Friday Photos
Marriott Hotel Opens Next Week
And our photos capture what the new era will look like.
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Originally scheduled to open in July 2013, the new Milwaukee Marriott Downtown is opening ahead of schedule. It opens on June 26th, 2013 to be exact, just in time for Summerfest. The hotel, located near the corner of Milwaukee St. and Wisconsin Ave., has brought a dramatic change to the East Town commercial district. Gone are many historic structures, but in their place is a fresh new hotel with a splash of preservation, a new restaurant called Millioke featuring local products, and a Starbucks for those looking for their corporate coffee fix. On Wednesday the building will begin a new history.
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I’m underwhelmed both by the size of the hotel and by the plain Milwaukee Street facade, but it’s much better than what was there before. Let’s hope it adds some life to that area.
I don’t know what to think of the Wisconsin Avenue facades. I thought the plan was to restore the original looks of those buildings, and that’s not what they ended up with. The one is a stripped-down modern version of the original, the other is overdone and rather ugly — but then, it reflects the awful name and concept of the restaurant it houses: Millioki – Meat. Cheese. Beer.
@Jeff The Milwaukee St. side has really grown on me. Not bad really… Wisconsin Ave. yeah I’m not sure we got much there at all.
Agree with Jeff on the Facades. Something I noticed is the replacement sidewalk on Wisconsin Ave is not the same as the walk that they tore up during construction. Was there a reason for not replacing the sidewalk to it pre-construction look?
I agree with Dave’s take. The Milwaukee Street side has exceeded my expectations, which were admittedly low. The Wisconsin Ave side is rather disappointing. The Starbucks building has too much contrast between the heavy stone panels and the dark green window mullions. It looks like the stone is about the crush the first floor…
It’s too bad the City didn’t take advantage of an opportunity to enhance the street design while working on a 1/2-block long construction project. Pointed out to me in conversation was the fact that the City narrowed Milwaukee Street one block north, which is one of the reasons the street scale feels so good. Too bad they didn’t eliminate the angled parking, widen the sidewalk, and install parallel parking. It would have made for a much better pedestrian experience.