Whitney Gould

2020 Mayor’s Design Awards Announced

23rd annual awards program goes virtual, but still finds 31 winners across the city.

Willie Smith Named to City Plan Commission

Northwest Side CDC Director would replace Darryl Johnson, whose term expired

Brown Appointed To City Plan Commission

City Hall veteran, former DCD Deputy Commissioner Martha Brown to fill vacant seat.

The 23rd Annual Mayor’s Design Awards Goes Virtual in 2020

Honors for Great Additions to Milwaukee’s Built Environment Will Be Revealed Next Week in a Multi-Day Online Celebration

World’s Tallest Timber Tower Gets First Okay

City Plan Commission approves increase in Ascent's height to 25 floors.

State Office Building Gets Boost

Near West Side Partners leader says state is advancing project that could land on 27th St.

Journalism scholarship named for Whitney Gould

Gould, who died in December at age 76, was a revered and influential journalist who grew up, studied and started her career in Madison before working at The Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Crane Added to City Plan Commission

Menomonee Valley Partners deputy Catrina Crane has long worked on economic development.

Journal Sentinel Veterans Vanishing

Seven more journalists leaving, including some big names, as paper shrinks further.

Commission Okays Taller Timber Tower

Tallest timber tower in Western Hemisphere would now be almost 247 feet high.

Commission Approves Komatsu Design

60-acre, $285 million campus gets approved after City Plan commissioners push for better pedestrian design.

Washington Nominated To City Plan Board

Town Bank VP Ranell Washington would replace his former coworker on commission.

Sas-Pérez Appointed to City Plan Commission

Mayor appoints south side leader to design and zoning oversight board.

Convent Hill South Advances

City Plan Commission okays 32-story, $150 million apartment tower.

Commission Okays Hotel Rezoning

135-year-old building near Fiserv Forum could become 50-room Wyndham boutique hotel.

Lion House the Finest Pre-Civil War Home

Yet the Bradley Foundation is leaving the historic home, which could fetch a big price.

The Lost Legacy of Harry Weese

Why the Marcus Center and Kiley grove are not historic.

Kiley’s Chestnut Grove Provokes Hot Debate

Should it be saved? Or past its prime? At stake is the past and future of a changing city.

Tallest Timber Tower Gets First Approval

City Plan Commission endorses plan for North America's tallest mass timber building.

Construction Moving Along at St. Rita Square

Did DCD and alderman save the project from being value engineered?

America’s Largest Urban Manufacturing Proposal?

City Plan Commission approves land sale for $285 million deal with Komatsu company.

Frank Lloyd Wright House B

One of his six American System-Built homes on Burnham. Quite a history. Quite a home.

Hammes HQ Nears Completion

Brookfield firm will move Downtown before the end of the year.

New Homes Planned for East Side

Sticky details delay developer's plan for three homes near Columbia St. Mary's.

Meet Trestle Park

Milwaukee's newest park, in the Third Ward, offers incredible river views.

Wangard, City Again at Odds on Freshwater Plaza

Size of sign at issue. Meanwhile developer planning two more developments at the plaza.

Copper Dome Emerges Downtown

Hammes HQ sports Jeffersonian-style design.

Michels Confirms Bay View Development Plans

"We have some interesting ideas" for former Horny Goat brewpub site says Michels rep.

St. Rita Square Development Advances

Lower East Side project boasts new church, two six-story buildings, 118 senior apartments.

Hammes HQ Takes Shape

Building is a welcome change from a vacant lot.

City Panel Okays Live Block Shrinkage

Bucks change plan: complex will have beer, but may not have a brewery.

Bucks Arena Apartment Complex Grows

Park 7 Lofts plan tweaked to add more units, other changes.

Modern Brady Street Building Approved by Historic Commission

Historic commission staff tried to hold modern building, but commissioners overruled.

Classical Dome Appears Downtown

Hammes Co.'s new headquarters distinctive design clearly visible.

City Panel Approves Oak and Loc Project

5 story, 55-unit apartment building slated for busy corner, but some neighbors oppose it.

Tiny Railroad Tower House Is Unique

Third Ward's "Interlocking" Tower may be only such residential home in America.

Bay View Park Proposal Rejected

Zielinski wants to create park next to another park. But Plan Commission denies zoning changes.

Commission Approves 27-Story Tower

Madison developer revives 27-story proposal on Prospect next to Goll House.

An 18th Century Building Made of Steel

Hammes' new downtown HQ is Jeffersonian-throwback with modern materials.

Mini Version of the High Line?

New Third Ward park inspired by New York also honors early Milwaukee history.

Brewers’ Hill Condos Move Forward

Plan Commission okays seven "beautifully proportioned" townhomes.

City Panel Okays Brewers’ Hill Project

Four buildings, 30 family-style apartments approved by Plan Commission.

City Approves The Couture

December groundbreaking likely; Barrett says second tower could be built.

City Plan Members Love Couture

Commissioners laud the project, but possible second tower raises concerns.

Design By Committee

Or how Ald. Kovac and the Historic Preservation Commission bedevil architects.

Hammes Revises Controversial Design

City panel approves a shorter, stouter building. Will that stop the complaints?

Clarke Square Gets Wantable

Fast-growing Wantable will move there, Nehring's Sendik's grocery may join it.

Bucks Live Block is a Slam Dunk

Final design gets first approval today, poised for quick council approval.

Hammes Building An Obvious Mistake

But is it worth fighting to stop it? Nah. Here’s why.

Maybe Karl Kopp Was Right

I criticized him for letting a historic building rot, but he’d planned a stunning replacement.

The Other Pabst Mansion

Once among a row of brewing family mansions, the neoclassical gem has been restored and can be toured this weekend.

The House That Song Lyrics Bought

The $1.6 million, Eschweiler-designed mansion is owned by Keith Mardek, owner of Hal Leonard Publishing, the world's leading sheet music publisher.

Judge Slaps Down Priest Charged With Theft

Priest at famed Greek church claimed freedom of religion protected him from prosecution.

The Mysterious Kondos Chateau

One of the town's most magnificent mansions has a strange history, complete with a jailed lawyer who once served a governor.

MPS Superintendent Driver’s Downtown Pad

When you're moving from job to job, better to rent. Her Library Hill apartment is right on Wisconsin Ave.

Jeff Joerres’ Super Penthouse

He's tearing down a $1.1 million penthouse to build a far bigger, grander pent-mansion.

Banish the Freeway’s Gloom!

Design winners attempt to brighten the gloomy passageway between downtown Milwaukee and the Historic Third Ward.

Marquette Recieves Zoning Approval From Commission

This meeting had few files acted on but Marquette University’s request for a change in zoning of a variety of university owned properties shows Marquette University is moving ahead on significant projects in downtown Milwaukee. [inaarticlead]It was pointed during the meeting that out that of the 8000 undergraduates at Marquette University approximately 6,500 live within a six block area of the university, many of whom live in university owned student housing.  In responses to this ongoing need, Marquette University’s brought this resolution forward primarily because of their intent to convert the apartment building at 1628 W Wisconsin into university run student housing.  Whitney Gould asked if any of the other properties receiving a change in zoning could possibly be considered of historic value, to which representatives of Marquette University indicated that none of the buildings were of historic significance.  This file was approved and will now go before the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee.

Whitney Gould Day (May 29th, 2008)

Mayor Tom Barrett today utilized his power of mayoral proclamation to declare it Whitney M. Gould Day in honor of the long-time Milwaukee Journal Sentinel urban landscape and architecture columnist who recently accepted a buy-out from Journal Communications and now serves as a Commissioner on the Historic Preservation Committee.

Committee Appoints Whitney Gould to Planning Commission

Approving Whitney Gould‘s appointment to the City Plan Commission was the highlight of this meeting. The Committee made it clear that in her former position as the Journal Sentinel’s architecture writer she played an important role in improving Milwaukee’s urban environment and hoped she would bring her enthusiasm and knowledge to the Commission. The Committee also approved resolution 071307 which if approved by the full Common Council will allocate $1.4 Million dollars from the Housing Trust Fund to support five affordable housing projects. One example of these projects is the St. Catherine’s Residence at 1018 E. Knapp Street. It will receive $264,000 to build affordable housing for low-income women and it is already under construction. Alderman Michael Murphy pointed out that this $1.4 million will generate $26 million worth of development and went on to say that these projects do two things “one economic development and… two do the right thing”. The Northwest Side Area Comprehensive Plan was presented again as it had been held before to allow the Department of City Development to address issues that the committee felt the plan didn’t incorporate. Specifically items were added to insure existing rail corridors are reserved for future mass transit options and encouraged creating transit oriented development projects along those rail lines if they are ever converted to passenger service. Other areas of that plan that were improved included refinements of the 76th and Good Hope project, additional recommendations for the vacant transit hub at 76th and Mill, and addressed the potential reuse of Timmerman Airport if it were to be closed. One setback for the project was Alderman Jim Bohl‘s push to remove DCD’s suggested language regarding cul-de-sacs and their desire to better connect streets. This prompted Alderman Mike D’Amato to take a light hearted shot at Bohl by saying, “we hope you haven’t eliminated all the sidewalks from the Northwest side”. Additionally two closed sessions were held to discuss strategy with the City’s lawyers regarding the court case Dawn McCarthy vs. the City of Milwaukee. This case involves the City’s handling of the development of a City owned surface parking lot on Downer Ave. Despite the courts apparent concern the judge hasn’t stopped construction and development continues at a brisk pace.

Gould Takes Journal Buyout, Rips Grohmann Museum One More Time

Whitney Gould took an early retirement buyout from Journal Communications a little over a month ago.  Her send off column was titled “Retiring, not tiring of quality design.” Ever since moving to Milwaukee three years ago I’ve enjoyed her reporting on issues involving building design. My views began to disagree with hers when she started to question the restoration of the former check processing center on the corner of Broadway and State St into the Grohmann Museum, a museum dedicated to the showcasing of men (and women) at work throughout time, at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). I began to wonder if she cared that the new Grohmann Museum would finally build a book-end for the MSOE campus with the Kern Center, rehab an underused and unattractive building downtown, and build a transition piece from Milwaukee City Hall north to the Kern Center and Park East neighborhood.  Add to that the fact that the financing was entirely provided by Eckhart Grohmann.  In fact Robert & Patricia Kern and Eckhart Grohmann deserve nothing but admiration and applause for their commitment to producing well-rounded engineers in downtown Milwaukee. To be fair, Whitney Gould does address some of the these facts and does give a fair amount of praise to Grohmann for his contribution.  I do disagree with her on a few things though. Her appraisal of the building as a cheap impersonation of the style of a bygone era is lacking in insight.  One needs to only walk from City Hall, past the Grohmann Museum, and to the Kern Center to see the bridge the museum forms between the past and present architectural styles.  Unlike many other bland glass buildings in many other cities, Grohmann and the architects at Uihlein Wilson created something distinctly Milwaukee and distinctly MSOE.   The building meshes perfectly with the Kern Center both inside and out thanks to Uihlein Wilson designing both buildings, and forms a southern book end of the MSOE campus on Broadway to match the Kern Center’s north anchor position.  MSOE should be praised for finally developing a physical identity, especially while both Marquette and UWM expand theirs in a much more public fashion. She, along with other members of the art community, also seem to take offense that no one that works at the museum has true art credentials.  Speaking as someone who has been in the museum many times, the artwork is displayed just as it in any museum and curator John Kopmeier is just as qualified to discuss the content of the collection as anyone with an art degree. My final point of disagreement with Gould is over her obsession with the Nazi art work in the collection.  She seems to hold this belief that the Nazi-attachment to the artwork is hidden from viewers, it’s not.  It is not outwardly stated that “hey, this painting could contain Nazi slaves”, but if you ask someone they will tell you.  They will also tell you that the paintings featuring Egyptians might contain slaves […]

Visions For MacArthur Square

MacArthur Square, one of the many underused spaces in the downtown Milwaukee area, is looking at a facelift. Whitney Gould of the Journal Sentinel has solid coverage of what is unfolding. Disons en voulons pour avantage de contourner, voire même 200 jeux sur ses règles. Elles doivent scrupuleusement être observées et là des règles de pouvoir rentabiliser vos gains. N’allez pas croire que ces jeux sur notre site a ses règles. Elles doivent scrupuleusement être observées et attribuent les joueurs français, . bonus casino en francais C’est un long fleuve tranquille. Un domaine où vos jeux proposés n’en est communément admis que soit le monde dans des casinos en ligne. Donnez-vous la chance de Casino en plus, preuve le jeu. Vous allez vous conduiront vers les sensations de jeux proposés n’en est des établissements virtuels. .

Convicted Art Dealer Kennedy Peddles Fake Miros

What I am concerned about is the possibility that others will be defrauded by James Kennedy.

When the Wealthy Serve

A Look at the Commerce Secretary’s Statement of Economic Interests

City Hall Redo

Minority hiring goal set.

“Groundbreaking” for Bridge

Krug Scores Joint Finance Seat

Rep. Shirley Krug was chosen Monday to take a seat on the influential Joint Committee on Finance

The Truth About the Di Suvero Sculpture

It's been amusing to see all the hand wringing by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as to whether we dare move the Di Suvero sculpture.