Eyes On Milwaukee
How To Fix O’Donnell Park
It's a complete failure of a park, here is how to fix it.
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It's a complete failure of a park, here is how to fix it. Back to the full article.
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Categories: Eyes on Milwaukee
I couldn’t agree with you more! Great, constructive ideas. I especially like 6. “Re-orient the pathways to maximize available space in the middle. Encourage use of that center space by recreational groups/classes (yoga, frisbee, futsal/soccer, etc, etc). “This space has so much potential.
Bravo… another great article. I hope the guys trying to stop the NML takeover read this. I like preserving parks, I can’t stand it when people can’t see the forest for the trees!
No mention of DiSuvero’s “The Calling?” These are great ideas, but the remade park should imaginatively errace down to the plaza level where the DiSuvero stands and not ignore it the way OD currently does. It seems like it’s just parked there. A proper park would celebrate not just the view east but also fulfill it’s potential as a vantage point on the DiSuvero.
Good points. I see you have read your William Whyte. And, in true William Whyte style, don’t forget: movable furniture and chairs, like Memorial Union in Madison.
@Frank. Good point.
@Begonia – Absolutely.
@Frank – I actually did, but it’s in the photo captions. I can understand how you would have missed it. I’m a big fan of the sculpture. I tend to believe people would like it more if the park provided better views of it.
http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2014/09/24/eyes-on-milwaukee-how-to-fix-odonnell-park/nggallery/image/lonely-calling-2/
http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2014/09/24/eyes-on-milwaukee-how-to-fix-odonnell-park/nggallery/image/lonely-plaza/
A couple things I missed in the piece that warrant a mention.
1. I ruled out a farmer’s market in this space because it would just cannibalize the two great farmer’s markets we have downtown. Westown and East Town. They’re both in the heart of the grid, not the edge, making them much more walkable/accessible. The focus should be on improving, not relocating, those (better park infrastructure to support them).
2. The Night Market is great on Wisconsin Ave. Let’s keep it there.
3. I picked a coffee shop/cafe/small bar for a number of reasons. NM employees could access it as they enter/exit the garage. It would be the only coffee shop for a number of blocks (the US Bank Center one is a cafeteria coffee shop). It provides a good reason for sitting/hanging out in the park.The beer garden concept gets you more happy hour/evening users, without creating an actual bar that might be hostile to traditional park uses.
4. Improving access to and from the park is the single most important thing. This needs to be reiterated as I believe everything else would struggle without it. I see people doing all kinds of things in Juneau Park, I never see any hints that people use O’Donnell Park.
Having an Estabrook style beer garden would be a fantastic traffic driver to the site. Currently there is one location accessible by non-members where one can enjoy a beer and a view of the Lake within 10 miles of downtown. With the Art Museum providing additional viewing enjoyment, this seems like a no brainer. You have zero establishments to enjoy a beverage within 2 blocks of the US Bank tower. In the summer this place would be bursting.
@Jeramey #3 I see no reason it just has to be a beer garden. A full service bar with tables and umbrellas could be great… I’ve seen them work in all sorts of parks / plazas (just not here in the US!).
Yes if there is one thing Milwaukee lacks, it’s places to drink alcohol.
Well, as someone mentioned earlier, the Union Terrace in Madison is a fantastic traffic driver due to view and ambience in a town with no shortage of watering holes. This site has room for this and many other uses in tandem, which could likely be funded by putting such a venue here.
One could make the same comment about Munich, but anyone who has been to the Englischer Garten and the beer garden there by the Pagoda can tell you it is an amazing place to visit, and a tourist draw in and of itself.
Having unique venues that incorporate our natural amenities will draw tourists and locals alike to downtown. This is a good thing.
@PMD People said the same about Estabrook. The truth is has brought people, activity, and funding to a park. Further, I’ve seen these simple ‘umbrella’ bars activate amazing central squares, historic plazas, and grand parks.. why not here?
It just seems lazy and uninspired to me, to automatically say “beer garden,” as if there aren’t enough places to drink in Milwaukee as it is. Why does everything here have to involve alcohol? There’s no other way to make these spaces inviting and draw people in?
Let’s clarify and discuss what the top of the parking structure should be called if the site were to be sold to NML. “Temporary public access on someone else’s roof” is a more accurate description than public park. A public park its owned by the citizens, not a private company. A public park can be invested in and enjoyed in perpetuity by the public. A privately owned rooftop can only become whatever that private company wants it to become and is willing to pay for at that time. All the deed restrictions in the world still restrict future uses to the will of the private company, not the public and their representatives. NML spin doctors are trying to change our public perception of the park until we no longer trust ourselves managing this public asset. We have other and better options.
PMD, this is Milwaukee. This is Wisconsin. We love our beer here and it’s a huge point of bringing people together, to socialize, to enjoy a beverage deep-rooted in Wisconsin’s makeup, and to network. We’re known for that. Why not capitalize on it? I get that there are enough places to drink in Wisconsin as it is, but a venue like this is limited in the area. This would still be incredibly unique I believe. It could be executed in a way that’s refreshing. It doesn’t have to be about JUST beer. I think having some live music would be a great addition from late Spring until early fall.
Thank you for the history lesson. I was born and raised in Wisconsin so I am fully aware of our state’s love affair with alcohol. I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing when you consider the state’s rate of binge-drinking, DUIs, accidents involving alcohol, wrong-way drunk drivers, etc. But I also realize I am in the minority on this, and I am perfectly comfortable with that.
I like many of your suggestions, but I want to emphasize the water feature. As the “Fresh Water Research Capital of the World”, we should have at the center of one of our gateways to the city not just a fountain, but a water feature on the level of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Certainly our water capital partners could work out a subsidy to NML, so they would not have to foot the bill for maintenance and operation all by themselves. Go Big or Go Home.
PMD, What school did you go to? If you thought that was a history lesson, then I feel bad for you. I was simply emphasizing the importance of beer in this city and state. Perhaps you’ve been having a couple of beers yourself? And because sometimes people binge drink and get DUI’s, we should just not at least consider the idea of a beer garden in this space? Well that sounds silly and a bit presumptuous.
Jeff, I really, really like your idea, especially tying into our nickname as “Fresh Water Capital of the World”.
@Jeff Interesting you bring up a water feature idea… I’ve wondered if “The Calling” should really be set ‘floating’ atop a reflecting pond… just an idea
I am well aware of beer’s importance in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. I’m not much of a drinker. I did not say that because of DUIs, a beer garden should be off the table. I said that due to a slew of alcohol-related problems in our state, I don’t think the love affair with alcohol is anything to be proud of. Quite the contrary.
PMD: Well, I certainly can’t agree with you there. But again, you are aware that you are a minority in your stance.
And maybe you’re aware that you are part of the problem. It’s pretty pathetic that someone would be proud of something that is so destructive in Wisconsin.
Nice discussion….
That I think overlooks the fact that it is first and foremost a parking structure.
Several of your ideas would result in less parking, which was the problem of
original conception. It should be lower, on the north side for example.
PS. I think putting the Di Suvero in a pond of water could result in a lawsuit.
anyways….. lots to think about.
Beer Gardens are the quintessential place in which we can fight the culture of over indulgence and abuse of alcohol. These are not the rowdy bars on water street, they are family friendly spaces that encourage social interaction in a way that allows us to appreciate an important pastime that has mostly passed from our city and also combats the idea you need to get inebriated to enjoy alcohol. If one dislikes the drinking culture of Wisconsin, as backwards as this may seem, a beer garden is the exact kind of establishment you’d want to promote.
@Tom – I don’t think any parking spaces would be lost with anything I proposed. Terracing the park down to the street with stairs (for lack of a better description) wouldn’t lower the top of the garage, it would just use the unused space around edges of the structure.
All that said, I’ve never understood why Milwaukee has a highly visible parking garage in that location. As I said in the article, “I think we can all agree though that it’s strange to have a world class building (the Quadracci Pavilion) across the street from a barebones parking garage.” It encourages the auto-dominance of that area, which you’ve written about.
It just doesn’t seem that is going to be changed now or anytime soon. As the garage ages, its removal or replacement will become more and more likely. The availability of capital for a better park does seem there, so I thought I would weigh in.
PMD: I can’t tell if you’re serious, or you’re just choosing to misinterpret me. Why would I be proud of a negative statistic? I’m proud of having deep-rooted history and being from this great city and state. Get it together.
Andy: Great post; however, PMD can’t comprehend that idea. I think it’s a great idea to incorporate a beer garden into this space. Think about the other ones the city has had. They’ve generally been successful all across the board.
PMD: I can’t tell if you’re serious or just choosing to misinterpret what I’m saying. I’m not proud of a negative statistic; I’m proud to be from this great city and state and I’m proud to celebrate Wisconsin’s deep-rooted history.
I’m thinking lots of small tables. Some beer would be fine, but the ability to have a coffee would be good too. I’ve traveled around Europe and Asia, and it seems outside of the US there are many cafes that serve both alcohol and coffee… I don’t know why there are not many places like that here.
I have no ideas, but whatever you do, make O’Donnell Park better for families. That’s what he would have wanted. He was a great man and one of the few ‘honest and for the people’ elected officials in Milwaukee.
Jaramey, Admittedly, the existing O’Donnell park is a poorly, designed non welcoming area. And it truly has the potential to be an important part of our progressive visions for Milwaukee. Many of your ideas are actually incorporated in NWM’s sketch of potential changes to “the park”. I laud those ideas of opening the spaces, making them more active for today’s more active individuals. I also would advocate for integrating the Oak Leaf Trail into the new park design along with sculptured bike racks. And the improved parking garage should include lockable bike “boxes”. (like they have in Indianapolis and other progressive cities.) I also support an outside garden restaurant concept.
Take a look at Millennium Park (built over a parking garage) in Chicago, or the High Line Park in New York, and numerous others. The land is owned by the public, and the large capital investments have been made by corporations, philanthropic organizations and citizen groups; thus insuring the space, the land, will always be a park. With vision and cooperation we can insure the park for the next NEWaukee and improve it together. It is not good public policy to sell our parks.
@Tom hmmm reading this old MLaw makes think changing the area around the Di Suvero might not be a problem.. Sounds like it was already altered http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2001/11/19/murphys-law-the-truth-about-the-di-suvero-sculpture/
Jeramy: Both your diagnosis of what ails O’Donnell and your prescriptions for how to fix it are superb. But if we’re going to maintain our city’s integrity–and follow the law–we need to keep O’Donnell a public park. It’s a distinction of our city that our best, most prestigious piece of land is devoted to public use and enjoyment. Only if it remains in public ownership will we be able to pass it on to coming generations, who will need it even more than we do. Let’s try to persuade Northwestern Mutual to work out an agreeable parking deal at O’Donnell and drop its bid to buy the park. In the best of all possible worlds, the company would join with the city and county and generous citizens to make O’Donnell the lively, inviting place it can be. Maybe one day we can replace it with the beautiful green park that would be the ideal.
I submitted my idea for Newaukee and hope someone reads it fully. Check this out for inspiration: http://www.citygardenstl.org/ it has water features and much more. Audio tour via free app. Really cool and…get this…it has another diSuvero there. I think the concept could work. Interactive art experiences for all, a new tourist and city-dweller attraction, a great place to grab lunch and sit with art – or have kids climb. I visited it in St. Louis – it is really a great experience in the middle of their downtown.
I agree with all the comments about the difference between parks and privately owned property. Selling a park to a private entity means it is no longer a public park, even if access is temporarily granted (up to 20 years as proposed). It’s the prerogative of private owners to do whatever they want with their property.
Jeramey, I like a lot of your ideas about design and perhaps the folks in city or county planning might pick up on some of them in the long term. Perhaps Zilli, the vendor with the restaurant and banquet hall at O’Donnell, could extend its operation to include coffee etc. on the terrace near Coast.
As for why there’s a parking garage across from the museum, it was built to cater to people coming to three museums (including one at O’Donnell), Summerfest etc. as well as those who work downtown. Also, the number of people in the park varies now depending on events in the pavilion, traffic to the museum and events like watching fireworks. But surely there will be more daytime activity than ever when the NML, Irgens, and other planned construction is complete.
Milwaukee scored points recently for adding public park space. Abdicating a prime downtown park seems like a regressive, bankrupt idea.