‘Meeel-wau-kayyyy” resonated through our heads as the genteel hamlet that bills itself as “The Genuine American City” loomed on the horizon.
A colleague describes Milwaukee as “Chicago’s Mini Me.” Both cities are revitalizing their downtowns, and both have beautiful architecture, strong neighborhood identity and a prime lakefront location. But Milwaukee is its own little reality: exceedingly friendly, squeaky-clean and oblivious in an adorable way, like that not-quite-with-it relative we all love.
Rolling into town, you find the lure of the gleaming Milwaukee Art Museum (700 N. Art Museum Drive, 414-224-3200) impossible to resist. This place is fabulous, using white as a color while using that same white as the blank canvas upon which rests its small but well-chosen art collection. The dazzling, shiplike addition by architect Santiago Calatrava is all Carrera marble and maple flooring, augmented by luscious lake views. Even the parking garage is gorgeous. And, hey, the Wienermobile is out front.
Wisconsin’s own Brooks Stevens, industrial design king, is the focus of an exhibition, “Industrial Strength Design,” featuring products he designed (everything from dryers with a window on the front to creative uses for plastic) and a rehabbed Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
“There’s nothing more aerodynamic than a wiener, I guess,” said Stevens. Indeed.
Planless after leaving MAM, we wondered, “Hey, what’s that building?” The gray, museum-like structure that loomed over Wisconsin Avenue is the Northwestern Mutual Life building (720 Wisconsin Ave.), a beautiful structure designed in 1914. The lobby is opulence personified, restored to its ornate, filigreed glory. The very nice guards won’t let you take pictures, as it is a private building, but you can gawk to your heart’s content.
We were starting to get a feel for Milwaukee, and what we felt, we liked. But there’s so much to do and see that really, you’re crazed to bop into town with nothing more than a smile and a “We’re here!” But we flagged down a Public Service Ambassador who was trolling downtown, dispensing advice, smiles and tourist guidance.
“What’s fun?” we asked.
“Have you been to Festa Italiana?” she asked. “Italian food, culture and other good stuff.” The Festa was-a (sorry) on the Milwaukee Summerfest grounds (200 N. Harbor Drive), where pretty much everything fest-related happens in Milwaukee.
The strains of the theme music from “The Godfather” came wafting down the lakefront, and we thought, “No . . . can’t be.”
It was. Apparently nobody told Milwaukeeans that Italian-Americans aren’t really that much into the whole “Godfather” thing.Our $10 got us access to the Festa grounds, where we got to see logo shirts like “How ya doin’,” and “Fuhgeddaboudit!” Entertainment consisted of Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra-style crooners, blathering to piped-in music, and Hawaiian (uh, no Italian) shaved ice.
Next, we visited America’s Black Holocaust Museum (2233 N. 4th St., 414-264-2500). Like Chicago, Milwaukee is a city of neighborhoods, with the same rapidly changing moods. But in Milwaukee, there seems to be a much greater sense of co-existence.
On this day, a beautiful exhibition, “Elder Grace,” occupied the main space. This show of large-scale portraits by Chester Higgins Jr., a photojournalist for the New York Times, looks to “make a visual record of the life and times of people of African descent,” in the words of the author. The show reminded us how beautiful faces that have some life in them are. From artists to trolley car operators to factory workers, these pictures of senior black people resonate with grace and nobility.
We toured the lovely, rehabbed Historic Third Ward, Milwaukee’s hot, trendy area, and made our way along Whitefish Bay, the North Shore of Milwaukee, if you will. Wide boulevards, gorgeous, immense homes and well-tended inhabitants were the calling card of this area that seemed as different from the rest of Milwaukee as Chicago’s North Shore is from the city proper.
We were tired and hungry, ready to watch someone else work. Luckily, the Schlitz Park Cycling Challenge, part of Milwaukee’s annual International Cycling Challenge was on tap.
And o, blissful fortuitousness, at the southwest corner of the race course was the Brown Bottle (211 W. Galena Ct., 414-271-4444), named for the color Schlitz chose for their beer bottles, to protect the heady nectar from the ravages of the sun. The room, which dates to 1938, felt like the great room of an English castle. They even had a veggie burger on the menu, though judging from the look I got from the waitress, not many people ordered ’em.
As the racers hurtled down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, we toured the street. There was the sculpture of the late civil rights leader made by Chicagoan Eric Blome. King Drive is on the move, all sandblasted buildings, stout German architecture and many black-owned businesses, like the Eat 3 Restaurant (1801 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, 414-263-3283), where you can get a rockin’ good root beer float and an infusion of hope.
At race’s end, won by a New Zealander, it was time to head for home. There were no traffic jams or hassles as we left, feeling like there was still much to see and do, but seduced by the town’s well-scrubbed bonhomie. More than a northern dalliance of Chicago, Milwaukee is a great place to visit, and we could even see living there.
Milwaukee’s finest on tap in August
Aug. 1-3: African World Festival: All kinds of stuff will go on at this three-day blowout, from African culture exhibitions to the Jesse White Tumblers, to Gerald Levert and the Isley Brothers. Milwaukee Summerfest grounds, 200 N. Harbor Drive. $10-$12; 414-372-4567 or www.africanworldfestival.com.
Aug. 1-3: Milwaukee Gamefest: This adventure gaming convention features the best and baddest in adventure gaming (or so they say). Midwest Airlines Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave. $15-$30; 877-977-4263 or www.gamefest.com.
Aug. 1-2: Historic Third Ward Jazz Festival: T.S. Monk and guitarist Larry Carlton are among the luminaries featured at this jazz festival, part of a general street fair. Historic Third Ward. Free; 414-273-1173 or www.historicthirdward.org.
Through Sept. 30: Harleys at the Pabst: Featuring four exceptional examples of ancient, restored Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Pabst Mansion, 2000 W. Wisconsin Ave. $3-$7; 414-931-0808 or www.pabstmansion.com.
— Kevin M. Williams
