Milwaukee offers attractions on two fronts with river and lake

Milwaukee has two attractive natural resources – the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan. This allows the city the luxury of business and tourist attractions on a river walk and a lakefront.

And the city takes advantage of both.

First, the river walk.

The Milwaukee River Walk cuts through the downtown area. It is home to large companies, as well as tourism-based ones.

During our first visit to the river walk, we parked in a garage, less than a block east of the river. The landmark we used to remember the spot was the “Ladybug Building.” It is actually the Milwaukee Building, but it has three giant-sized lady bug sculptures “scaling” it. The building is considered an offbeat attraction by some publications.

Once on the river walk, it’s easy to think of Milwaukee as a smaller Chicago. This is not an insult. Milwaukee has its own identity, but the river walk and the architecture reminds one of downtown Chicago.

It was lunch time and we were hungry, so we needed to find a place to eat. Since we were in Wisconsin, I had two requirements – cheese curds and a brat. Well, we found the brat place. Milwaukee Ale House has a patio that sits aside the river. We had an excellent view of tour cruises floating down the water and the gulls that come along with water, while we enjoyed our lunch of bratwursts.

With lunch done, it was time to walk it off. We started off on the boardwalk along the restaurant, and just walked. We stopped to check out architecture and shoot a few (OK, with me, lots of) photos. We walked south to the entrance of the Historic Third Ward (more on that later). Then, we turned around and headed north.

We walked farther north along the river for quite a few blocks. We had a river/lake cruise scheduled for late afternoon, so we had plenty of time to stroll. The only criticism I really have of the Milwaukee RiverWalk is that the trail does not stay under the bridges along the way. People have to walk up to street level and cross busy streets to get back to the river walk.

The city has done an admirable job of making the river walk attractive to people. Flowers and plants are spread out along the walk. Sculptures of various sizes are located along the walk. There is a sculpture of a duck family that was donated to the city based on the history of its story. Apparently, Gertie had a nest of nine eggs. After a story in the newspaper in 1945 highlighted the duck, people started visiting the nest area. Gertie and five ducklings survived nearby flooding. The sculpture of Gertie and a duckling sit atop the bridge on Wisconsin Avenue.

A major tourist attraction on the river is the Bronze Fonz. The 1970s sitcom “Happy Days” was based in Milwaukee. So, a few years ago, a sculpture of the Fonz (portrayed by actor Henry Winkler) was donated to the city and stand along the river walk. Visitors (including Lisa and me) have their pictures taken with the Bronze Fonz. The statue has been a source of ill will with local artists. But, to me, it is a tourist attraction and that’s all it is. There remains a plethora of attractive artwork by other artists in the area.

A few blocks off the river walk in either direction are other attractions. We stopped by the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The location was the site of an attempted assassination of then-President Theodore Roosevelt. A plaque and some pictures adorn the wall to mark the scene.

City Hall is a few blocks off the river walk. It’s located across the street from the famous Pabst Theatre. We asked a local what the building was. She thought it was an old power company building. Lisa and I decided to check it out. Turns out, it was city hall. LOL. City hall was built in 1895. The clock tower was named after the founder of Milwaukee – Solomon Juneau. The clock tower was damaged by fire in 1929. It was rebuilt using the architect’s original plans.

As I mentioned, Pabst Theatre is situated across the street. The gold trimming stands out on a sunny day.

We stopped by the Pfister Hotel, a major national landmark. It was suggested by the visitors bureau to see if we could get to the lounge floor for a skyline view of the city. We were able to get to the lounge, Blu. The view outside was breathtaking. The Milwaukee skyline is attractive.

We booked a late afternoon boat cruise. Perfect timing! Our boat departed at 4 p.m. Fellow tourists were very nice and talkative with others. There was a group of six women on a “Ladies Day Out.” They were quite vocal, and a bot disappointed that our cruise was not the “booze cruise” they thought they had booked. But, when one of them mentioned their ticket included a free drink, they all bolted for the bar beneath deck. Though, in all fairness, I think they had visited a few bars beforehand, so they had their buzz on.

The cruise was quite enjoyable. We went down the river and out on to Lake Michigan. We went beyond the breakers. We actually went out to the open lake area. Looking toward the horizon, the lake looked as though it would never end.

We cruised past past the lakefront area and to the Milwaukee harbor.

The best part of the cruise was watching the brise soleil at the Milwaukee Art Museum. It is what looks to be the sails on the museum, which resembles a sailboat. Daily, at 5 p.m., the brise soleil is lowered to cover the glass lobby area of the museum. Then, it’s raised at 10 a.m., when the museum opens. At noon, it does a flutter (lowered and quickly raised

Our tour guide told us it was rare to see the brise soleil lowered from the lake, but as the clock neared 5, he told us we would get to see it. It was special to see it while on the water. We enjoyed it tremendously.

Following our river/lake boat cruise, we walked to the Historic Third Ward for a snack and break. We walked through the Milwaukee Public Market. It’s perhaps the best-known building in the Third Ward. The area is a renovated warehouse district. It has apartments, condos, businesses, etc.

Now, on to the Lakefront.

We had our first real look at the lakefront during our cruise. The boat took us along the river and on to Lake Michigan.

We knew we wanted to walk along the lakefront. So, on our second trip to the downtown area, we took in the lakefront. We parked at Veterans Park (free parking available). We enjoyed a nice walk along the lake shore. We passed a shop where you could rent kites. Another shop rented bikes.

We walked to the Milwaukee Art Museum. The museum has an original design – in the shape of a sail boat. During the day, the sails – AKA brise soleil – stand out, as if the boat was sailing on the lake. It was great watching the brise soleil close a second day, especially up-close, from a few feet away.

The museum has more than 30,000 pieces of artwork, ranging from several periods. It is a modern building with a unique design. The artwork is in open rooms. They flow from one to another. You can be in a room with paintings from the 1600s, then step in to the next room and have artwork from 2013.

Unbeknownst to us, but knownst to others, was the second floor of artwork. We missed it. We were focused on getting outside before 5 p.m. to watch the brise soleil close for the day that we missed the stairs. I guess that gives us another reason to go back to Milwaukee.

The museum’s current special exhibit is “30 Americans.” It showcases art by modern African-American artists. Check it out if it comes to an art museum near you. We found it thought provoking in some cases, and clearly entertaining in others.

One display that hit me in the gut was the KKK exhibit. All the artist did was place a few white hoods on chairs in a circle. In the middle was a noose. That simple display said so much. It was a disturbing reminder of hatred in this country, just for a person’s skin color.

On a brighter note, the lobby of the museum, or the hull of the sailboat design is free to the public to walk around. The large glass windows give people a great view of the lakefront and Lake Michigan.

Farther south on the lakefront is the Summerfest concert grounds. The city has the largest outdoor music festival in the United States. It runs over a 10-day period. Acts, such as the Eagles, John Mayer, REO Speedwagon and Tim McGraw were the major headliners. Other acts – local and national – took to the 10 stages scattered over 75 acres. The stages apparently are permanent fixtures and come in handy for other events, such as ethnic festivals including the country’s largest Irish festival). The Milwaukee Journal reported more than 840,000 people attended this year.

The cool thing about the lakefront was the diversity of attractions and people. The children’s museum is nearby. The shops for bikes, kites and other items were there. As for people, you walked runners, walkers, bicyclists, skateboarders. Looking out toward the lake, you saw tour boats, sail boats, as well as other boats. It was relaxing.

Then, a few hundred feet inland, companies conducted business in the towers and skyscrapers dotting the skyline.

So, Milwaukee has taken advantage of its location, in building both a positive business environment and a tourist industry, based on its major water resources.