Thanks to digging by a couple Milwaukee history lovers and the Milwaukee County Historical Society, the work of photographer Ray Szopieray survives, helping to open a window on a Milwaukee that in some cases endures, but in others has vanished.
Here is another set of great images uncovered by Adam Levin, who runs the Old Milwaukee group on Facebook.
Enjoy this walk down memory lane.
From the 40th floor of the First Wisconsin Building, June 24, 1979
From the 40th floor of the First Wisconsin Building, circa 1977
Brady Street Art Festival, Sept. 11, 1977
75-year-old concession attendant, Summerfest 1979
West Wisconsin Avenue, Aug. 4, 1975
MacArthur Square, Aug. 4, 1975
East Wisconsin Avenue, 1975
Hyatt Regency construction, July 17, 1979
Lakefront Festival of Art, July 24, 1979
Street Sweeper, 4th Wisconsin, June 12, 1979
The Telephone House, 2nd and National, July 1, 1979
Wisconsin Avenue Bridge replacement, August 1975
West Wisconsin Avenue, west from Plankinton, Aug. 4, 1975
Former Wadham's gas station, Cedarburg, Sept. 28, 1975
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.
