The Curious History of Cathedral Square
Over 180 years, rising from pig-filled mud-hole to Courthouse Square to a recreational hub of East Town.
Sep 7th, 2021
Gordon Place is Rich with Milwaukee History
The street gets its name from an early Milwaukee family, with ties to the founding of the parks system.
May 25th, 2021
11 Short Streets With Curious Names
All on the East Side. Four from Sir Walter Scott novels and a couple Harvard connections.
Nov 17th, 2020
Where Plankinton and Wells Meet
Two streets, two Milwaukee pioneers and a downtown square with a curious history.
Oct 20th, 2020
The Curious History of Wedgewood Drive
Why a street evoking English china? Why were sidewalks behind the houses?
Sep 16th, 2020
Lisbon Ave. Should Have Been Called Merton
The plank road went beyond Lisbon to the Town of Merton, yet wasn’t named for it.
Aug 22nd, 2020
How a President’s Row Was Created
The South Side has six consecutive streets named after presidents, all but one Republican.
Jul 21st, 2020
Mann Family Owned Much of Bay View
Ran lumber companies, named Bay View streets, owned Lion House on N. Franklin Place.
Jun 15th, 2020
25 Streets Have Added Honorary Names
Since 2005, honorary signs for James Cameron, Don Sykes, Mae Elizabeth Dey, many others.
May 11th, 2020
Milwaukee Has Many Private Streets
You may recognize them by the brown signs. That is, if you can access the road.
Apr 14th, 2020
19 Streets Named After the Irish
Many of these Milwaukee streets were named after men who emigrated from Ireland.
Mar 17th, 2020
Holton Street Named For Abolitionist
Edward Dwight Holton: teetotaler, abolitionist, storekeeper, bank president and public servant.
Feb 20th, 2020
Custer’s Last Stand in Milwaukee
There’s still a city street that honors him. Or is it named after a Town of Granville settler?
Jan 23rd, 2020
The Return of Streets With Two Names
1920s program purged most, but streets with multiple names popping up in recent decades.
Dec 27th, 2019
Why Does City Have Two Pierce Streets?
One in Riverwest, one on South Side, each named in 1850s after different people.
Oct 23rd, 2019
Schlinger Ave. Named After Vaunted Wolf Hunter
George Schlinger came from Prussia, had 14 children and some heartbreaking losses.
Sep 9th, 2019
Murray Ave. Named for Early Real Estate Investor
Scottish immigrant and early Milwaukeean James Murray figured into history of city.
Aug 5th, 2019
A Great Street Named Newberry
Newberry Boulevard has style, charm and park in the middle.
Jul 19th, 2019
The Quonsets of Bay Street
Temporary homes for WWII Veterans are the only development ever to land on the west side of S. Bay Street.
Jun 24th, 2019
Atkinson Name Was Twice Opposed
Avenue named after first State Veterinarian, but many wanted changed to Malcolm X.
May 3rd, 2019
Hawley Rd. Honors First Register of Deeds
Cyrus Hawley got rich on real estate and was an opponent of immigrant militia companies.
Apr 18th, 2019
The Rise and Fall of John Keefe
Keefe Ave was named after wealthy businessman, later disgraced for embezzling.
Apr 2nd, 2019
Chase Ave. Was First Road to Chicago
It honors doctor, brickmaker, glass manufacturer, legislator and school commissioner Enoch Chase.
Mar 13th, 2019
The Man Who Made This Cream City
Manufacturer George Burnham helped make city famous for cream-colored bricks, named a south side street.
Feb 25th, 2019
Commerce Street Arose From a Canal
Planned to reach Mississippi River, it never even got to North Avenue.
Feb 11th, 2019
The Complicated History of Highway 100
Part of it was “Lovers Lane,” all of it made a 38-mile bypass of the city.
Jan 28th, 2019
Spencer Tracy Lived on Logan Avenue
Future Hollywood star grew up on street created in 1880s, named after Civil War general.
Jan 14th, 2019
We Hate You, John Abert
City named one street to insult an Abert, only to later honor another Abert with a street.
Jan 1st, 2019
Howard Avenue’s History Is Tangled Tale
It all began when this New Yorker named James Howard came here in the 1830s.
Dec 13th, 2018
Two Riverwest Streets Had Ethnic Divisions
Fratney and Bremen streets reflected tension between Germans and Irish and Poles.
Nov 26th, 2018
The Two Streets Named Layton
Meat packer and philanthropist Frederick Layton was so beloved he was honored twice.
Nov 15th, 2018
Swan Boulevard Created By a Deer Hunter
Emery Swan came here in 1837. Street he created changes names several times.
Oct 17th, 2018
Estes Street Honors Bay View Pioneer
North Carolina native Elijah Estes settled in 1830s in area that became Bay View.
Oct 1st, 2018
The Curious History of Weil Street
Actually named after a Frenchman named Schleisinger, who founded Slinger.
Sep 20th, 2018
The Mystery Of Young Street
Where is it? How long is it? Short street created in 1929 would stump local trivia experts.
Aug 29th, 2018
Silver Spring Has Wild History
Ethnic fights, ice harvesting, tub races, pigeon shooting and more.
Aug 15th, 2018
How Forest Home Became An Avenue
First an Indian trail, then Janesville Plank Rd., then came a cemetery for 28 mayors.
Jul 24th, 2018
Why Two Streets Named Washington?
The great street name purge of 1920s left in place the duplication of Washington names.
Jul 11th, 2018
Mitchell Street, Town’s Most Popular Name?
Mitchell Park, Boulevard, airport, etc., all named after one family.
Jun 22nd, 2018
Elliott Circle Is A Unique Oddity
City’s only full-circle street near 58th and North has pie-shaped lots, oddly numbered addresses.
Mar 6th, 2017
The Dreadful Legacy of Charles Nash
His greed led to the horrible Newhall House fire. Yet a street still bears his name.
Feb 16th, 2017
Meinecke Paid For Street Named After Him
The lasting legacy of toy importer and German immigrant Adolph Meinecke.
Feb 2nd, 2017
Runaway Horses Plagued Vliet Street
Killing and injuring many in the 19th century. Then the streetcar arrived.
Jan 24th, 2017
The Barons of Bay View
Wealthy businessmen Stephen Clement and Eber Ward founded Bay View, named many streets.
Jan 5th, 2017
Auer Ave. Honors Eugenics Champion
Louis Auer did all he could to promote more births by the “superior” races.
Dec 15th, 2016
Villard Ave. Salutes City’s Transit History
So does Aldrich St. But these were two wildly different transportation companies.
Dec 1st, 2016
Why Such Strange Names?
Falling Heath? Fairy Chasm? Port Sunlight? A short history of town’s oddest names.
Nov 17th, 2016
Center St. Actually Named After a Person
It was never the center of anything, but named after man who devised the “straight cut.”
Nov 3rd, 2016
Reservoir Ave. Was Font of City’s Water
And part of street, now named Glover, celebrates the freeing of famed fugitive slave.
Oct 24th, 2016
Cudahy’s Packed Avenues
Some cities name their streets after states or even wines, but Cudahy took a meatier approach.
Sep 29th, 2016
Whitnall Ave. Named After “Father” of Parks
And Gordon Park is named for his son.
Sep 15th, 2016
Wahl Ave. Named After “Grandfather” of Parks
Before Whitnall there was Christian Wahl, who helped create city’s parks system.
Sep 2nd, 2016
Greenfield Ave and Bias Against Poles
It was the northern border of city’s Polish community, which suffered horrible prejudice.
Aug 11th, 2016
The Poetic Legacy of Hackett Avenue
Residents objected to East Side street name, but were defeated by a poem.
Jul 29th, 2016
KK Is Bay View’s Main Street
With a rich history, labor unrest and streetcar deaths, going back to 1865.
Jul 14th, 2016
The 12 Segments of McKinley Avenue
Including Cold Spring area that held horse races and set world speed record.
Jul 1st, 2016
Downer Avenue and Two “Spite” Houses
Both tales of revenge have a connection to Judge Jason Downer.
Jun 16th, 2016
Humboldt Once Part of a Separate Village
Village of Humboldt, south of Capitol Dr., along Humboldt Plank Rd., lasted for decades.
Jun 2nd, 2016
Lincoln Memorial Dr. Was Under Water
A 20-year landfill project created the road and the city’s waterfront playground.
May 20th, 2016
Water Street Is Old Indian Trail
The first street built ran crooked, with gambling houses and other dens of vice.
May 6th, 2016
Streets With Multiple Names
Is it Canal or Fairview, McKinley or Knapp, Third or MLK Drive? Yep, it’s confusing.
Apr 22nd, 2016
Ghost Markers of Milwaukee
College Ave., Court St., Pittsburgh Ave. and other names are for something gone -- or never there.
Apr 7th, 2016
Tiny Corcoran Ave. Raised a Big Star
Cornelius L. Corcoran served as Third Ward’s alderman for 44 years, longer than any council member in history
Mar 25th, 2016
Famous Streets From Other Cities
Bourbon and Boylston streets, Euclid Ave., Santa Monica Blvd. and others can be found here.
Mar 11th, 2016
Jefferson Street Became Asphalt Showcase
Charles Pfister spent his own money to pave the street abutting his hotel in the new style.
Mar 4th, 2016
State Street Had Three Names
And once was the chief connection to Watertown Plank Rd, a road made of oak planks.
Feb 25th, 2016
The Curious History of Franklin Place
Who is it really named after? And why the statue of a Scottish poet in a German city?
Feb 19th, 2016
Erie Street Was Gas Powered
The Gas Works that began lighting the city in 1852 nearly caught fire in epic 1892 conflagration.
Feb 11th, 2016
Jackson St. Almost Had a Subway
A mile-long underground railway was planned in 1890s.
Feb 4th, 2016
How Elizabeth St. Became National Ave.
Its name was changed in 1870s but many still used the old name for decades.
Jan 29th, 2016
Buffalo St. Was Where Black Man Lynched
Short street had city’s only lynching and only one of an African American in state history.
Jan 22nd, 2016
Yes, Tory Hill Is a Street
It was named to commemorate the old Irish neighborhood obliterated by a freeway.
Jan 14th, 2016
Michigan Street Had a Mob Riot
And a dispute involving the streetcar, which ultimately won the day.
Jan 8th, 2016
Van Buren Named After Democratic Vice-President
Solomon Juneau was a Democrat and named many streets after members of his party.
Dec 17th, 2015
Highland Was Known as “Sauerkraut Boulevard”
It was also Johnson St. and Prairie St. before its name changed.
Dec 11th, 2015
Marshall Street Attracted Orphans
Not to mention delinquent boys. Yet it was named after a famed judge.
Dec 3rd, 2015
The Short Swampy History of Chicago Street
Built on a marsh, it became a magnet for immigrants.
Nov 19th, 2015
Astor Street Was For The “Bluebellies”
The highest point between lake and river was where wealthiest people settled.
Nov 12th, 2015
Ogden and Lyon Almost Obliterated
Park East Freeway would have run to lakefront, eliminating both streets.
Nov 5th, 2015
Paving Prospect Pitted Neighbor Against Neighbor
In 1895, neighbors wrestled over an issue: should the street be paved with asphalt or wooden blocks?
Oct 31st, 2015
Farwell Developed Due To Streetcar
And was named after the man who claimed he saved Vice-president Andrew Johnson.
Oct 23rd, 2015
Wells Street Has Quite a History
That includes the impact of plutocrat Daniel Wells, Greta Garbo and an Irish/German riot.
Oct 15th, 2015
Broadway, the Street of Tragedies
Three of the most tragic incidents in city history happened on Broadway.
Oct 8th, 2015
Clybourn Was Once the City’s Main Street
All the lake traffic got off at Clybourn and hotels and restaurants lined the street.
Oct 2nd, 2015
The History of Milwaukee Street
It's one of the original village streets dating back to 1835.
Sep 25th, 2015
Milwaukee’s Grand Avenue
For much of the twentieth century, Wisconsin Avenue was the entertainment and retail center of the city.
Sep 18th, 2015
Cass Street, the Avenue of Plutocrats
That included the wealthiest man in Milwaukee history, richer than Bill Gates.
Sep 10th, 2015
The Curious History of St. Paul Avenue
It was once Detroit and Fowler Streets, and before that was under water.
Sep 3rd, 2015
The History of Kilbourn Avenue
Formerly Biddle and Cedar Streets, it was renamed and widened into grand civic lane.
Aug 24th, 2015
The History of Plankinton Avenue
Once West Water St., it’s pretty short but long on history.
Aug 17th, 2015
The History of Juneau Avenue
Once Division and Chestnut streets, it was consolidated into a tribute to city’s founder.
Jul 29th, 2015
The History of Mason Street
Named after a Michigan Territory governor, the street became Milwaukee’s Newspaper Row.
Jul 20th, 2015
