Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Central business districts -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Milwaukee (Wis.) -- Aerial photographs; Railroad stations -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Chicago and North Western Railway Co. -- Buildings; Northwestern Mutual...
The year 1961 isn't so very long ago, but Milwaukee's skyline looked a lot different then. The Chicago and North Western railroad depot, built in 1889, still stood at 915 E. Wisconsin Ave., on the eastern edge of Downtown. Behind the depot tower...
Long before freeways arrived and before shopping malls were built outside the city, Milwaukee's downtown was the center of entertainment for the area. There were theaters, nightclubs, dance halls and taverns - and plenty of stores and shops where...
Jefferson Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Streets -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Pfister Hotel (Milwaukee, Wis.); Hotels -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Central business districts -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee
Milwaukee's downtown streets were quiet in 1890 when this picture was taken. The quiet was disturbed by just two bicycles, a carriage and few pedestrians. Seen here is the now busy Jefferson St., looking south to Wisconsin Ave. The Pfister Hotel...
Broadway Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Miller Building (Milwaukee, Wis.); Spencerian Business College (Milwaukee, Wis.); Horse-drawn vehicles; Traffic signs and signals -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Buildings --...
Although the Model T had been on the market for over a decade, this downtown intersection scene from 1925 shows that Milwaukee streets were not yet automobile oriented. A horse drawn truck delivered goods for the Milwaukee Linen Supply Co. (whose...
Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Central business districts -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Streets -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Automobiles
The year 1929 may have been the "crash" one, but it looked for all the world like business as usual in downtown Milwaukee, looking east on Wisconsin Ave. from N. 3rd St. From the looks of the cars lined up here bumper to bumper, transportation...
Plankinton Building (Milwaukee, Wis.); Plankinton Arcade (Milwaukee, Wis.); John Plankinton Mall (Milwaukee, Wis.); Shopping malls -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Arcades -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Grand Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.)
The signs of rebuilding were all there - barricades, ladders, sawhorses - and only the skylight, lamps and mezzanine give a clue as to where this picture was taken. Sharp eyed Downtowners will recognize it as the west end of the Plankinton Arcade...
Grand Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Central business districts -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Glass Block (Milwaukee, Wis.); Commercial buildings -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Browning King & Co. (Milwaukee, Wis.)
In the 1920s, Grand Ave. (now Wisconsin Ave.) looked like this west of the Milwaukee River bridge. On the south side of the avenue, the Gimbels building towered over its neighbors, while the Glass Block was across the street to the north. One of...
Third Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Matthews Bros. Building (Milwaukee, Wis.); Woolworth Building (Milwaukee, Wis.); Commercial buildings -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; James Morgan & Co. (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Traffic is detouring around the building at N. 3rd St. and Wisconsin Ave. which for so many years was the downtown home of Woolworth's. This is how the site looked at the turn of the century. The Matthews Bros. Building was the only building on...
Enclosed shopping malls have been a part of Milwaukee much longer than one might expect. The Plankinton Arcade, built in 1916, was designed for shoppers' convenience. A true arcade, it had arched, covered passageways with Gothic details between...
Third Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); North Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Rosenberg's Ladies Ready to Wear (Milwaukee, Wis.); Shopping centers -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Walgreen Co.; W. T. Grant Co.; Lawton's Clothing (Milwaukee, Wis.); Brills Clothes...
Even when Wisconsin Ave. was Grand and shoppers filled downtown streets, the city was too large for one area to fill the needs of all its shoppers. In those days, neighborhood "shopping centers" did as brisk a business as downtown stores. One of...
Eighth Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Michigan Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Fourth Ward School (Milwaukee, Wis.); Plankinton School (Milwaukee, Wis.); Fourth District School (Milwaukee, Wis.); Eighth Street School (Milwaukee, Wis.); North Division Downtown...
There were wooden sidewalks, hitching posts and gas lights at 8th and Michigan Streets when this building, now the oldest building in use in the Milwaukee Public School System, was built in 1884. A school has occupied the site ever since the...
Fourth Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Michigan Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association; Blue Cross and Blue Shield United of Wisconsin; Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield; Robert Hall (Firm); Park Hotel (Milwaukee, Wis.); Royal...
The block bounded by 4th and Michigan Sts. is shown here in the mid-1970s on the verge of its transformation into the site for the Blue Cross/Blue Shield United building. The low, plain building in the foreground had been the Downtown flagship...
Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Streets -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Fashion; Central business districts -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; G. M. Barrett (Firm); George M. Barrett (Firm)
The fashion of the day was long skirts, narrow waists and wide brimmed hats for the ladies when this picture was taken in about 1909. Even then, 5th and Wisconsin was a wind swept corner, where coattails blew and men chased hats down the street. ...
Barnum and Bailey; Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows; Parades -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Third Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Horse-drawn vehicles; James Morgan Dry Goods
The last horse drawn wagon of Barnum's circus parade is just visible at the lower left, crossing 3rd St. and Grand Ave., now 3rd and Wisconsin, in front of James Morgan's Dry Goods House, whose sign advertises another location on E. Water St. And,...
Central business districts -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Buildings -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Clybourn Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Milwaukee River (Wis.); Automobiles; Michigan Street Bridge (Milwaukee, Wis.)
This is a 1934 view, looking north from W. Clybourn along the Milwaukee River. The 1932 Buick (right) and 1932 Cadillac (center) might have fared well during warmer months, but probably not too well in the dead of winter, after such close exposure...
Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Broadway Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Street-railroads -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Central business districts -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Business enterprises -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Eastman Coal Company...
This photograph of the southwest corner of Wisconsin St. and Broadway in 1895 affords a glimpse of what life was like then. Dr. Swenk ("The Painless Dentist") was advertising his special service - "sets teeth on rubber - $6.50." Miller &...
Twelfth Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Walters Sinclair Service Station (Milwaukee, Wis.); Alabama Apartments (Milwaukee, Wis.); Hotel La Salle (Milwaukee, Wis.); Central business districts -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee;...
Antique car buffs may be able to approximate the era this photograph was taken as the late 1930s; many Marquette University alumni and other downtowners will recognize the site as the northeast corner of N. 12th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave. When this...
"We're going to have some nasty weather," warned weatherman Howard J. Thompson, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 1947, and he didn't know how right he was! Less than 48 hours later, Milwaukee was buried under 18.1 inches of snow. The fall was so thick that...
Republican Hotel (Milwaukee, Wis.); Third Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Kilbourn Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); George Diamond Steak House (Milwaukee, Wis.); Hotels -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee
The Republican Hotel, once located at 907 N. 3rd St., was originally designed by F. Velguth of Milwaukee. It retained, through successive remodelings, the towers, balconies, fire escapes and exterior ornamentation of the late 19th century. Its...
Gimbel Brothers; Wisconsin Avenue (Milwaukee, Wis.); Central business districts -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Department stores -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Advertising, Outdoor
Gimbels Brothers store has long been a downtown fixture, and over the years such department store merchandise has reflected the fashions, needs, customs - and prices - of the time. This picture was taken in the 1890s when the store still used an...
