film), Wayne's World, the two main characters, Wayne and Garth, meet rock star Alice Cooper after a show in Milwaukee. Cooper engages in a discussion with them and his band about Milwaukee and where the city's name comes from.
* The 2011 hit comedy film ''Bridesmaids'' starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Rebel Wilson had multiple scenes set in Milwaukee.
Notable people
Sister cities
Milwaukee's sister cities are:
* Bomet, Kenya
* Daegu, South Korea
* Galway, Ireland
* Irpin, Ukraine
* King Cetshwayo District Municipality, King Cetshwayo, South Africa
* Medan, Indonesia
* Tarime District, Tanzania
* Zadar, Croatia
Friendship cities
* Ningbo, China
See also
* 1947 Wisconsin earthquake
* Great Lakes megalopolis
* Flag of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
* Seal of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Notes
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Greater Milwaukee Convention BureauMetropolitan Milwaukee Association of CommerceMilwaukee featured on NPR's State of the Re:Union]
* Sanborn fire insurance maps: 189
vol 1vol 2
{{Authority control
Milwaukee,
1818 establishments in Michigan Territory
Cities in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Cities in Washington County, Wisconsin
Cities in Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Cities in Wisconsin
County seats in Wisconsin
German-American history
Inland port cities and towns in Wisconsin
Wisconsin populated places on Lake Michigan
Populated places established in 1818