Milwaukee is the largest
city in Wisconsin
and 23rd most
populous in the United
States
. It is the county
seat of Milwaukee County
and is located on the southwestern shore of
Lake
Michigan
. Its
estimated 2008 population was 604,477. Milwaukee is the main
cultural and economic center of the
Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha
Metropolitan Area with a population of 1,739,497 as of 2007.
Milwaukee is also the regional center of the seven county Greater
Milwaukee Area, with an estimated population of 2,014,032 as of
2008.
The first Europeans to pass through the area were French
missionaries and
fur traders. In 1818, the
French-Canadian explorer
Solomon Juneau settled in the area, and in
1846 Juneau's town combined with two neighboring towns to
incorporate as the City of Milwaukee. Large numbers of
German and other immigrants helped increase
the city's population during the 1840s and the following
decades.
Once known almost exclusively as a
brewing
and
manufacturing powerhouse,
Milwaukee has taken steps in recent years to reshape its image.
In the
past decade, major new additions to the city have included the
Milwaukee Riverwalk, the
Midwest Airlines
Center
, Miller Park
, an internationally renowned addition to the
Milwaukee Art
Museum
, and Pier Wisconsin
, as well as major renovations to the Milwaukee Auditorium
. In addition, many new skyscrapers, condos,
lofts, and apartments have been constructed in
neighborhoods on and near the
lakefront and riverbanks.
History
The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by the
Menominee,
Fox,
Mascouten,
Sauk,
Potawatomi,
Ojibwe
(all Algic/Algonquian peoples) and
Ho-Chunk
(a Siouan people)
Native American
tribes. French missionaries and traders first passed through the
area in the late 17th and 18th centuries. The word "Milwaukee"
comes from an
Algonquian word
Millioke which means "Good/Beautiful/Pleasant Land",
Potawatomi language
minwaking, or
Ojibwe
language ominowakiing, "Gathering place [by the
water]". Early explorers called the Milwaukee River and surrounding
lands various names: Melleorki, Milwacky, Mahn-a-waukie, Milwarck,
and Milwaucki. For many years, printed records gave the name as
"Milwaukie". One story of Milwaukee's name says,
- "[O]ne day during the thirties of the last century [1800s]
a newspaper calmly changed the name to Milwaukee, and Milwaukee it
has remained until this day."
The
spelling "Milwaukie" lives on in Milwaukie, Oregon
, named after the Wisconsin city in 1847, before the
current spelling was universally accepted.
Milwaukee has three "
founding
fathers", of whom
French
Canadian Solomon Juneau was first to arrive in the area, in
1818. The Juneaus founded the town called Juneau's Side, or
Juneautown, that began attracting more settlers. However,
Byron Kilbourn was Juneau's equivalent on the
west side of the
Milwaukee River. In
competition with Juneau, he established Kilbourntown west of the
Milwaukee River, and made sure the streets 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 that the east
side of the river was uninhabited and thus undesirable. The third
prominent builder 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.
By the
1840s, the three towns had grown quite
a bit, along with their rivalries. There were some intense battles
between the towns, mainly Juneautown and Kilbourntown, which
culminated with the
Milwaukee
Bridge War of
1845. Following the Bridge
War, it was decided the best course of action was to officially
unite the towns. So, on January 31, 1846, they combined to
incorporate as the City of Milwaukee and elected
Solomon Juneau as Milwaukee's first
mayor.
German immigration
Drawing of Milwaukee in 1854
A great number of
German immigrants
increased the city's population during the 1840s, and continued to
migrate to the area during the following decades. Milwaukee has
been called the "Deutsches Athen" (German Athens), and into the
twentieth century, there were more German speakers and
German-language newspapers than there were
English speakers and English-language
newspapers in the city. The German heritage and influence in the
Milwaukee area is widespread. To this day, the
Greater Milwaukee phone book includes more
than 40 pages of Schmitts or Schmidts, far more than the pages of
Smiths.
During the
middle and late 19th century, Wisconsin and the Milwaukee area became the final destination
of many German immigrants fleeing the
Revolution of
1848 in the various small German
states and
Austria
.
In
Wisconsin, they found the inexpensive land and the freedoms
they sought. Over the next ten years over a million people
left Germany and settled
in the United States. Some were the intellectual leaders of
this rebellion, but many were impoverished
Germans who had lost confidence in the government's
ability to solve the country's economic problems.
Others left because
they feared constant political turmoil in Germany.
One
prosperous innkeeper wrote after arriving in Wisconsin: "I would
prefer the civilized, cultured, Germany to America
if it were still in its former orderly condition, but as it has
turned out recently, and with the threatening prospect for the
future of religion and politics, I prefer America. Here I
can live a more quiet, and undisturbed life."
One journalist
commented in the Houston Post that "Germany seems to have
lost all of her foreign possessions with the exception of
Milwaukee, St.
Louis
and Cincinnati
."
The Poles
Although the German presence in Milwaukee after the Civil War
remained strong, other groups made their way to the city. Foremost
among these were Polish immigrants. The Poles had many reasons for
leaving their homeland, mainly poverty and political oppression by
Germany (many immigrants came from the German part of Poland).
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.
St. Stanislaus Catholic
Church
and the surrounding neighborhood was the center of
Polish life in Milwaukee. St. Stanislaus was the first
Polish church in urban America. As the Polish community surrounding
St. Stanislaus continued to grow, Mitchell Street became known as
the "Polish Grand Avenue".
As Mitchell Street grew denser, the Polish
population started moving south to the Lincoln Village
neighborhood, home to the Basilica of St. Josaphat
. Other Polish communities started on the
east side of Milwaukee and Jones Island, a major commercial fishing
center settled mostly by Poles from the Baltic Coast. Today, St.
Stanislaus is staffed by the
Institute of
Christ the King Sovereign Priest, which intends to restore the
historic edifice.
There were about 30,000 Poles in Milwaukee by the late 1880s
compared with over 50,000 Germans—a considerable number, placing
the group in second place among the ethnic immigrant
communities.
Milwaukee
has the third largest Polish population in the U.S. at 57,485
(9.6%), behind New York
City
213,447 (2.7%) and Chicago
210,421 (7.3%). The city experienced a major
increase in its Polish population during the last 10 years. The
city also holds America's largest celebration of
Polish culture and
cuisine at
Polish
Fest.
Other immigrant groups from Europe
In addition to the Germans and Poles, Milwaukee received large
influxes of other
European immigrants from
Lithuania,
Italy,
Ireland, and
Bohemia, as well as many
Jews from
Central and
Eastern
Europe.
By 1910, Milwaukee shared the distinction
with New York
City of having the largest percentage of foreign-born
residents in the United States. Milwaukee also has a very
large Serbian population with many Serbian restaurants and Serbian
churches along with a American Serb Hall. The American Serb Hall in
Milwaukee is known for it's Friday fish fry's and popular events,
many U.S. presidents have visited Milwaukee's Serb Hall in the
past.
African-American migration
Also during this time, a small but burgeoning community of
African Americans who emigrated from the
south formed a community that would come to be known as
Bronzeville. As
industry boomed, the African-American influence grew in
Milwaukee.
Socialism
During the first half of the twentieth century, Milwaukee was the
hub of the
socialist movement in the
United States. Milwaukee elected three socialist mayors during this
time:
Emil Seidel (1910-1912),
Daniel Hoan (1916-1940), and
Frank Zeidler (1948-1960). It remains the only
major city in the country to have done so. Often referred to as
"
Sewer Socialists", the Milwaukee
socialists were characterized by their practical approach to
government and labor.
Historic neighborhoods
The historic Third Ward
In 1892,
Whitefish
Bay
, South Milwaukee
, and Wauwatosa
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
(1902) and West Milwaukee
(1906) were added, which completed the first
generation of "inner-ring" suburbs.
In the
1920s Chicago gangster activity came north to Milwaukee during
the Prohibition era.
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.
With the large influx of immigrants, Milwaukee became one of the 15
largest cities in the nation, and by the mid-1960s, its population
reached nearly 750,000. Starting in the late 1960s, however,
Milwaukee, like many cities in the "
rust
belt," saw its population start to decline as a result of
various factors, including the loss of
blue
collar jobs and the phenomenon of "
white flight."
Nevertheless, in recent years 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,
Lincoln
Village, the
East Side, and
more recently Walker's Point and
Bay
View, along with attracting new businesses to its downtown
area. The city continues to plan for revitalization through various
projects.
Milwaukee's rich European history is evident today. Largely through
its efforts to preserve its history, in 2006 Milwaukee was named
one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by the
National Trust for
Historic Preservation.
In 2007, the Census Bureau released revised population numbers for
Milwaukee that showed the city gained population between 2000 and
2006, making this the first period of population growth since the
1960s.
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.
Geography
Aerial view of downtown Milwaukee
Milwaukee
lies along the shores and bluffs of Lake Michigan at the confluence of three rivers: the Menomonee, the Kinnickinnic, and the
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
(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 city has a total area of
251.69 km² (96.9 square miles). 248.8 km² (96.1 square
miles) of it is land, and 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²) of
it is water. The total area is 0.88% water.
Cityscape
Panoramic view of Downtown Milwaukee
at night, grid system visible
The city runs largely on the grid system, although in the far
northwest and southwest corners of the city, the grid pattern gives
way to a more suburban-style streetscape. 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
in Ozaukee County
, and by some Waukesha County
communities.
Milwaukee
is crossed by Interstate 43 and
Interstate 94, which come together
downtown at the Marquette Interchange
. Interstate 894
bypass 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
, 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
flats. These are two-
family home 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 apartment unit. Since
Polish-American 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.
Climate
Milwaukee's location in the
Great Lakes Region means
that it often has rapidly changing weather. The warmest month of
the year is July, when the average high temperature is 82 °F (28
°C), with overnight low temperatures averaging 66 °F (19 °C);
January is the coldest month, with high temperatures averaging 27
°F (-3 °C), with the overnight low temperatures around 13 °F (-11
°C).
Of
the 50 largest cities in the United States, Milwaukee has the
second-coldest average annual temperature, next to that of Minneapolis
.
Milwaukee's proximity to Lake Michigan causes a convection current
to form around mid-afternoon in light wind regimes, resulting in
the so-called "lake breeze", a smaller scale version of the more
common
sea breeze. The lake breeze is
most common between the months of March and June. This onshore flow
causes temperatures to remain milder near the lake compared to
inland locations.
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 to be reached during the late evening.
The lake breeze is not a daily occurrence and will not form if
southwest to northwest winds generally exceed . The lake also acts
to moderate cold air outbreaks along the lakeshore during winter
months.
Despite Lake Michigan, overnight lows in downtown Milwaukee are
often much warmer than suburban locations because of the
urban heat island effect. Also,
more snow falls in Milwaukee than surrounding areas, because of
periodic episodes of
lake effect
snow. Onshore winds cause higher daytime
relative humidity levels in Milwaukee as
compared to other cities at the same latitude.
Milwaukee's all-time record high temperature is 105 °F (41 °C) set
on July 24, 1934. The coldest temperature ever experienced by the
city was -26 °F (-32 °C) on both January 17, 1982 and February 4,
1996. The 1982 event, also known as
Cold
Sunday, featured temperatures as low as -40 °F (-40 °C) in some
of the
suburbs as little as 10 miles
(16 km) to the north of Milwaukee.
Workers spread salt manually on
ice
The wettest month is August, because of frequent
thunderstorms. These can at times be dangerous
and damaging, bringing
hail and high winds. In
rare instances, it can bring a
tornado to
the more inland parts of the city. 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.
Snow commonly falls in the city
from early November until the middle of March, although it has been
recorded as early as September 23, and as late as May 31. The city
receives an average of 47.0 inches (119 cm) of snow in
winter, but this number is highly variable.
In 2000, 49.5 inches (126 cm) of snow fell solely in the
month of December.
Demographics
Population
As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 596,974. Its
estimated 2008 population was 604,447. As of 2000, there were
232,188 households, and 135,133 families residing in the city. The
population density is 2,399.5/km²
(6,214.3 per square mile). There are 249,225 housing units at an
average density of 1,001.7/km² (2,594.4 per square mile).
There are 232,188 households, of which 30.5% have children under
the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% are
married couples living together, 21.1% have a
female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% are
non-families. 33.5% of all households are made up of individuals
and 9.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older.
The average household size is 2.50 and the average family size is
3.25.
According to the 2000 Census, there were at least 1,408 same-sex
households in Milwaukee which accounts for 0.6% of all households
in the city.
Although this number is slightly lower than
other cities in the region such as Chicago and Minneapolis, Milwaukee continues to be noted for its generally
accepting attitudes towards the LGBT
community. As a result, many gay-friendly communities have
developed in neighborhoods such as
Walker's Point,
Bay View,
Historic Third Ward,
Riverwest, and the
East Side. In 2001, Milwaukee
was named the #1 city for
lesbians by
Girlfriends
magazine.
In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is
31 years. For every 100 females there are 91.6 males. For every 100
females age 18 and over, there are 87.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $32,216, and the
median income for a family is $37,879. Males have a median income
of $32,244 versus $26,013 for females. The
per capita income for the city is $16,181.
21.3% of the population and 17.4% of families are below the
poverty line. Out of the total
population, 31.6% of those under the age of 18 and 11.0% of those
65 and older are living below the poverty line.
At 43% in 2007,
Milwaukee has the second highest black male unemployment rate in
the country behind Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.
Race and ethnicity
As of the 2005-2007
American
Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau,
White Americans made up 45.2% of Milwaukee's
population; of which 40.9% were non-Hispanic
whites.
Blacks or
African Americans made up 38.7% of
Milwaukee's population; of which 38.4% were non-Hispanic blacks.
American Indian
made up 0.7% of the city's population.
Asian Americans made up 3.3% of the city's
population; of which 3.2% were non-Hispanic.
Pacific Islander Americans made up
0.1% of the city's population. Individuals from some other race
made up 10.0% of the city's population; of which 0.3% were
non-Hispanic. Individuals from
two
or more races made up 2.0% of the city's population; of which
1.4% were non-Hispanic. In addition,
Hispanics and Latinos made up
15.1% of Milwaukee's population.
As of the 2005-2007 American Community Survey, 38.7% of Milwaukee's
residents reported having
African
American ancestry and 20.9% reported
German ancestry. Other significant
population groups include
Polish
(9.0%),
Irish (6.5%),
English (2.7%),
Italian (2.7%),
French (2.1%), with
Hispanics totaling at
15.1%.
The
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 more
detailed study was conducted by researchers at the University of
Wisconsin–Milwaukee
which found evidence that Milwaukee is not
"hypersegregated" and actually ranks as the 43rd most integrated
city in America. Through continued dialogue between
Milwaukee's citizens, the city is making an effort to reduce racial
tensions and reduce the rate of segregation. With demographic
changes in the wake of
white flight,
segregation in metropolitan Milwaukee is primarily in the suburbs
rather than the city as in the era of
Father Groppi.
Religion
The Association of Religion Data Archives reported on the religious
composition of the Milwaukee-Racine area as of 2000. Approximately
55% of residents were adherents to one of the 188 groups included
in the data.
Of them, 58% were
Catholic,
23%
Lutheran, 3%
Methodist, and 2.5%
Jewish.
Others included adherents to other
Protestant denominations, Orthodox churches,
and Eastern religions. Historically African-American denominations
were not included in the data.
Milwaukee is home to the
Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and the
Episcopal Diocese of
Milwaukee. The
School Sisters
of the Third Order of St Francis have their mother house in
Milwaukee, and several other religious orders have a significant
presence in the area, including the
Jesuits and
Franciscans.
St. Joan
of Arc Chapel, the oldest church in Milwaukee, is located on
the Marquette
University
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
, located northwest of Milwaukee, in Hartford,
Wisconsin
, was also made a Basilica in 2006.
Milwaukee
is home for several Lutheran Church
Synods, including The Greater
Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America; the Lutheran Church Missouri
Synod (LCMS), which operates Concordia University in Mequon and Milwaukee Lutheran High School, the oldest
Lutheran high school in the nation; and the Wisconsin Evangelical
Lutheran Synod (WELS), which was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee
and maintains its national headquarters there.
In addition, numerous
mosques,
synagogues, and
temples
serve Milwaukee's
Muslim, Jewish,
Hindu and
Buddhist
communities.
Masons have various meeting locations in Milwaukee.
The Tripoli
Shrine Temple
and Mosque, located on Wisconsin Avenue, is
architecturally inspired by India's Taj Mahal and is home to the
headquarters of all Shriner activities in Milwaukee.
Completed in 1928, it is on the National Register of Historic
Places and one of Milwaukee's most unique landmarks. Shriners, or
Shrine Masons, belong to the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine for North America.
Education
Higher education
Milwaukee
has one of the highest per capita student populations in North America, ranking 6th among U.S. and
Canadian cities in number of college students per 100 residents,
according to a January 2000 study from McGill University
Milwaukee area universities and colleges:
Primary and secondary education
Milwaukee maintains
Milwaukee
Public Schools (MPS), the largest school district in Wisconsin
and
one of the largest in the nation. As of 2007, it had an
enrollment of 92,935 students and as of 2006 employed 6,100
full-time and substitute teachers in 223 schools. Milwaukee Public
Schools operate as
magnet schools,
with individualized specialty areas for interests in academics or
the arts.
Washington
High School, Riverside University High
School
, Rufus King High
School, Ronald
Wilson Reagan College Preparatory High School,Samuel
Morse Middle School for the Gifted and Talented, Golda Meir
School
, Milwaukee High School of the
Arts, and Lynde
& Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School 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 (e.g.,
St. Anthony High School
, Divine Savior Holy Angels High
School
, Thomas More High School
, Dominican High School
, Messmer High School
, Marquette University High
School
, Milwaukee Lutheran High
School, St. Joan Antida High School
, Pius XI High School
, and University School of
Milwaukee
among others) and many private and parochial middle and elementary
schools.
Of persons in Milwaukee aged 25 and above, 84.5% have a high school
diploma, and 27% have a bachelor's degree or higher. (2000)
Government and politics
Milwaukee has a
mayor-council form of
government with a strong-mayor plan. The mayor oversees a Common
Council of elected members, each representing one of 15 districts
in the city. Milwaukee has a history of giving long tenures to its
mayors; from
Frank Zeidler to
Tom Barrett, the city has had only four mayors
in the last 60 years. When 28-year incumbent
Henry Maier retired in 1988, he held the record
for longest term of service for a city of Milwaukee's size.
Milwaukee has been a
Democratic stronghold for
more than a century, with Democrats dominating every level of
government, except for its
Socialist
mayors and (for briefer periods) other city and county offices. The
city is split among three state Senate districts, each of which is
composed of three Assembly districts. All 12 of the officials
representing the city in the State Legislature are Democrats.
Milwaukee makes up the overwhelming majority of
Wisconsin's 4th
congressional district. The district is heavily Democratic. The
Democratic primary for the seat is considered more important than
the general election. The district is currently represented by
Democrat
Gwen Moore.
Milwaukee residents also elect representatives to the
Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. The
County executive is
Republican Scott Walker.
Economy
Milwaukee and its suburbs are the home to the headquarters of 13
Fortune 1000 companies, including
Johnson Controls,
Northwestern Mutual,
Manpower Inc.,
Kohl's,
Harley-Davidson,
Rockwell Automation,
Fiserv, Inc.,
Marshall & Ilsley Corp.,
Wisconsin Energy,
Briggs & Stratton, Joy Global,
A.O. Smith,,
GE Healthcare 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. Brookfield is the leading commercial suburb of
Milwaukee. 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. The Milwaukee area is also the headquarters of
Midwest Airlines,
Bucyrus International, the
Koss Corporation,
Harken,
Lesaffre Yeast Corporation,
Evinrude Outboard Motors
(Sturtevant, WI) and
Master Lock.
National financial institutions with headquarters in Milwaukee
include:
Baird,
M&I Bank,
Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management
Company,
Metavante, and
Fiserv.
Service and managerial jobs are the fastest-growing segments of the
Milwaukee economy, and
health care alone
makes up 27% the jobs in the city.
Twenty-two percent of Milwaukee's
workforce is involved in manufacturing, second only to San Jose,
California
, and far higher than the national average of
16.5%.
In 2009, five Milwaukee-area companies were selected as leaders in
their industries as Fortune magazine recognized “The World’s
Most-Admired Companies.” Two Milwaukee companies ranked second in
their field:
Manpower Inc. in the
temporary help industry and
Northwestern Mutual in life and health
insurance.
Johnson Controls Inc.,
Glendale, placed fourth among motor-vehicle parts firms. Ranked
fifth were
Fiserv Inc., Brookfield, in
financial data services and
Kohl’s
Corp., Menomonee Falls, among general merchandisers.
Brewing
Milwaukee became synonymous with
Germans and
beer beginning in the 1850s. The Germans had
long enjoyed beer, and didn't waste any time setting up breweries
when they arrived in Milwaukee. By 1856, there were more than two
dozen breweries in Milwaukee, most of them German-owned and
-operated. 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.
Beer
halls and taverns are abundant in the city to this day although
only one of the major breweries—
Miller—remains in Milwaukee.
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 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-growing state in the country and Milwaukee
shipped more wheat than any place in the world.
Railroads were needed to transport all this grain
from the wheat fields of Wisconsin to Milwaukee's
harbor. Improvements in railways at the time made
this possible.
Entrance to Miller Brewery in
Milwaukee
There was
intense competition for markets with Chicago, and to a lesser degree, with Racine and Kenosha.
Eventually Chicago won out. Due to its superior position on major
railroad lines connecting east and west, Chicago had a distinct
advantage over Milwaukee. The wheat market though, guaranteed
Milwaukee's place as the commercial capital of Wisconsin.
Milwaukee
was once the home to four of the world's largest breweries
(Schlitz, Blatz
, Pabst, and
Miller), and was the number one beer
producing city in the world for many years. Despite the
decline in its position as the world's leading beer producer after
the loss of two of those breweries, its one remaining major
brewery,
Miller Brewing
Company remains a key employer by employing over 2,200 of the
city's workers. Because of Miller's solid position as the
second-largest beer-maker in the U.S., the city remains known as a
beer town despite now only representing a fraction of its
economy.
The historic Milwaukee Brewery, located in "Miller Valley" at 4000
West State Street, is the oldest still-functioning major brewery in
the United States. In July 2008, it was announced that
Coors beer would be added to the list of beers brewed
in Miller Valley.
This created additional brewery jobs in
Milwaukee, as its world headquarters moved south from Milwaukee to
Chicago.
Besides
Miller and the heavily-automated Leinenkugel's brewery in
the old Blatz
10th
Street plant, the only other currently operating stand-alone
breweries in Milwaukee are Milwaukee Brewing Company, a
microbrewery in Walker's Point
neighborhood, and Lakefront Brewery
, a microbrewery
located in Brewers Hill. The suburb of Glendale
is home to Sprecher Brewery
, another locally popular microbrew. Various
brewpubs can also be found throughout the
Milwaukee area, including Milwaukee Ale House and Water Street
Brewery.
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 at No. 2. MillerCoors is a joint
venture formed last year by Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co. and
Golden, Colorado-based
Molson Coors Brewing Company.
The
Minhas Craft Brewery in
Monroe,
Wisconsin
which brews Huber, Rhinelander and Mountain Crest
brands, ranked No. 14 and New Glarus Brewing Company.,
New Glarus,
Wisconsin
whose brands include Spotted Cow, Fat Squirrel and
Uff-da, ranked No. 32.
Manufacturing
Because
of its easy access to Lake Michigan and other waterways, Milwaukee's Menomonee
River Valley
has historically been home to manufacturing, stockyards, rendering plants, shipping, and other heavy
industry.
Reshaping of the valley began with the
railroads built by city co-founder
Byron Kilbourn to bring product from
Wisconsin's farm interior to the port. By 1862 Milwaukee was the
largest shipper of
wheat 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 and
hops. A number
of
tanneries 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 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. 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, packing plants, breweries,
railways and tanneries further industrialized the valley. With the
marshlands drained and the
Kinnickinnic and
Milwaukee Rivers dredged, attention turned to the valley. In 1869 an
initiative was undertaken to channelize the Menomonee River and
build a series of
ship canals, among
which Holtons Canal, the South Menomonee Canal and Burnham Canal
are still in use today.
Along with the processing industries, bulk commodity storage and
machining and manufacturing entered the scene. The valley was home
to the
Milwaukee
Road,
Falk Corporation,
Cutler-Hammer, Harnischfeger, Chain
Belt Company, Nordberg and other industry giants.
Early in the 20th century, Milwaukee was home to several pioneer
brass era automobile makers, including Ogren (from 1919 to
1922) and
LaFayette (from 1922 to
about 1924).
In 2007, three Milwaukee-area companies were among nine firms
honored for manufacturing excellence in the Wisconsin Manufacturer
of the Year competition.
Astronautics Corporation of
America and
Brady Corporation,
both of which have headquarters in Milwaukee, and Wisconsin Plating
Works Inc., Racine, each received special awards. Privately held
Astronautics, a major supplier of government and commercial
avionics, was honored for its high-technology research and
development program. Brady, a publicly owned manufacturer of signs,
labels and other identification and security products, received an
award for corporate excellence. Privately owned Wisconsin Plating
Works, which provides metal finishing services, received an award
for employee and environmental stewardship. Nominated companies
were evaluated in areas such as financial growth or consistency,
technological advances, product development, environmental
solutions, operational excellence/continuous improvement,
commitment to employees, and effective research and
development.
In 2009, a group of elected officials and business leaders is
trying to entice Boston-Power Inc., a Massachusetts-based battery
maker, to open a factory in Milwaukee. Milwaukee Ald.
Tony Zielinski has
introduced a resolution to have the city of Milwaukee appropriate
from $1 million to $20 million for a factory for Boston-Power, the
Westborough
, Mass.-based manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries
for laptop computers, personal digital assistants, mobile
telephones and other portable devices. Stimulus package
funds are included in the $787 billion stimulus package signed by
President Barack Obama for lithium-ion battery development, he
said. Boston-Power’s interest in locating a plant in Milwaukee
stems in part from the area’s manufacturing heritage and that it’s
home to
Johnson Controls Inc., the
manufacturer has been developing lithium-ion batteries for
hybrid-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles and
electric vehicles.
Health care
Milwaukee's health care industry includes several health systems.
The Milwaukee Regional Medical Complex, located between 8700 and
9200 West Wisconsin Avenue, is on the Milwaukee County grounds.
This area
includes the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert
Hospital
, BloodCenter of Wisconsin, the Ronald McDonald House, Curative
Rehabilitation, and the Medical College of
Wisconsin. Children's Hospital of Wisconsin was ranked
in the top three children's hospitals in the United States in 2006.
Aurora Health Care includes
St. Luke's Medical Center,
Aurora Sinai Medical Center, West Allis Memorial, and St. Luke's
SouthShore.
Wheaton
Franciscan Healthcare includes
St. Joseph's Hospital, Elmbrook
Memorial (Brookfield), and others 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 and the
Endometriosis Association.
Tourism
Milwaukee
is a popular venue for Lake Michigan sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, ethnic dining,
and cultural festivals. Milwaukee is recognized for its museums,
fine dining and hotels, professional sports, performing arts,
gardens and parks, and Milwaukee
County Zoological Gardens
.
Crime
Violent crime in Milwaukee has declined substantially since the
late 1990s : For several years, Milwaukee ranked among the ten most
dangerous large cities in the United States, although in recent
years, it no longer appears even among the 25 most dangerous
cities. However, despite its improvement, Milwaukee still fares
worse than average when comparing specific crime types to the
national average (e.g., homicide, rape, robbery); only aggravated
assaults occur less frequently in Milwaukee than the national
average. In 2008, under the leadership of Police Chief
Edward A. Flynn, Milwaukee's homicide rate fell to a
23-year low, according to the
Journal/Sentinel website,
which credits targeted policing and cooperation among law
enforcement agencies as the main reasons for the decline.Also
showing encouraging progress is Milwaukee’s confrontation of gang
activity. A story in
Milwaukee
Magazine documented “tens of thousands of gang members in
the city – black, white, Latino and Asian gangs – all involved in
some way in the drug trade and almost all riddled with rats -
hundreds of informants reporting back to the cops in the Milwaukee
Police Department’s Gang Unit.” The unit was reactivated in 2004
after Police Chief
Nannette Hegerty
was sworn into office. In 2006 alone, the story noted, some 4,000
charges were brought against criminals through Milwaukee’s Gang
Unit.Reference
Culture
Museums
Milwaukee is home to a wide variety of museums:
Art
Science and natural history
- The
Milwaukee
Public Museum
has been Milwaukee's primary natural history and human
history museum for 125 years, with over of permanent exhibits.
exhibits feature Africa, Europe, the Arctic, and South and Middle
America, dinosaurs from 65 million years ago, tropical rainforest, Streets of Old
Milwaukee, European Village, Sampson Gorilla replica, Puelicher
Butterfly Wing, hands-on laboratories and animatronics. The
Museum also has an IMAX movie theater.
Milwaukee Public Museum is home to the world’s largest dinosaur
skull.
- Discovery World
, Milwaukee's largest museum dedicated to science is
just south of the Milwaukee Art Museum along the lake front, draws visitors of high-tech,
hand-on exhibits, salt water and freshwater aquariums, as well as
touch tanks and digital theaters. A double-helix staircase
wraps around the kinetic sculpture of a human genome.
- S/V
Dennis Sullivan Schooner Ship docked at Discovery World Museum is the first schooner to be built in
Milwaukee in over 100 years, and teaches visitors about freshwater,
the Great Lakes and Wisconsin's maritime history. The Great
Lakes Schooner is the world's only re-creation of a 1880s-era three
masted vessel.
- Betty Brinn
Children's Museum is geared toward children under 10 and has
the philosophy that constructive play nurtures the mind. It has
been voted one of the top 10 museums for children by Parents Magazine . It is filled with
hands-on exhibits and interactive programs, the museum offers
families a chance to learn together.
Social and cultural history
- Pabst Mansion
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 restored with period furniture, to
create an authentic replica of a Victorian Mansion. Nationally
recognized as a house museum.
- Milwaukee County
Historical Society 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. A
research library is also within the museum. Scenes from the movie
Public Enemies
were shot here.
- America's Black Holocaust
Museum
, founded by lynching
survivor James
Cameron, features exhibits which chronicle the injustices
suffered throughout history by African Americans in the United
States. The museum closed temporarily in July 2008 as a
result of financial difficulties; no formal re-opening date had
been set.
- Jewish Museum Milwaukee 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,
Located at General Mitchell International
Airport
, Milwaukee's aviation and
historical enthusiasts experience the history of General 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 Zepplin II, the sistership to the tragically
legendary Hindinberg; 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
, opened in 2008, pays tribute to Harley-Davidson motorcycles and is the only
museum of its type in the world.
Arenas and performing arts
Milwaukee is home to a number of musical groups and venues,
including:
In 1984
ComedySportz was founded in Milwaukee
by native Dick Chudnow and has since
become a franchise, with numerous venues throughout the United States and England
. In July 2009 the
ComedySportz world championship will return to
Milwaukee to coincide with their 25th anniversary.
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:
City of Festivals
While
Milwaukee had been previously marketed as "A Genuine American City"
as well as "A Great Place on a Great Lake," it has earned the nickname, the "City of
Festivals."
The city hosts the
Wisconsin State
Fair, as well as an annual lakefront fair called
Summerfest. Listed in the
1999 Guinness Book of World Records
as the largest
music festival in the
world, for the last several years Summerfest has attracted around
840,000 visitors each year to its eleven stages.
Milwaukee is also home to 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. In 2008 Riversplash, which markets itself as 'the
official opening of summer', kicks off festival season on the last
weekend of May. Festivals for the
LGBT
(
PrideFest) and
Polish (
Polish
Fest) communities follow in June. Summerfest spans 11 days at
the end of June and beginning of July. Milwaukee hosts the
Great Circus Parade in July. There are
French (Bastille Days),
Greek,
Italian (
Festa
Italiana) and
German (
German Fest) festivals in July. The
African,
Arab,
Irish,
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 cuisine ranges from
German to
Italian,
Russian,
Hmong,
French,
Serbian,
Polish,
Thai,
Japanese,
Chinese,
Mexican,
Indian, Middle Eastern and Ethiopian.
Famous Chef
Julia Child visited
Milwaukee and selected Milwaukee native, Chef Sanford D'Amato to
cook for her 80th birthday . Sanford, trained in New York City, is
the executive chef for Milwaukee's five star restaurant
Sanford, and also Coquette Cafe Milwaukee .
Milwaukee
County hosts the Zoo-A La Carte at the Milwaukee
County Zoo
, and various ethnic festivals like Summerfest, Festa
Italiana to celebrate various types of cuisine in summer
months.
Music
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. This
was later replaced with the Milwaukee Musical Society.
The large concentrations of German immigrants contributed to the
musical character of the city.
Saengerbund
festivals were held regularly. Also notable is the founding of
the
Wisconsin
Conservatory of Music in 1899.
More recently, Milwaukee has enjoyed a vibrant history of
rock,
hip hop,
jazz,
soul,
blues,
punk,
ska,
industrial music,
electronica,
world music, and
pop
music bands.
Venues such as Pabst Theater
, Marcus
Center for Performing Arts
, the
Helene
Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts, Marcus
Amphitheater
(Summerfest Grounds
), Riverside
Theater, the Northern Lights
Theater, and The
Rave
frequently bring internationally-known and
critically acclaimed acts to Milwaukee. 'Jazz in the Park',
a weekly jazz show held at downtown
Cathedral Square Park, has become a
summer tradition; free, public performances with a picnic
environment.The Milwaukee area is known for producing national
talents such as
Steve Miller
(rock), Wladziu Valentino
Liberace (piano),
Al Jarreau (jazz),
Daryl Stuermer (rock),
BoDeans (rock),
Les Paul
(rock), the
Violent Femmes
(alternative),
Die Kreuzen (punk),
Andy Hurley of
Fall Out Boy (punk),
Eyes To The Sky (hardcore),
Andrew 'The Butcher' Mrotek of
The Academy Is... (alt-rock),
The Promise Ring (indie),
the Gufs (alt rock), and
Decibully (indie) .
Municipal wireless
Through its Milwaukee Wireless Initiative, the city has contracted
with Midwest Fiber Networks to invest US$20 million in setting up a
municipal wireless
network city-wide. Under the plan, the city will designate
numerous government and public service websites for free access,
and city residents will be able to access unlimited content for a
monthly fee. Full wireless coverage was expected by March 2008, but
delays have been reported.
The city had previously established free wireless networks in two
downtown city parks:
Cathedral
Square; and
Pere Marquette
Park.
Parks and recreation
Milwaukee County is known for its well-developed
Parks of Milwaukee park system. The
"Grand Necklace of Parks", designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted, 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. Early commissioners conceived of a park system that
would form a "green belt", a series of scenic drives and parks,
which would encircle the county. Parks were located in outlying
areas to allow for population expansion. Commissioners selected
land not only for its natural beauty and interest, but also for its
fitness for various forms of active and passive recreation.
Henry Maier
Festival Park (Summerfest Grounds)The Henry Maier
Festival Park was built on Milwaukee's former Maitland Air Field on
Lake
Michigan in the
Milwaukee Harbor. The grounds were named after Milwaukee
Mayor
Henry Maier, and host many
festivals.
Summerfest, best-known of the
festivals, offers entertainment in late June and early July each
year. This international festival features top and local musicians
and performers from
James Taylor to
Metallica, and is one of the largest
musical festivals in the world. Additional festivals held during
the summer months celebrate Milwaukee's cultural diversity.
Parks and nature centers
The
Milwaukee River flows along a
scenic route into the city and features a number of low level
rapids, and several dams to portage. Access to the river is
available at
parks and dams along
the river and in the city. Within Milwaukee city limits, the use of
kayaks or canoes is possible from several access points.
Havenwoods
State Forest
, of trees, grass, and wildlife tucked away within
Milwaukee's urban environment, features an environmental center and
naturalist programs. It includes of nature trails, of hiking
trails, and of cross-country trails.
Boerner
Botanical Gardens
, internationally known as a horticultural
showplace, serve as an educational and leisure center for gardeners
and plant lovers. Housed within the
Whitnall Park Arboretum, the garden
features landscaped collections of perennials, herbs, and annuals;
a rock garden, the largest ornamental crab apple tree collection in
the nation; and over 500 varieties of roses.
Mitchell
Park Horticultural Conservatory
, also known as "The Domes" is the only
horticultural structure of its kind and features three enclosed
six-story glass structures that cover one acre of garden space
under each dome. Each has its own specialized theme: the
Show Dome features five seasonal floral displays each year and each
theme dictates the setting, landscape, and design; the Arid Dome
features the deserts of the Southwest, Africa, Madagascar, South
America, and Mexico; and the Tropical Dome features over 750
species of tropical plants including orchids, economic plants,
exotic flowers, lush foliage and waterfalls.
Schlitz Audubon Center provides over of wildlife sanctuary
featuring of trails for hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country
skiing.
Wehr Nature Center, created and maintained by the University of
Wisconsin–Milwaukee, is a "living laboratory" designed to raise
environmental awareness. Field trips, tours, lectures, and
demonstrations guide visitors through this special environment and
teach about the delicate balance between the woodlands, wetlands,
prairie space and lake that make up this area.
The
Milwaukee
Community Sailing Center, the
Milwaukee Yacht Club, and the South
Shore Yacht Club also offer social, educational, and recreational
sailing opportunities. The Queens Cup Sailing race departs from
Milwaukee to Michigan each summer.
The
U.S.
Bank Championship in
Milwaukee (formerly the Greater Milwaukee Open) is a PGA Tour event held at Brown Deer
Park Golf Course
in the neighboring suburb of Brown
Deer
.
Opportunities for sports fishing are provided by Lake Michigan.
Milwaukee
County Zoo, modeled after the San Diego Zoo in California, is
filled with attractions, such as pony rides, a petting zoo, a
safari train, and a zoomobile.
Monarch Trail is a trail that highlights the fall migration of the
Monarch butterflies.
Milwaukee Parks outdoor sculptures include
Beverly Pepper's
Cleopatra's Wedge in
Burns Commons and two sculptures by
Wisconsin artist
Nancy Metz White:
"Tree of Life" in
Mitchell Boulevard
Park and "Magic Grove" in Enderis Park.
During the summer months,
Cathedral
Park in Downtown Milwaukee is home to "Jazz in the Park" on
Thursday nights.
Milwaukee County public markets
The Milwaukee Public Market
Milwaukee Public Market, located 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, Fondy Farmers Market,
Mitchell Street Market, Riverwest Farmers Market, Silver Spring
Farmers Market, South Milwaukee Farmers Market, South Shore Farmers
Market, Uptown Farmers Market, West Allis Farmers Market, and
Westown Market on the Park.
Sports
Milwaukee has a rich history of involvement in professional and
nonprofessional sports, since the nineteenth century.
Abraham Lincoln watched
cricket in Milwaukee in 1849 when he
attended a game between Chicago and Milwaukee. In 1854, the
Milwaukee Cricket Club had 150 members. Currently, Milwaukee's
sports teams include:
Milwaukee is also the host city of
The Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic,
presented by
Time Warner Cable,
which includes the men's and women's
Superweek Pro Tour
races, featuring top professional and elite amateur cyclists and
teams from across the U.S. and more than 20 foreign
countries.
Between 1933 and 1994 the
Green Bay
Packers of the
NFL split their home games
between
Green Bay and Milwaukee.
Transportation
Air
Milwaukee
is home to two airports, General
Mitchell International Airport on the southern edge of the city, and the smaller
Timmerman
Field
on the north side. Mitchell is served by 14
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. The
airport terminal is open 24 hours a day.[11] Since 2005, Mitchell
International Airport has been connected by the Amtrak Hiawatha
train service, which provides airport access via train to Chicago
and Milwaukee.
Train and bus
Milwaukee's Amtrak station was renovated in
2007 to create the Intermodal Transportation
Station
near downtown Milwaukee and the Third Ward.
The renovated station is home to
Amtrak,
Greyhound Lines, and
Jefferson Lines intercity bus
transportation.
Milwaukee is served by the Hiawatha Amtrak express service up to
seven times daily between downtown Milwaukee and downtown Chicago,
including a stop at the Milwaukee Airport Rail
Station
, Sturtevant, WI
near Racine,
WI
, Glenview, IL.
Amtrak
operates its Empire Builder passenger
train daily between Chicago and the Pacific
Northwest, with stops near Madison
, Wisconsin Dells and
Minneapolis.
The
Badger Bus and station in downtown
Milwaukee provides bus service between Milwaukee and Madison,
Wisconsin. Stops include the UW–Madison
Memorial Union
, Madison Bus Depot, Johnson
Creek
, Goerkes Corners, Milwaukee 84th St, Milwaukee
Bus Depot (downtown Milwaukee), and Milwaukee Airport
.
The
Milwaukee County Transit
System
provides bus services within Milwaukee
County.
Highway
Two of Wisconsin's
Interstate
highways intersect in Milwaukee.
Interstate 94 comes north from Chicago to
enter Milwaukee and continues west to Madison. Interstate 43
enters Milwaukee from the southwest and continues north to Green
Bay
. Milwaukee has two branch interstate
highways,
Interstate 894 and
Interstate 794. I-894 extends from the
western suburbs to the southern suburbs, bypassing downtown.
I-794
extends east from the Marquette Interchange to Lake Michigan before turning south over the
Hoan
Bridge toward the airport, turning into Highway 794 along the way.
Milwaukee is also served by three
US highways.
U.S. Route 18
provides a link from downtown to points west.
U.S. Route 41 and
U.S. Route
45 both provide north-south freeway transportation on the
western side of the city.
Water
Milwaukee connects with Muskegon, Michigan
through the Lake
Express high-speed auto and passenger
ferry. The Lake Express travels across Lake Michigan from late spring to the fall of each
year.
Bicycle
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
[8497], a rarity for a city its size.
Starting
on June 4, 2009, the Milwaukee County Transit
System has begun installing bicycle racks to the front
of county buses. This "green" effort has been done, in part,
with hopes of settling an asbestos lawsuit
leveled by the state at the
county in 2006. The lawsuit cites
the release of asbestos into the environment when the Courthouse Annex
was demolished.
Future transportation
Tram
A tram system known as the Milwaukee Connector was proposed and
passed by the Common Council, but Mayor
Tom Barrett vetoed the bill because
of problems of cost and availability.
A 0.5% sales tax has
been proposed for the counties of Milwaukee, Racine
, and Kenosha
by the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Transit
Authority to fund an extension of the Chicago Metra commuter rail from Kenosha to downtown
Milwaukee. The tax would also be used to fund the bus
systems in those counties that currently rely on property
taxes.
High speed train
In 2009,
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, with seven other governors of
Midwestern states and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley have joined in bipartisan
support of a high-speed rail network that would link cities around
the region. Milwaukee would be connected to Madison and
Chicago as part of the first phase of the system. “
President Obama’s vision of making high-speed
rail a part of our nation’s future transportation network holds
great promise,” Doyle and co-signers wrote in a letter to U.S.
Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
“We recognize that a
high-speed rail network has the potential to reduce highway and
airway congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and the nation’s
dependence on foreign oil.” Governors Pat Quinn of Illinois
, Jay Nixon of Missouri
, Mitch Daniels of Indiana
, Chet Culver of Iowa
, Jennifer
Granholm of Michigan
, Ted Strickland of Ohio
and Tim
Pawlenty of Minnesota
were co-signers of the letter. The American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds and mandates high-speed
passenger rail and the Midwestern network would include 3,000 miles
of existing rights of way to connect cities with trains capable of
at least 110 miles per hour. Chicago would serve as the hub, just
as it does for freight. The rail network would link large and small
metropolitan areas, airports, bus stations and highways.
Media
Milwaukee's only surviving daily
newspaper
is the
Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel which was formed when the morning paper the
Milwaukee Sentinel merged with the afternoon paper
Milwaukee Journal. The most prominent alternative weekly
is
Shepherd Express, a
free publication. Other local newspapers, city guides and magazines
with large distributions include
M
Magazine,
Milwaukee
Magazine,
Vital Source, The Bay View
Compass, and
Riverwest Currents.
OnMilwaukee.com is an online magazine
providing news and events.
The UWM Post is the
independent, student-run weekly at the University of
Wisconsin–Milwaukee. The
Onion, a weekly satirical publication, is distributed free
in Milwaukee (one of the paper's earliest markets) in addition to
nine other U.S. cities.
Milwaukee's major network television affiliates are
WTMJ
4 (NBC), WITI
6 (Fox), WISN
12
(ABC), WVTV
18
(CW), WCGV
24
(MyNetworkTV), and WDJT
58
(CBS). Spanish language programming is on
WBWT
38
(Azteca America) and WYTU-LP
63 (Telemundo).
Milwaukee's public broadcasting stations are
WMVS
10 and
WMVT
36.
Other
television stations in the Milwaukee market include WMKE 7 (America One),
WVCY
30
(FN), WMLW 41
(Independent), WBME
49
(ME-TV), WWRS
52
(TBN), and WPXE
55
(ION)
There are numerous
radio stations throughout
Milwaukee and the surrounding area.
Journal Communications (a NYSE
-traded
corporation), in addition to owning the Journal Sentinel,
also owns: WTMJ-TV; WTMJ and WLWK radio
stations; and well over a dozen local weekly newspapers in the
metropolitan area, all of which establish a highly conservative
journalistic lens. As a result, it has been repeatedly
criticized for having a near-
monopoly in
local news coverage., with critics concerned about a certain
uniformity of thought and coverage, as well as to lack of coverage
of topics unfriendly to Journal Communications interests in such
matters as labor disputes.
Sister cities
The city of Milwaukee has several
sister
cities as designated by
Sister Cities International and
Milwaukee's Sister Cities:
- Białystok
, Poland
- Carora
, Venezuela
- Galway
, Republic of Ireland
- Manisa, Turkey
- Morogoro
, Tanzania
- Nuevitas
, Camagüey, Cuba
- Omsk
,
Russia
- Tiberias
, Israel
- Schwerin
, Germany
- uMhlathuze
, South
Africa
Cooperation
Although this relationship is not recognized by SCI, officials from
Milwaukee and Ningbo have signed an agreement to promote business
and cultural ties between the two cities and their respective
nations.
In popular culture
- The comic book superheros Great
Lakes Avengers keep their base of operations in Milwaukee.
- Milwaukee appears as a setting under the name Millhaven,
Illinois in the later works of Milwaukeean Peter Straub
- Milwaukee was the setting for popular
American television shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including
Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.
Milwaukee unveiled a life-sized, bronze statue of Fonzie from Happy Days along the downtown
Riverwalk on August 19,
2008.
- Milwaukee has appeared in scenes from a variety of feature films, including:
See also
References
External links
(Waukesha
)
)
)
)
.jpg/230px-Milwaukee_Art_Museum_1_(Mulad).jpg)
Cellular Arena.JPG/230px-Timmerman_Field_(MWC).JPG)
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
Map
Misc
Search
