The last time I was in Milwaukee was 1967. I ran a small chain of wine and liquor stores in the Chicago area. My beer distributor invited me to Milwaukee, two hours away, for a baseball game and lots of suds. Pabst, Blatz, Schlitz and Miller are all names I remembered from those days. Miller is now owned by South African Brewery (their free tour is rather boring, unless you need the three free beers). Pabst owns the brand names of both Blatz and Schlitz, but they are contract brewed by SAB Miller. One big happy family.
When The “Visit Milwaukee” Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau invited writers to come see Summerfest I was hesitant. It was early July and what was I going to write about the city? Boy was I wrong. Meet the new ambassador, without portfolio, for the city of Milwaukee, in residence in New York City- ME. The city has more parkland per resident than any other city in the US. It is the cleanest big city I have ever seen. Condo conversions and new buildings are going up on the lakefront (Lake Michigan), along the Milwaukee River and in the former industrial areas of the city. I am told lots of Chicagoans are buying here because it is half the price of comparable real estate in the Windy City.
Midwest Airlines flies non-stop from LaGuardia in less than two hours. The airport is about 20 minutes from the downtown Comfort Inn & Suites Downtown Lakeshore, my home for 4 nights. They offered free Continental breakfast and computers which made up for the annoying fact that every time I left my room and tried to reenter I needed to get another key. Blame it on technology. Let’s focus on that aforementioned 20 minute figure. Almost nothing was more than 20 minutes away from downtown. The only traffic jams were when the Milwaukee Brewers fans were going to their game or at Midnight when Summerfest finished for the evening.
Heralded as the “City of Festivals,” Milwaukee showcases its rich heritage throughout the year with a parade of ethnic and cultural celebrations culminating with Summerfest, the world’s largest music festival now in its 39th year. I know it is hard to think that but The Guinness Book of Records confirmed; 11 days, 10 stages, one million visitors; a 23,000 seat main Amphitheater; 75 acres of food, shops and venues. Its diverse musical lineup of regional and national entertainment includes rock, alternative, country, jazz, R &B and Cajun. My evening at Summerfest was a test as I wanted to get to every stage, even for a few minutes. There was an animal and magic show in the children’s section. It was children’s day when I visited; all kids and parents/guardians were admitted free from Noon to 3PM. They could, of course, stay all day and night. Our group of invited writers was provided complimentary reserved seating in the main arena where Bob Weir (formerly of the Grateful Dead) and his band Rat Dog performed along with String Cheese Incident and Kellar Williams. Other featured entertainers in 2006 included: Counting Crows, Steely Dan, Mary J. Blige, 9 Inch Nails, Paul Simon, Goo Goo Dolls and Pearl Jam.
We were provided with $25 worth of food coupons (I couldn’t use them all) and a pass into a private relaxation area where soft drinks were provided, plus a few beers or wine at no charge. Earlier that day we were given a back stage tour of the grounds. Besides Summerfest there are Pride, Polish, African, Arab, Mexican, Native American, Italian, Irish and German festivals held on the same grounds. All but one of the stages is permanent. The sun Gods were very kind this year as there was no rain during the entire 11 day run. Arrests were mostly for underage drinking with lots of plainclothes law enforcement personnel around. My only criticism was the lack of signage showing the way to the venues and for me, there was confusion, after dark, finding the correct exit where there were taxis.
Wining & Dining- I guess I was used to New York prices but everything here seemed quite reasonable. Lunch outdoors at Coast, across from the Milwaukee Art Museum. Lunch at Coquette Café a casual French café in the Historic Third Ward district. Take out lunch at Glorioso Brothers Italian Market in the Brady Street district filled with coffee houses and trendy boutiques, followed by dessert at Peter Sciortino’s Italian Bakery across the street. Dinner at Bacchus, maybe the best restaurant in Milwaukee, with 450 wines and a wine pairing dinner for $85. Dinner at Dream Dance at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino. Fine dining separate from the casino with 400 wines priced at retail and $75 for four courses paired with wine. One problem with being inside a casino is no one under 21 can enter the casino so you can’t take your kids to dinner here. Dinner at Il Mito with live music and eclectic Mediterranean cuisine. Lakefront Brewery is a locally owned micro brewery and is one of many Milwaukee establishments that feature a Friday fish fry.
What To See- Drive along Lake Michigan on Lincoln Memorial Drive for great views of the three acre Lakefront Veterans Park, beaches (the lake water is fine for swimming), marinas, mansions, playing fields, paddle boats, canoes, restaurants and new condo developments. The seemingly only exception to the “you can get anywhere in 20 minute rule” was my 45 minute drive to Cedarburg Wisconsin and a visit to Cedar Creek Winery, but that was not in Milwaukee. Pabst Mansion is the former residence of the beer family lovingly being restored as a museum. Stroll along Water Street for pubs and clubs. Walk the three blocks along Old World Third Street to view the old German heritage including: Usinger’s Sausage, The Chocolate Tree with Ambrosia Chocolate, Wisconsin Cheese Mart, The Spice House (you can smell the spices along the street), Buck Bradley’s Saloon & Eatery with the longest bar east of the Mississippi. It sits right behind the Bradley Center which is the home of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team and Marquette University basketball. Other indoor venues include the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts featuring opera, ballet and the symphony; the 13,000 seat US Cellular Arena; the Midwest Airlines Center which serves as the convention center and the Pabst Theatre built in 1895. Miller Park (I wonder if they serve Budweiser?) is home field for the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team that seems to draw half its fans from Chicago when the Cubs are in town. There are ten universities in Milwaukee with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee the largest with 28,000 students; Marquette University has 11,000 students. The 6 square blocks Milwaukee Public Market opened in the fall of 2005 is along the Historic Third Ward, with art galleries, boutiques and antique shops; think NYC Soho. Don’t confuse it with the above mentioned Old World Third Street.
The 1927 Art Deco Oriental Theater was voted one of the 10 best movie theaters in America in 2005. I was able to walk in to listen to a rehearsal of the largest pipe organ in a theater in America and the third largest in the world. Aptly named Wisconsin Avenue is the main street in town. From the Milwaukee Art Museum along the lake you can see straight down the avenue. After a $121 million expansion the museum is to Milwaukee as the Opera House is to Sydney Australia. The Brise Soleil sunscreen has a wingspan larger than a Boeing 747 that is raised and lowered as a moving sculpture three times every day. It opens in the morning; it “flaps” shut and opens at Noon, and then it closes in the evening. There is a permanent Georgia O’Keefe exhibition (she was a Milwaukee native) and the Master of American Comics show contained examples of 15 of the greatest cartoonists past and present. I did not have time to visit The Milwaukee Public Museum that houses an IMAX Dome Theater. Coming in 2008 is the Harley Davidson Museum. They are headquartered here and for their 100th anniversary in 2003 over 250,000 motorcycle riders descended on Milwaukee. Opening in the fall of 2006 will be Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin connecting innovation, science and technology with exploration, environment and the Great Lakes freshwater resources. It also will be the home to the S/V Denis Sullivan, a 137 foot long recreation of a Great Lakes schooner. If you have extra time at the airport you can do as I did and visit the Mitchell Gallery of Flight Museum located before the security checkpoint. It was an interesting and worthwhile 20 minutes. Atop the Allen-Bradley Tower is the world’s largest four-sided clock which is twice the size of London’s Big Ben but does not chime. Our tour guide tried to explain to us the significance of the 21 foot high plastic weather flame atop the Wisconsin Gas Building and visible from most of town. It is filled with neon and argon filled tubes. If it glows Gold it means it will be cold; Red for warm weather; Blue means no change from the previous day & if is flashing it means precipitation is forthcoming. I would stick to the weather channel.
Have I tempted you to visit? You can always contact me for more reasons.
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