Doors Open Milwaukee Celebrates 15 Years, Sept. 28–29

MILWAUKEE, WI — Historic Milwaukee’s highly anticipated annual event, Doors Open Milwaukee, returns on September 27-28, offering visitors exclusive access to more than 160 iconic sites spanning from Downtown to Milwaukee’s vibrant neighborhoods.

In celebration of its 15th anniversary, this year’s event will feature exciting new additions, including the Uplifting Mansion, The Wisconsin Club, Concordia 27, Food For Health, She Slangs Wood, and more. Attendees will also enjoy returning favorites like the Bradley Symphony Center, America’s Black Holocaust Museum, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Burnham Block.

Doors Open Milwaukee was inspired by similar open-house events like Doors Open Toronto and Doors Open Denver. The concept was brought to life in 2011 by George Wagner, a Historic Milwaukee tour guide and retired librarian, who envisioned a way to make Milwaukee’s rich architecture accessible to all. The inaugural event attracted 10,000 visitors across 80 locations, and last year, over 72,000 people visited 150 sites throughout the city.

To start planning your visit, explore the full list of participating locations on Historic Milwaukee’s website: https://historicmilwaukee.org/doors-open/.

Kids’ Passport Program Returns
Families can look forward to the return of the Kids Passport, which encourages young explorers to visit kid-friendly locations and collect stamps along the way. Passports will be available at designated locations during the event weekend.

New for 2025: Key to the City Scavenger Hunt
In honor of Doors Open Milwaukee’s 15th anniversary, Historic Milwaukee will host a special Key to the City Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, Sept 13. Vintage skeleton keys will be hidden in three Milwaukee parks, with keys tied to Doors Open prizes, including tickets to the City Hall Bell Tower tour and exclusive Doors Open merchandise.

Fashion Meets Architecture
On Sunday, Sept. 28, Milwaukee Fashion Week partners with Doors Open Milwaukee to present Structures and Silhouettes, an immersive fashion experience inside the historic City Hall. This event blends architectural grandeur with high fashion, celebrating Milwaukee’s local talent through a live model exhibit.

Volunteers Needed
Historic Milwaukee is seeking volunteers to help welcome visitors and count attendees at sites throughout the weekend. Volunteers will receive an exclusive badge, allowing them to skip lines, plus other special perks.

Free Admission
Doors Open Milwaukee is a free event open to the public. Historic Milwaukee thanks its generous sponsors and partners for making this program possible, including:

Johnson Controls Foundation, Zilber Family Foundation, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Veolia, We Energies Foundation, Fund for Lake Michigan, Davidson Park, MGIC, Reinhart Law, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Saint Johns on the Lake, Visit Milwaukee, Zimmerman, Downtown BID, Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation, Maihaugan Foundation, with in-kind sponsorship from Bublr Bikes, OnMilwaukee, and Milwaukee County Parks.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.