Jeff Beutner

Public Market Scores Gimbel’s Sign

Classic, 86-pound plaque from 1920s joins a sign from rival Boston Store.

When Boston Store Was Big

It's the end of an era for a downtown department store whose history dates to 1897.

The Fabulous Peirce & Whaling Hardware

Circa 1873, a celebrated company located on what is now Plankinton and Michigan.

Independent Milwaukee Brewery, c. 1901

Its best-known beer, Braumeister, lasted into the 1990s.

Roman Coin a Pub For Pooches

Pets are welcome at the historic, 1890 tavern. It's a classic hangout.

Schuster’s Delivery Wagon, 1908

Schusters had department stores for 80 years in Milwaukee and made deliveries to homes.

Lakefront Brewery

This popular attraction is not just for tours anymore.

Lakefront Looking North, 1880s

Oh, what a view Juneau Park offered back then.

Milwaukee Journal, About 1917

Then located on fourth street near Wisconsin Ave., the crusading newspaper had no shortage of delivery vehicles.

Milwaukee Fire Department, 1912

A fleet of GM Cartercars at the downtown Engine House One, located on Broadway since 1872.

T. A. Chapman Late 1860s

Long before Gimbel's and Boston Store, T.A. Chapman was the city's department store. This is its first location.

Walker’s Landing Coming to Commerce Street

The $19.5 million, 133-unit apartment complex along the river will fill in one of the last developable pieces of land on the Beerline.

Swingin’ Door a Downtown Classic

Its history goes back to 1879, when it was the Western Union telegraph office.

More OIC – George Connections

Although the Gary George – OIC-GM connections are well documented, particularly those that have led to the convictions of George, Mark Sostarich and Carl Gee, recently-released audit information and other source documents indicate that perhaps the OIC-George connection needs to be further investigated. Nobody is accusing anybody of wrongdoing, but perhaps investigators should dig a little deeper into the dealings of George and those connected with him, if only to remove any hint of suspicion from settling on the mantle of the innocent. Take, for instance, the relationship between Todd Robert Murphy, OIC-GM and Gary George. Murphy was recently relieved of his Public Relations contract with OIC-GM, and was replaced by Martin Schreiber and Associates. The recent audit of the OIC-GM accounts indicated that payments made by OIC-GM to TRM Marketing Consultants, Murphy’s firm, were “unallowable expenses,” according to Paul Steiber of the State of Wisconsin. His review included two months during which Murphy received $4,000 per month from OIC-GM. Was this a “cushy consulting job,” as Leon Todd has suggested? Todd said the Murphy-planted cover story about OIC-GM that appeared in the Shepherd Express (and, interestingly, in newspapers in the African-American community) was “not enough” to save him his job. According to the audit, OIC-GM was not authorized to hire a public relations consultant with W2 funds. The Ethics Board did not have a complete accounting of the amount of money Murphy’s firm was paid over the years. The board was investigating “direct” payments, and Murphy’s were considered “indirect.” According to John Becker of the Ethics Board, the payments to Todd Robert Murphy’s firm “were not something we focused on.” Nor has the board “seen any checks,” from OIC-GM to Murphy, he said. One wonders if the State of Wisconsin Ethics Board should have done a better job reviewing its own documents, for the Statements of Economic Interests filed by George for the years 1999-2001 show that George received more than $1,000 per year from Murphy’s firm. It would be interesting to know how much exactly per year Murphy sent to George, and what he got in exchange. George also reported receiving funds from Petrie and Stocking, the firm that employed Mark Sostarich, who gave George kickbacks from OIC funds. George also received money from Coleman & Williams, Ltd., an accounting firm. Coleman & Williams also received money from OIC – to conduct an audit of the OIC books. Isn’t it odd that an accounting firm that received money from OIC-GM would also, coincidentally, be sending more than $1,000 per year to George, who was systematically swindling OIC-GM out of money, with the connivance of Carl Gee, the group’s director, and Mark Sostarich, the Petrie and Stocking lawyer? Bill Coleman, of the accounting firm, said the relationship was quite innocent, and that he had hired Gary George to do unspecified legal work for his firm. Since many aspects of attorney-client relationships are privileged, we’ll have to take his word for it. Still, workers at the Ethics Board, the United […]

“Groundbreaking” for Bridge