Marsupial Bridge

Jim Gaffigan, renowned comedian and native Milwaukeean by marriage, does a routine about how much easier life is for beautiful people. “Think about it,” he says, “If a stranger smiles at you and they’re attractive, you think, ‘Oh, they’re nice,’ but if a stranger’s ugly, you’re like, ‘What do they want? Get away from me, weirdo!’”

Yes, one man’s beauty is another man’s ugly, but it’s a funny joke mostly because it’s so true. All of us have crossed the street to avoid humanity’s ugliness, and – truth be told – the majority of people do the same thing when it comes to bypassing ugly cities, towns and neighborhoods.

Grace La, who designed the wonderful marsupial bridge near Lakefront Brewery, made that very point at last week’s “Remarkable Milwaukee 2012” event, which was sponsored by Historic Milwaukee and held at The Pabst Theater.

“I think beauty is a concept that we don’t talk about enough, partly because it is so abstract,” said La, a principal at La Dallman architects. “And yet at the same time, healthy cities are measured by this very concept.”

The only difference between Gaffigan’s act and La’s insight is that she wasn’t being funny. At least, I don’t think she was; I didn’t have the chance to attend Remarkable Milwaukee, but her quote jumped out at me in Journal Sentinel art and architecture critic Mary Louise Schumacher’s follow-up coverage of the discussion, which included other local luminaries, such as former mayor John Norquist, artist Reginald Baylor, historian John Gurda and roofer Jim Godsil. (OK, Godsil does a little something with aquaponics, too.)

We talk about stimulating our economy, improving our business climate and increasing job opportunities – laudable goals, of course, that hopefully translate into food on the table for more Milwaukee families – but what if we’re going about it all backwards? Rather than forcing people to invest in our city through mandated public policy, maybe we should be casting a vision for potential investors via our architecture, art and overall atmosphere.

What if the thing we need most of all is something as seemingly superfluous as splendor? What if the best thing Milwaukee has going for it is the beauty of its built environment?

Riverwalk in the Historic Third Ward

I mean, why does anyone choose a city over a suburb or an exurb in the first place? Part of the reason just might be that turn-of-the-century bungalows constructed with true craftsmanship are more attractive than prefabricated subdivisions that make the American dream look like a Chinese assembly line. You don’t have to be a sociologist to know that most people would rather spend an evening strolling through the old-world charm of the Historic Third Ward than scurrying over the endless asphalt of Brookfield Square.

Design. Craftsmanship. Architecture. Aesthetics. Beauty.

Washington Park’s brilliant bandshell, surrounded by rolling hills. The Basilica of St. Josaphat. A law school’s curving wall of a thousand windows. An art museum’s outstretched wings over Lake Michigan. The old water tower on the east side. KK’s colorful commercial corridor. More than 230 acres of pristine natural beauty throughout Havenwoods State Forest – smack in the center of the city.

These things that draw people into the city are the very things that often keep people in the city. On a summer night in Sherman Park, neighbors walk outside under the green canopy of mature trees, with friendly conversation hanging in the air as heavy as the smell of barbeque. Milwaukee’s mosaic of varied backgrounds and ethnicities is a kind of beauty by itself. What’s more appealing – a bakery stocked with brown baguettes, golden challah, savory sourdough and wholesome multigrain? Or one that can only offer row upon row of white Wonder Bread?

La (and Gaffigan) are onto something. Beauty is more powerful and more transformative than we suspect. When we recognize and cultivate the intrinsic beauty of Milwaukee, what we are really saying is that our city is valuable. It’s worth something. Relying on the sympathy (or worse, pity) of outside communities is not a sustainable solution – and I don’t think that’s what we want to build our foundation on, anyway. Milwaukee is already a beautiful city. The problem is that many of us don’t think of it that way.

In Mark Helprin’s novel A Soldier of the Great War, the main character is a man named Alessandro Giuliani, a professor of aesthetics – a scholar who has spent his entire life studying beauty. In describing Rome, Alessandro says, “The city itself is like a family…I can’t tell you exactly why, but it unfolds before you with the grace of water streaming from a fountain.”

Think Milwaukee and Rome aren’t comparable? Does the idea of Brew City as an unfolding fountain of grace seem absurd? Maybe that’s our biggest problem.  We can choose to be Milwaukee the overlooked, the average, the insignificant. Or we can see our city for what it really is: Milwaukee the beautiful.

Guest post by Alex Runner
Alex Runner is a resident of the historic Sherman Park neighborhood. He formerly worked in city hall.  You can follow him on twitter at @creamcity

755 N. Milwaukee St. – Urban Milwaukee

755 N. Milwaukee St. – Urban Milwaukee

755 N. Milwaukee St. – Urban Milwaukee

755 N. Milwaukee St. – Urban Milwaukee

The project would utilize $420,000 from TID #34 and construct a new Riverwalk section and dockwall.  The 80-foot section is comprised of two properties, and both owners, General Capital and Hoffman, have provided the city with appropriate easements to allow for the new Milwaukee RiverWalk segment. Further, a draft agreement with the Historic Third Ward Association was drawn up to handle maintenance of this section.  If approved the construction would start in April to be finished in August.

The project prompted questions and concerns from committee regarding the apparent change in city policy for this project.  Normally, the local property owner would fund 30% of a riverwalk segment’s construction, whereas in this case the city was planning to 100% fund the construction of the riverwalk segment.   Alderman Murphy asked “Why are we changing our practice?”  Remington answered that “we [the city] don’t want to wait for that development to take place.”  She also explained that there will be no direct connection to the property from the riverwalk, indicating that the adjacent property will received no direct benefit.  Alderman Witkowiak wondered if the city could assess the property owners much like the city does with sidewalks, and stated that this action would be “kinda sorta precedent setting.”  Alderman Bauman, explained that “I support this project,” but pushed to hold the project to work out details regarding a possible assessment or the possibility of requiring the property owners to buy the section if they choose in the future to connect to the system.  The file was held, and will be taken up at the next Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee meeting.

The North End Phase II, 55-unit Apartment Building

Mandel Group will be moving forward with the second phase of The North End development project in February.  Financing for the project was finalized as WHEDA completed the sale of $54.6 million of tax-exempt Midwest Disaster Area bonds.  These funds will go to provide funding for The North End Phase II, as well as funding the “LightHorse | 4041″ mixed-use development in Shorewood.  Additionally, Mandel Group directly placed $7.75 million in tax-exempt bonds to complete the financing for the project.  “This was one of the more involved financings we’ve completed thus far, indicative of the challenges with capital formation in the real estate space” commented David A. Pavela, Chief Financial Officer for Mandel Group, Inc.

The North End Phase II, 100-unit Apartment Building

This phase will add 155 apartments, 20% of which will be affordable units per the WHEDA financing agreement, new retail space, and numerous public infrastructure improvements.  Richard W. Lincoln, senior vice president of Mandel Group, noted that “Significant investment by both the public sector and our development partnerships will add new streets, an extensive riverwalk and a new public meeting and entertainment square” to the North End development.

1922-38 West Fond du Lac Avenue - Design

A proposal from Nafiz Efe, owner of EFE Building and Remodeling, LLC, to purchase the city owned lots at 1922, 1924-26, and 1932-38 West Fond du Lac Avenue will go before the  January 31st, 2012  Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee.  If the $15,000 purchase is approved, the city lots will be assembled, with an adjoining property, to create an 18,000 square foot development site.  Nafix Efe plans to construct a $3 million three-story mixed-use building on this new site.   The building will include 6,600 square feet of first floor retail space, 16 apartment units, and a 29-space surface parking lot behind the building.

• Land Disposition Report
• Fiscal Impact Statement
• Public Hearing Notice

The Moderne

The Moderne

1910 on Water

Beerline B Apartments

Food Truck Friday

 

Lakeshore State Park

 

Bradford Beach Party

Downer Avenue Bike Race

 

Jazz in the Park

MCTS Bus

The previously announced new express bus service from the Milwaukee County Transit System, MetroEXpress, has likely made its impending arrival to regular riders with signs posted on affected bus stops all over Milwaukee County. MCTS has just recently released the full list of stops for the MetroEXpress routes and other affected routes.

You can find the complete list on the page dedicated to the impending change at MCTS’s website. Please keep in mind the new services goes into place on January 29th, 2012.