The Public Safety Committee is concerned with issues brought forth from the fire, police, health and neighborhood services departments as well as traffic control, emergency medical services and parking. It also licenses alarm businesses and public passenger vehicles and drivers.
The Public Works Committee is responsible for physical services provided by the city such as street and alley maintenance, waste collection, disposal and recycling, sewer, water and flood control projects, assessments, public buildings, land and waterways.
Public Works Committee meetings start at 9:00 a.m. and are held in the Room 301-B, City Hall, unless otherwise noted.
The Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) administers Milwaukee’s historic preservation ordinance, adopted in 1981, which provides certain kinds of legal protection for buildings or sites that have been declared historic by the Common Council. The HPC is responsible for designating historic landmarks and historic districts and for approving Certificates of Appropriateness (COAs) for permission to alter historic buildings.
The HPC meets monthly on Mondays in City Hall, Room 301A, 200 E. Wells Street at 3:00 P.M. unless otherwise indicated.
South Beach
Enhancing Milwaukee’s identity is an elusive endeavor. A city can both make and be given an identity. Some recent town center developments have tried to create identity with one massive all encompassing project. However, authentic identity is the integration of history, tradition, location and a contemporary trajectory that suits the current demands of the world.
In order to create identity it is necessary to create architecture. Architecture is the living embodiment of history, tradition, location and the course we see for the future. The geometries used and the materials employed reflect an evolution in the local building traditions that appropriately reflect its time and place. By its very nature, it is a social, and therefore civic endeavor to create any building in a city or community. The architect, in their most ideal sense, is the communicator of these cultural values. This includes all areas of human knowledge as they are defined to the time at which the building is built, which brings me back to my point on reinvigorating and promoting an identity for Milwaukee.
St. John Roman Catholic Cathedral
Without the positive promotion of collective history and a dialog of how it has evolved into the city it is today it will be exceptionally difficult to promote an optimistic image of Milwaukee. There is an understated but proud building tradition here that includes buildings like St. John Roman Catholic Cathedral (1847: Victor Schulte & James Douglas), the Mitchell and Mackie Buildings (1876-1879: Edward Townsend Mix: featured in the Atlas of American Architecture by Tom Martinson), City Hall (1895: H.C. Koch), First National Bank (1914: Daniel Burnham), Wisconsin Gas Building (1930: Eschweiler & Eschweiler), War Memorial (1957: Eero Saarinen), Mitchell Domes (1959-67: Donald Grieb), Miller Park (2001: Eppstein Uhen Architects, EKS, inc. & NBBJ), Milwaukee Art Museum (2001: Santiago Calatrava & Kahler Slater Architects) and Kilbourn Tower (2004: La Dallman Architects)*. This long list is just the beginning of exceptionally designed buildings in Milwaukee. In fact, a compilation of well designed buildings goes a long way in making the identity of a city. It is different for every city, but this principle has been repeated in cities around the world. One such fashionable example is the City of Miami Beach.
By the late 1970’s, most of Miami Beach’s vast collection of art deco buildings from the 1920’s and 30’s had fallen into disuse and varying states of neglect. Most of these buildings were inhabited by a mixture of recently arrived immigrants, fixed-income retirees and even criminals, many living below the poverty line and contributing to the an overall sense of decay and urban blight. Although the Art Deco district was listed on the National Registrar of Historic Places in 1979, the demolition of the New Yorker Hotel at 1611 Collins Avenue in 1981, served as a catalyst for the preservation movement in the community. The hotel was considered by many to be the best work by architect Henry Hohauser and a pinnacle late Art Deco building design. Despite this loss, it was fortunate the residents of Miami Beach reacted prudently and forced even typical buildings to be adaptively reused instead of destroyed. This paved the way for new businesses, boutiques, restaurants, entertainment and hotels. Later building designs that evolved from this style occupy infill sites and expand north and south from the Ocean Drive core. Today the essence of Miami Beach’s identity is closely associated with the images of its large assortment of Art Deco buildings.
Milwaukee St. - In the late 90s these buildings sat mostly vacant, while today they help make Milwaukee St. one of Milwaukee's prime nightlife destinations.
I am not comparing Milwaukee with Miami, it is just my experience. It is unavoidable that buildings are a reflection of the time, culture and community they were built in. No one can tell what the winds of change will bring Milwaukee’s way in the next 30 years. But one thing is for sure, preserving our proud collective history will help to fashion the essence of our city’s identity.
Guest post by: Matthew Trussoni
Matthew Trussoni, PhD, PE, RA is currently an Assistant Professor in and an alumnus of the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Architectural Engineering Department. After graduating MSOE he attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. where he completed a dual master’s degrees program in the School of Architecture in 2005 earning the degrees of Master of Architecture and Master of Urban Design. In 2009 he earned his Ph.D. in civil (structural) engineering in the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department. His professional experience has encompassed both architecture and engineering as he is a Registered Architect and Professional Engineer in the State of Florida.
Urban Milwaukee’s Upcoming Events & Meetings Calendar should help you keep up to date on important events effecting our neighborhoods, the City of Milwaukee, and our region.
Join like-minded people in an informal and unstructured setting to talk about the latest sustainability happenings in [...]
Following the address, a brief program will recognize 2009 Downtown Achievement Award winners. Limited seating available. Register today.
PROGRAM
7:30 am – Registration
7:45 am – Breakfast Served
8:00 am – State of Downtown Economic [...]
It takes place Saturday, April 17 from 9am-Noon at 40+ parks and river-WestBend10parkways throughout the Greater Milwaukee area.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
We provide all the garbage bags and gloves, we just need you to help pick up trash & debris.
After you’re done pulling shopping [...]
Public hearing before the Wauwatosa Common Council on the UWM proposal for the County Grounds and Monarch Trail.
Wauwatosa City Hall
76th and North Ave
Wauwatosa, WI
This lecture is free and open to the public. The Charles Causier Memorial Lecture is held annually at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Department of Urban Planning in honor of the late alumnus and colleague. Charles Causier worked passionately as a professional planner, citizen planner and inspirational educator. This marks the seventh year of the Causier Lecture. It has been registered for 1.5 CM credit hours.
Dr. Ed Blakely holds a joint doctorate in Management and Education from the University of California at Los Angeles. He has over 40 years of international experience in the areas of urban and regional planning, disaster management, and sustainable development. In 2007, Dr. Blakely was appointed by Mayor C. Ray Nagin to lead the recovery of New Orleans, a post which Blakely held until 2009. He was charged with not only addressing the immediate damage from the hurricane but also with designing a comprehensive strategy to address pre-existing problems in New Orleans. Blakely was required to assemble a staff on short notice and with meager funding. He hopes that every project proposed will be completed within the next few years and will transform the economic, housing, and civic infrastructure of New Orleans.
Dr. Blakely believes that New Orleans is the perfect storm because it can help planners and policy-makers to re-examine urban places and determine what is needed for them to be environmentally and economically resilient. Blakeley will review what we can learn from New Orleans, as well as ways to re-position a dying economy. He will also outline the best ways to include low-income groups in revitalization efforts.
For additional information, please consult our website: http://www4.uwm.edu/sarup/planning/deptnews.html#2010causier.
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM (reception to follow the lecture)
UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) – Room 170
2131 E. Hartford Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53201
The Milwaukee County Committee on Economic & Community Development oversees the administration of federal, state and local housing programs in the county, including the Urban Community Development Block Grant Program. Matters pertaining to economic development of Milwaukee County, including the best disposition of county properties, are decided by this Committee. It also makes decisions on the Research Park and the Airport Business Park.
Meets at 9:00 A.M. on the 2nd Monday before the County Board Meeting in room 203-R of the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
All matters concerning county parks and parkways are the responsibility of this Committee. Members set policy for the parks department, organized recreation, cultural activities, the University Extension program, the Environmental Services Division of the Department of Public Works and Zoo park services. Members have jurisdiction over matters concerning the conservation of all uses of energy and make recommendations relating to conservation of air, water, energy and all other resources.
Meets at 9:00 A.M. on the 2nd Tuesday before the County Board Meeting
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