As the Milwaukee County Historical Society’s own neighborhood is likely set to change soon with the addition of a new arena nearby, the museum – located at 910 N. Old World 3rd St. – launches a new exhibition, called "Pride in Place: Milwaukee’s Architecture and Built Environment," which runs through April 10.
The show uses a blend of photographs, text, artifacts and interactivity to help visitors explore the city’s architecture, while learning about Milwaukee’s past and considering its future. The museum’s staff says the displays will look at preservation issues, land usage and new initiatives.
"For ‘Pride in Place’ the major component is going to be large panels with photographs and text that examine many of Milwaukee’s buildings, residences and major parks, as well as local architects and styles common to the city," says assistant curator Ben Barbera.
Elizabeth Plankinton Residence, 1492 W. Wisconsin Ave., is featured in "Pride in Place."
"In addition we will have artifacts relating to the various craftsmen that worked on these buildings, models of some of the buildings and various other architecture related objects and artwork."
Among the materials on display are some about which Barbera is especially excited, he says.
"One particularly cool thing we have is the models the sculptor Nancy Metz White used in designing her installations at Enderis Playfield and Mitchell Boulevard Park. We will also have two touch screen kiosks where people can play a historic preservation game – essentially like a ‘choose your own adventure game’ with a Milwaukee building – and/or look at historic maps and learn more about some of the most iconic Milwaukee structures."
The Historical Society will also offer a range of programming, including lectures, a children’s scavenger hunt and more, in conjunction with the exhibition. Details on those can be found here.
At the same time, the Milwaukee County Historical Society staff has put together a smaller, year-long show.
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Centennial Celebration Exhibition focuses on the GMF’s impact on the city across 100 years. The foundation is among the largest and longest-lived philanthropic community foundations in the world.
Patrick Cudahy created the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s first public fund Nov. 16, 1915 with a $25,000 gift and gave an additional $50,000 in 1917.
"The Greater Milwaukee Foundation exhibit will be installed in our Cudahy Library where we will re-create a bank office circa 1915," says Barbera. "It will have period furniture and decorations and a number of portraits of leading Milwaukee figures. The focus of this exhibit will be a text and image timeline that takes the visitor through the 100-year history of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation."
The foundation is currently in the middle of a centennial birthday project called Gift to the Community that has offered Milwaukeeans free admission to landmarks like the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Milwaukee Public Museum.
Exhibitions at the Milwaukee County Historical Center – located in the old Second Ward Savings Bank, erected in 1913 – are open Monday through Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 per person and is free for children 12 and under.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
