Bay View ArtStop Opens
It's a bus stop, art work, and urban island. Grand opening is tonight, but we've already got photos of the new amenity.
Part bus stop, part public art, the ArtStop is the new gateway to Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood. The at-times controversial project now occupies the triangular island at the intersections of E. Lincoln, S. Kinnickinnic, and S. Howell avenues. It’s located in the district of Ald. Tony Zielinski, who shepherded the project from the drawing board to completion.
Following a competitive bidding process including 13 applicants, Roman Montoto was awarded the commission. Montoto is a UW-Milwaukee alum and currently serves as an architecture professor at the University of Idaho. Kotze Construction served as the general contractor on the project.
Yesterday, I used the only logical way to photograph the new gateway, I rode the bus there. The bus stop portion of the ArtStop serves west bound route 53 and south bound route 15 Milwaukee County Transit System buses. Upon my arrival, I was pleased to find people waiting for the bus at both stops, as well as a young couple who just seemed to sitting at the new ArtStop.
The ArtStop was made possible by a gift (of $146,000) to the city by late Department of Public Works employee David Dombrowski, as well as other contributions from Milwaukee County, the Milwaukee Arts Board, Milwaukee Shines, Hub Market owner Paresh Patel and the local business improvement district, #44. The project contract was administered by the BID, which is chaired by Avalon Theatre owner Lee Barczak.
An unveiling party will be held tonight from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Ald. Zielinski, Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic are scheduled to be in attendance.
Photo Gallery
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- January 10, 2018 - Tony Zielinski received $1,000 from Lee Barczak
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I take it Rustoleum was not one of the sponsors. I think I’ll just fondly go back to the original design model (http://bayviewcompass.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Urban-Posturing.jpg) and think of what might have been. I suppose it looks better than what was there, but honestly–it feels like a piece of art whose theme is “grand plans that lose steam and funding”.
I too am disappointed by this, especially in terms of functionality. I wish the city/MCTS/someone with spare cash would invest in nice covered, solar powered, heated, LED lit bus shelters. Throw some LED estimated time displays for the routes served using the GPS service now available, and maybe some advertising. Much larger value add and “gateway” than this is. At least for major transfer points and transit entry areas (such as this stop).
Looks like they put a rusted car frame up on its end and let it sit there for a few decades. I can’t believe how terrible this turned out. If they had just used painted or powder coated steel, it would look much better. This thing should be torn down if it looks this bad after two months. I hope the Avalon theater doesn’t have this low level of craftsmanship.
Yikes. I wholly support these kind of works, but this just seems so… unfinished. I agree more functionality would have been nice. Unless there’s more work to be done on it, I think it really misses the mark of being a site that unifies the area that it occupies.
Anyone know why it took so long? It was suppose to open in June.
I agree with the others comments. The rust bleeding over the concrete looks terrible and it just makes the whole thing unappealing and old. Terrible. Tear it down get your money back or fix it.
I join the other comments, but especially like those of Tracy. It seems like “public art” in
Milwaukee county is fascinated with angular structures that have no purpose. Witness the
unappealing structures on the corners of Oakland and North Avenue, and similar structures
at Lisbon-North Avenue. Let’s top the pretense that this is art and strive for more functionality.
I’m waiting to see how long it takes for the collection of rusted and abanded cars/trucks start showing up. Competitive bid process…based on what ..cost? Who selects this stuff?
There is a serious problem with some of the public “art” in Milwaukee. With an art degree, and as a fifty year art practitioner, how I wish I could be the benevolent dictator, and veto well intentioned blight like this. This thing is just plain awful.
Embarrassing… they should have given the money to Collectivo and let them design it. They have some taste at least.
This could have been amazing, but instead, it’s disjointed and poorly executed. This was supposed to be “Monumental,” and the tower was supposed to be taller. Instead, it’s shorter than the streetlights. The electrical boxes were supposed to be more hidden. The south bound riders get no shelter at all. There is a nice space for the Green Line riders with the exception that the Green Line doesn’t actually stop there. And the plaque? Comic sans? Really? The Bay View graphic designers should rise up and re-do it!