Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to get inside the majestic, fairytale-esque North Point Water Tower, located on an 80-foot bluff between North Lake Drive and Lake Michigan.

Unfortunately, the public is not permitted inside anymore – not even pesky OnMilwaukee.com reporters who beg and plead – but the Milwaukee Water Works folks were kind enough to share information and photos of the water tower with me.

So, here's the deal. Charles A. Gombert designed the 175-foot, Victorian Gothic style water tower, which was built in 1873 and cost $50,892. It is made from cream-colored "Wauwatosa cut" limestone and Cream City bricks.

The North Point Water Tower was constructed as an essential component of the system. The standpipe it covered relieved the pulsations caused by the pumping engines, which, in turn, reduced pressure on the water mains and minimized breakage.

However, by 1963, modern pumping equipment replaced the system and the water tower was taken out of service. The original pump station – as well as the "new" one constructed in 1963 – is at the base of the hill just below the tower.

In 1968, the Milwaukee Landmark Commission identified the tower as an official landmark.

Today, it continues to serve as a night beacon for lake shipping. It remains one of Milwaukee's most recognizable structures as well as a symbol of our precious, abundant water supply. I have not completely given up on getting inside the tower someday to fulfill some sort of Rapunzel fantasy, but for now, I am satisfied to enjoy it – in all of its Gothic splendor – from the outside.

Preferably, from the lakefront with a dish of custard in my hand.

I recently stopped in the Sky High Gallery, inside the Sky High Skateboard Shop, 2501 S. Howell Ave., to check out the much-hyped "What's Lost Is Safe" installation by California's Monica Canilao. It is Canilao's first solo exhibition in Milwaukee; she co-created a show at Paper Boat Gallery in 2007.

Milwaukee's Faythe Levine curated "What's Lost Is Safe," which has been described as featuring "modified antique parlor portraits enshrined in collections of human- and nature-made objects scavenged locally."

To me, the installation is a Southwestern / Victorian netherworld. It feels like stepping inside a three-dimensional collage that's a perfectly imperfect arrangement of attic treasures, vintage fabric store finds and items you might slip into your pocket after finding on a leafy or dusty or rocky path. It feels wedding hopeful and funeral nostalgic all at the same time. It's really, really beautiful.

You can look at the piece as a whole, and make note of the larger items like massive horns and a wicked "chandelier" made from branches and small found objects, or you can zoom in and discover details like wisps of hair, dried flowers, buttons and tiny teeth.

Strange, but for a second or two, I wished I had brought a sleeping bag. I wanted to unfurl it, right in the middle of it all, build a fire and sleep there for the night. Instead, we took photos and later, tracked down Levine to express how breathtaking this show is and to find out more about her future artistic plans.

OnMilwaukee.com: You said this show is your favorite show you've brought to Milwaukee to date. Why is that?

Faythe Levine: Since I had worked with Monica in the past, I was familiar with her ability to create a magical environment out of a pile of people-discarded garbage. Watching this process from start to finish was amazing and also exhausting. I think it's difficult to explain the layers of what's going on in the room, the photos don't do it full justice either. I am also enthralled with t…

On Friday, June 3, during an event called "Cycle In The Silent Revolution," Fred Gillich will announce the details of a large-scale fundraiser he is co-chairing with Cassie Bauman in October for the Pablove Foundation.

Gillich, the owner of the Too Much Rock for One Hand Showroom, 207 E. Buffalo, is inviting people who are interested in finding out more about the event to drop by the studio between 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 2 on the Milwaukee Mile race track at the State Fair. For $10, kids and adults will be able to ride their bikes on the race track. A yet-to-be-determined film will also screen on the inside of the track.

Pre-registration will also be available at the event on June 3. Plus, a new, limited-edition print and T-shirt will be available for sale and people can meet members of the Pablove Foundation, which raises money to fight childhood cancer. The foundation was set up by former Milwaukeean Jeff Castelaz and his wife, Jo Ann Trailkill, who lost their 6-year-old son, Pablo, to cancer.

Gillich is a long-time friend of the family's.

"Pablo was a friend of mine. We used to eat ice cream and play practical jokes on each other and make fart noises," says Gillich. "Yeah, that little dude was a good friend of mine."

The Circus Club, 906 S. Barclay Ave., will open on Saturday, June 4 and bring a completely classy and sassy new nightspot to Brew City. The massive complex will feature three bars, a "fantasy" dance floor, live performers, DJs and tented lounges. Valet parking, table service, party rooms, private lounges, costume stewards, interactive entertainment and burlesque will also be a part of the freaky fun.

Mitchell Olszewski, Robert Smith and Andrea Farr are behind this venture.

The club will be open Fridays from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., Saturdays from 8 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

"Come one, come all to the best night of your life, one you"ll never forget. The Circus Club is a perfect addition to the 'gayborhood' and a daring display of pageantry and illusion," says Olszewski.

This truly sounds like a fresh concept and one that will bode well in the Walker's Point neighborhood. I, for one, will be checking it out.