Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Milwaukee (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Public Museum, and Milwaukee Public Market. Also, be sure to include Harley-Davidson Museum in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Milwaukee (Wisconsin).
Table of Contents
Milwaukee Art Museum
A-list art in an architectural landmark. The Milwaukee Art Museum is an art museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its collection contains nearly 25,000 works of art.[1]
Address: 700 N Art Museum Dr, 53202 Milwaukee
Milwaukee Public Museum
Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Public Museum is a natural and human history museum in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum was chartered in 1882 and opened to the public in 1884; it is a not-for-profit organization operated by the Milwaukee Public Museum, Inc. MPM has three floors of exhibits and the first Dome Theater in Wisconsin. In September 2020, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley praised the importance of MPM, saying it serves "the most diverse clientele of any cultural institution in the county or the state".[2]
Address: 800 W Wells St, 53233 Milwaukee (Downtown Milwaukee)
Milwaukee Public Market
Fresh food market in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Market is a public market located in the Historic Third Ward neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Space in the building is leased to vendors, primarily local food businesses.
The market's founders drew inspiration for the development from the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, envisioning a space that would support smaller, local businesses.
Typical food offerings include bakery items, meats, produce, seafood, soup, cheese, spices, wine, coffee, and candies. When the market opened in 2005, it focused primarily on selling raw ingredients, but over time, organizers found that vendors were more successful selling freshly prepared foods. Other vendors offer flowers, gifts, and apparel. The market also includes community space for events.
The Milwaukee Public Market building was designed by The Kubala Washatko Architects from Cedarburg, Wisconsin and opened in 2005. The firm states that the steel, glass, and brick material chosen for the building "honors the industrial history of the Third Ward." The initial development cost approximately $10 million and was funded with a mix of private and public funds.
The market is served by the new "The Hop" streetcar line, which opened in November 2018.[3]
Address: Milwaukee, 400 North Water Street
Harley-Davidson Museum
Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Harley-Davidson Museum is an American museum located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin celebrating the more than 100-year history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The 130,000-square-foot three building complex on 20 acres along the Menomonee River bank contains more than 450 Harley-Davidson motorcycles and hundreds of thousands of artifacts from the Harley-Davidson Motor Company's 118-year history. The museum attracts an estimated 300,000 visitors annually.[4]
Address: 400 W Canal St, 53201 Milwaukee
Milwaukee County Zoo
200-acre wildlife park with a carousel. The Milwaukee County Zoo is a zoo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operated by the Milwaukee County Parks Commission. The zoo houses 1,800 animals and covers an area of 190 acres. It is noted for the second birth of polar bears and siamangs in captivity and for their locally famous gorilla Samson, who lived from 1950 to 1981 and whose bones are now on display at the Milwaukee Public Museum. During World War II, a celebrity animal of the zoo was Gertie the Duck and her ducklings. The zoo is also home to one of the largest group of bonobos in one location outside their native Democratic Republic of the Congo, and has two cheetahs from the National Zoo in Washington, DC.[5]
Address: 10001 W Bluemound Rd, 53226 Milwaukee
Betty Brinn Children's Museum
The Betty Brinn Children's Museum is a non-profit children's museum located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[6]
Address: 929 E Wisconsin Ave, 53202 Milwaukee (Downtown Milwaukee)
BMO Harris Bradley Center
Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bradley Center was a multi-purpose arena located on the northwest corner of North Vel R. Phillips Ave. and West State Streets in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States.
It was home to the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA and the Marquette University men's basketball team. It was also the home of the Milwaukee Wave of the MISL, from 1988 to 2003, the original Milwaukee Mustangs of the AFL from 1994 to 2001, along with the second incarnation of the team from 2009 to 2012, the Badger Hockey Showdown from 1989 to 2002, and the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL (and formerly of the IHL) from 1988 to 2016.
The arena employed about 50 full-time employees, mostly tradespeople and about 700 part-time employees to help during events.
Following the opening of the new Fiserv Forum in late August 2018, the Bradley Center was demolished to make way for future development. Assets from the arena, including display boards, scoreboards, equipment and sports and concert memorabilia were auctioned off.[7]
Address: Milwaukee, 1001 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.
Discovery World
Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Discovery World is a nonprofit Science & Technology center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This museum is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of STEM majors through curiosity and creativity.[8]
Address: 500 N Harbor Dr, 53202 Milwaukee
Pabst Mansion
Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Pabst Mansion is a grand Flemish Renaissance Revival-styled house built in 1892 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA for Captain Frederick Pabst, founder of the Pabst Brewing Company. In 1975 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is now a historic house museum, offering tours to the public.[9]
Address: 2000 W Wisconsin Ave, 53233-2004 Milwaukee
St. Hedwig's
St. Hedwig's Roman Catholic Church, is a Roman Catholic parish located at 1702 N. Humboldt Ave. on Milwaukee, Wisconsin's East Side at the center of the East Brady Street Historic District, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.[10]
Address: 1702 North Humboldt Avenue, Milwaukee
Menomonee Valley
Neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Menomonee Valley or Menomonee River Valley is a U-shaped land formation along the southern bend of the Menomonee River in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Because of its easy access to Lake Michigan and other waterways, the neighborhood has historically been home to the city's stockyards, rendering plants, shipping, and other heavy industry. It was also a primary source of pollution for the river.
Glacial meltwater formed the Menomonee Valley over 10,000 years ago when the Lake Michigan Lobe of the Wisconsin Glaciation retreated and eroded a swath four miles (6 km) long and half of a mile wide. Today, it is roughly bounded by the 6th Street Viaduct near the river confluence and Miller Park stadium to the west. The valley effectively cuts Milwaukee in half, limiting access to a handful of viaducts that span the chasm.
With a historically predominant white south side and black near north side, the valley has been perceived as a social and racial divide during times of civil unrest. In the 1960s, Father James Groppi organized protests against segregation in Milwaukee and led a number of fair housing marches across this symbolic divide. The 16th Street Viaduct has since been renamed in his honor.[11]
Turner Hall Ballroom
Turner Hall is a historic athletic club facility at 1034 North 4th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Named using the German "Turnen", meaning gymnastics or physical fitness, it is significant for its association with the American Turners, a German-American athletic, cultural, and political association. The Milwaukee group was founded in 1853 under the title, "Socialist Turnverein"; its leaders included Socialist Congressman Victor Berger. The building is one of the largest and most distinctive surviving buildings associated with the Turner movement, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996. It is now used as a performance and meeting venue.[12]
Address: 1034 North Vel R. Phillips Avenue, Milwaukee (Downtown Milwaukee)
American Family Field
Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers, and opened in 2001 as a replacement for Milwaukee County Stadium.
American Family Field features North America's only fan-shaped convertible roof, which can open and close in less than 10 minutes. Large panes of glass allow natural grass to grow, augmented with heat lamp structures wheeled out across the field during the off-season.[13]
North Point Light
Lighthouse in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The North Point Lighthouse Museum is a lighthouse built in 1888 in Lake Park on the East Side of Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States to mark the entrance to the Milwaukee River. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It was also added to the Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey as survey HABS WI-358.[14]
Address: 2650 N Wahl Ave, 53211-3860 Milwaukee
Basilica of St. Josaphat
Basilica in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Basilica of St. Josaphat, located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, is one of 82 minor basilicas found in the United States. In its grandeur and opulence it is an excellent example of the so-called Polish Cathedral style of church architecture found in the Great Lakes region of North America. Modeled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, it features one of the largest copper domes in the world. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated Milwaukee Landmark.[15]
Address: 2333 S 6th St, 53215 Milwaukee
Denis Sullivan
The S/V Denis Sullivan is a replica three-masted, wooden, gaff rigged schooner from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a flagship of both the state of Wisconsin and of the United Nations Environment Programme.[16]
Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory
Conservatory housing a variety of flora. Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory is a conservatory located at Mitchell Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is owned and operated by the Milwaukee County Park System, and replaced the original Milwaukee Conservatory which stood from 1898 to 1955. The three domes display a large variety of plant life.[17]
Address: 524 S Layton Blvd, 53215-1236 Milwaukee
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Villa Terrace is a historic house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was built in 1924 for the Lloyd R. Smith family - an Italian Renaissance-style home on a bluff above Lake Michigan. Since 1966 the house and grounds have housed the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Lloyd R. Smith House.[18]
Address: 2220 N Terrace Ave, 53202 Milwaukee
Green Gallery
The Green Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The gallery was founded by John Riepenhoff in the attic of his apartment in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood in 2003. The name "Green Gallery" was both an homage to Richard Bellamy's Chelsea gallery in the 1960s and an ironic reference to the attic's sky blue color. The name intended to investigate the disconnect between expectation and experience, immediately generating an environment that invited questioning and dialogue. Such dialogue was motivation for Riepenhoff, who was also looking to fill a gap in the representation of emerging artists. Riepenhoff then moved the gallery to a larger industrial space in Riverwest two years later.
The Green Gallery WestIn July 2012, The Green Gallery West was closed after a five-alarm fire broke out in the building. Much of the artwork stored at the space was damaged or destroyed and many artists living or working in other parts of the building lost significant amounts of their artwork as well.
The Green Gallery EastIn January 2009, with business partner Jake Palmert, a second gallery space was opened on Milwaukee's East Side, called The Green Gallery East (the original gallery was then called The Green Gallery West). The primary goal of East was to create an easily accessible space to showcase contemporary artists from within the Midwest and bring nationally and internationally recognized artists into Milwaukee.[19]
Address: 1500 N Farwell Ave, 53202 Milwaukee
Pabst Theater
Concert venue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Pabst Theater is an indoor performance and concert venue and landmark of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Colloquially known as "the Pabst", the theater hosts about 100 events per year. Built in 1895, it is the fourth-oldest continuously operating theater in the United States, and has presented such notables as pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff, actor Laurence Olivier, and ballerina Anna Pavlova, as well as various current big-name musical acts.
The Pabst is known for its opulence as well as its role in German-American culture in Milwaukee. It is officially designated a City of Milwaukee Landmark and a State of Wisconsin Historical Site, and was also designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991. It is sometimes called the "Grande Olde Lady", being the oldest theater in Milwaukee's theater district.
The Pabst is a traditional proscenium stage theater with two balconies, for a total capacity of 1,300 people. It hosts approximately 100 events per year, including music, comedy, dance, opera, and theater events. The theater also has a hydraulic orchestra pit, adding to its suitability for virtually any performing arts event. The auditorium itself is drum-shaped and is decorated in reds and maroons with gold and silver accents. A large, 2-ton Austrian crystal chandelier hangs over the auditorium. The theater also boasts a staircase crafted from white Italian Carrara marble and a proscenium arch highlighted in gold leaf, which frames the stage.
The theater features a historic organ, which once provided accompaniment for silent films. The instrument is a 4 manuals; 20 ranks opus of M.P. Moller.[20]
Address: Milwaukee, 144 E Wells St, Milwaukee, WI 53202-3519
Wisconsin State Fair Park
Sports venue in West Allis, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin State Fair Park is a fairgrounds and exhibition center in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. It has been the location of the Wisconsin State Fair since 1892. The fairgrounds are open year-round, hosting various expeditions.
It also contains venues such as the Milwaukee Mile, the oldest continuously operating motor speedway in the world, and the Pettit National Ice Center, a U.S. Olympic training facility which is independently owned. The Park is policed by the Wisconsin State Fair Park Police Department.[21]
Address: 640 S 84th St, 53214 West Allis (West Allis)
Reiman Bridge
Footbridge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Reiman Pedestrian Bridge is a cable-stayed footbridge in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin that spans Lincoln Memorial Drive. It connects the Milwaukee Art Museum on the lakeshore to the east side of the downtown's central business district by way of O'Donnell Park, a multi-use park complex. The bridge was built in 2001 as part of a major expansion to the museum that included the Quadracci Pavilion. Both the bridge and Quadracci Pavilion were designed by Santiago Calatrava, the first such structures built in the United States.[22]
National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum
National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum devoted to bobblehead dolls. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum claims to have 10,000 different bobbleheads from around the world, including a life-size bobblehead. It is the only bobblehead-specific museum in the world.[23]
Address: 170 S 1st St, Milwaukee
St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral
The St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral is a large Serbian Orthodox Cathedral located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Completed in 1956, the cathedral is covered in traditional wall mosaics that have been described as, "some of the most extensive and elaborate church mosaics in the United States." The cathedral sits on a complex that also includes a parochial school and an event center known as the American Serb Hall, an important stop for political candidates including a number of men who have gone on to become President of the United States.[24]
Summerfield United Methodist Church
United methodist church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Summerfield United Methodist Church is located in the historic Juneautown neighborhood of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Part of the United Methodist Church, Summerfield has established several community missions and promotes social justice.[25]
Address: 728 E Juneau Ave, 53202 Milwaukee (Downtown Milwaukee)
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
Building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist is the episcopal see of the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building itself is in German Renaissance Revival style, built in 1847, with changes after several fires. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Milwaukee Landmark. It is located just east of Cathedral Square Park.[26]
Address: 812 N Jackson St, 53202 Milwaukee (Downtown Milwaukee)
Summerfest
Fairground in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Henry Maier Festival Park is a 75-acre festival park located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the shore Lake Michigan and is the site of the annual Summerfest musical festival and the home of the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.[27]
Address: 200 N Harbor Dr, 53202-5994 Milwaukee (Downtown Milwaukee)
Marcus Center
Performing arts center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It serves as the home of the Florentine Opera, Milwaukee Ballet, First Stage Children's Theater and other local arts organizations, and was also the home of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 1969 until 2020. It is located at 829 North Water Street, at the intersection of State Street in downtown Milwaukee, and is owned by Milwaukee County.
The Marcus Center was designed in the Brutalist style by noted Chicago architect Harry Weese. Construction began on June 27, 1966, and it opened on July 26, 1969 as the Performing Arts Center. After a $25 million donation from the Marcus Corporation in honor of its founder Ben Marcus and his wife Ceil, Milwaukee County changed the venue's name in 1994.
In 2017, Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall was fully renovated, including a new Riverwalk Entrance and lobby foyer, designed by LA DALLMAN, the Milwaukee and Boston-based architecture practice of Grace La and James Dallman. Renowned for sensitivity to mid-century modern buildings, both La and Dallman are appointed faculty at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.[28]
Address: 929 N Water St, 53202-3122 Milwaukee (Downtown Milwaukee)
Oriental Theatre
Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Oriental Theatre is a theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin operated by Milwaukee Film. The theater was built and opened in 1927 as a movie palace with East Indian decor. It is said to be the only movie palace to incorporate East Indian artwork. Designed by Gustave A. Dick and Alex Bauer, the theater has two minaret towers, three stained glass chandeliers, several hand-drawn murals, six bigger-than-life Buddhas, dozens of original draperies, eight porcelain lions, and hundreds of elephants.
The Oriental Theatre has been showing independent and art films, as well as a few blockbuster Hollywood films.
The theater is the world record holder for continual showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It has hosted the film as a Saturday midnight movie since January 1978.
In 2005, the theater was dubbed one of the "10 Theaters Doing It Right" by Entertainment Weekly.
In 2016, local artists oversaw the installation of a new street art destination in the alley behind the Oriental Theater, and named it the Black Cat Alley. ' As a part of the Black Cat Alley installation, French artist MTO painted a large mural of a green frog entitled "MTO's Bug" on the south wall of the theater, facing Kenilworth Avenue.'[29]
Address: Milwaukee, 2230 North Farwell Avenue
Burns Commons
Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Burns Commons is a park in the Milwaukee County Parks system. It is located on the East Side of the city, bound by Franklin Pl. Prospect Ave. and Ogden Ave. It is split into two sections by Knapp Street. The larger, northern section is landscaped with trees, lawn and walkways, and includes public art. The smaller southern portion holds a statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns.[30]
Address: 1300 N FRANKLIN Pl, Milwaukee (Downtown Milwaukee)
Cathedral Square Park
Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Cathedral Square Park is a small urban Milwaukee County Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, located to the west of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. The park only takes the name of the nearby cathedral, with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee holding no ownership of the site.[31]
Address: 802 N Jackson St, 53202-3807 Milwaukee (Downtown Milwaukee)
The East Side
Neighborhood in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. East Side is a neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, considered to be a cultural and trend-setting center of the city since at least the 1960s. Encompassing an area just north of the Historic Third Ward neighborhood to the village of Shorewood, bordered by the Milwaukee River to the west and Lake Michigan to the east, the area encompasses residences, bars, shops, art theaters, live music clubs and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee campus.[32]
Milwaukee County War Memorial Center
Building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee County War Memorial is a memorial building located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, WI. It was designed by architect Eero Saarinen. Construction began in 1955 and the building was dedicated on Veterans Day in 1957.
The mosaic mural by Edmund D. Lewandowski was installed in 1959. The mosaic uses more than one million pieces of glass and marble. The slightly-abstracted Roman numerals, in shades of purple, blue, and rich black, are the beginning and ending dates of the U.S. involvement in the Second World War and the Korean War. MCMXLI (1941) through MCMXLV (1945) refers to World War II, and MCML (1950) through MCMLIII (1953) refers to the Korean War.[33]
Address: 750 N Lincoln Memorial Dr, 53202-4018 Milwaukee
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
Greek orthodox church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, United States, was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1956, and completed in 1961. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The church is one of Wright's last works; construction was completed after his death. The design is informed by traditional Byzantine architectural forms, reinterpreted by Wright to suit the modern context. The church's shallow scalloped dome echoes his Marin County Civic Center.[34]
Address: 9440 W Congress St, 53225 Wauwatosa
Miller High Life Theatre
Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Miller High Life Theatre is a theatre located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building was extensively renovated between 2001 and 2003, at which point its name changed to the Milwaukee Theatre. A naming rights deal changed its name in 2017 to the Miller High Life Theatre. It seats 4,086 people and can be configured into a more intimate venue that seats 2,500. It is located at 500 W. Kilbourn Avenue in downtown Milwaukee.[35]
Address: Milwaukee, 500 West Kilbourn Avenue