Alright, so these pics are from last spring, but I had no clue how to post them until now.  So this is Milwaukee in April '07:

 

The construction in the distance is St. Mary's hospital

 

The new stuff on the river is the "Beerline B" neighborhood.  The neighborhood used to house the toxic dump sites for the tanneries and breweries, the main shipping railroad for Pabst, Schlitz, and Blatz called the Beerline ran though here too.

 

These high-rises are mainly condo towers that run north along the lake similar to Cleveland's Lakewood, but these are in the city

 

That's the CBD in the distance

 

Here you can just barely see the sunrise

 

A little higher!!

 

Come on sun!

 

At sunrise, the fog rolls in quite a bit

 

The hollowed out building is the old AF Gallun Tannery.  It's a big issue with the neighborhood because the site is far more toxic than others around it but it's a prime location.  Plans are in the works though, and it should be seeing brighter days in the near future

 

This is the park with the best view of MKE.  It's called Kilbourn Reservoir Park and it used to have a giant holding tank that was recently decommissioned.  Now they're filling it in to create a giant grass ampitheater on the north side and a really great observation platform on the south overlooking the skyline.  Here's a link to the project website http://www.water.mpw.net/ProjectUpdate070417.htm

 

Ooh, the fog's really rolling in

 

The third tallest spire just right of center is the Milwaukee City Hall.  A gorgeous Flemish Building, it's currently covered in scaffolding as they add steel support within the tower and rebuild it brick by brick

 

Look at that morning air

 

Let's take a stroll down Brady Street toward the lake

 

Here's a good view of our streetlights.  The harp light at the right is one of Milwaukee's many unofficial symbols and these are found on almost any main pedestrian street.  The one at the left is the taller, brighter version of the lamp used for streets with more vehicular traffic

 

This is St Hedwigs.  They finally raised enough money to install a shiny new copper roof.  It's done now and it looks great.

 

This is one of my favorite little houses on the East Side.  While this one is more "ornate" the character of this house is found all over the Lower East Side of Milwaukee

 

Man, that fog was really rolling in

 

 

The ghost of a skyscraper

 

Well that's it for now.  As soon as I find my charger I'll get more posted.  Next time you're up near Milwaukee I really hope you get out of your car and explore.  It's a great city.

 

 

Good shots. I've always liked Milwaukee.

Again, my favorite non-Chicago Great Lakes city!

Wow! I've never been there. Always wanted to, though.

AJ, tell me about the new development... how is it selling?  What does a typical condo/townhome cost?  I'm assuming it's probably a little higher than Cle, considering proximity to the Chicago market.  I look forward to seeing more pics!

I can't find any actual numbers, but I know that there are quite a few areas of the city where condos are going in at a brisk pace.  Judging solely from local print media, it sounds like the Beerline B area is nearly 90% sold with prices between 550k and 1.2 million.  For more info on the neighborhood, go to http://www.mkedcd.org/projects/blb/index.html

 

There are also two new towers right in downtown called University Club Tower and Kilbourn Tower (the 3rd and 7th tallest in the city) that are both selling VERY well (to everyone's surprise) at prices between 600k and 4.8 million.  The average sale price in the towers is 1.85 million.

These are the towers (not my pic):

 

The third neighborhood that was going strong for a while and is starting to see over-saturation is the Third Ward.  It's a historic district that is essentially in downtown, but is separated by an elevated freeway making it an enclave.  The neighborhood got a pump of adrenaline when they began converting old manufacturing buildings into condos similar to NYC's Soho.  Now, nearly all of the old buildings are full condos, but they've begun building new construction there.  People aren't buying it (probably because they were originally drawn by the historic appeal of the neighborhood) and a number of them are struggling financially.  The biggest flop is First Place on the River.

 

 

This huge building was recently put into receivership, but for some strange reason the bank decided to continue funding construction.  Don't ask me why, but there's and article about it here: http://www.biztimes.com/money/2008/2/26/

 

I'm not sure how these neighborhoods compare to Cleveland because I'm not too familiar with the city.  I can tell you that Milwaukee's city population finally rose after three decades of decline passing Boston.  (Boston's pissed and trying to appeal the rank.)  And this increase can mostly be attributed to attributed to these new developments along with a couple inner-city initiatives such as the revilatization of North Ave: http://www.northavenuecdc.org/news.aspx

 

Anyway, thanks for the positive feedback.  I hope you all come on up some time and explore this great city.  I'll be posting a few more photo threads on here before summer, but it looks like I'm moving to Cincy in June for sure.

 

Wow, I'm officially impressed by MKE.

 

As for prices- I found some articles indicating that several of the Beerline B units were offered at prices starting closer to $200k; but the University Club Tower is really amazing: 36 stories with only 52 units- those units are huge! And sold with huge prices!

great pics, i love the fog.

 

wow they are doing quite a bit of rehabbing and apt building around town aren't they?

 

Again, my favorite non-Chicago Great Lakes city!

 

and my fav non-cleveland great lakes city (chicago included)!

 

Great shots!

Ah, my hometown! It's such a great little city, that's always overshadowed (of course) by Chicago.

 

Great photos! (Even with all the fog lol.)

nice pics!  MKE never fails to impress

 

Again, my favorite non-Chicago Great Lakes city!

 

moreso than Toronto?

Yes.

I'm going to visit Milwaukee this summer!!! Can't wait!!

Lot's of condo activity. How's the job market? Is the city growing, sustaining or decreasing in population? Any other economic information?

Can't wait to visit that good ol' German town.

You definitely should come later in the summer.  The new Harley-Davidson Museum (www.h-dmuseum.com) is going to open either in late June or early July, followed by the Harley 105th Anniversary.  They throw a MASSIVE party every five years.  I remember going to the 90th when I was a kid and was blown away.  For the 100th they built the largest stage I've ever seen on the lakefront (for Elton John, heh)  The number of Harley's that are around town is incredible.

This is what EVERY street within a two mile radius of downtown and surrounding every Harley dealer near town looks like:

Here's the party:

People stand all over the place to watch the "Ride Home".  It's pretty impressive when you see it:

 

For more info on the Ride Home or the party:

www.harley-davidson.com/105th/

 

 

 

^Actually let me know the date, and I'll be sure to plan a visit at another time.  :-D

Well, in that case avoid August.

 

Wow... great pics.  Don't see a whole lot pics of Milwaukee here or on other sites.  I'm always surprised when I see pics of the city, may have to make a trip up north next time I'm in Chicago.

I'm still interested in economic information, if anyone has any. Jobs, population growth, etc.

I sure hope this isn't supposed to be representational of our economic state here in MKE.  Umm....yeah.

Wow... great pics. Don't see a whole lot pics of Milwaukee here or on other sites. I'm always surprised when I see pics of the city, may have to make a trip up north next time I'm in Chicago.

 

Chicago to Milwaukee makes a nice Amtrak ride; the station is right downtown and within easy walking distance of the best-known attractions. I think there are five daily round trips, now, and they run on time.

Wonderful shots.  Milwaukee, like one or two others in the Midwest, is overshadowed by a larger glitzier city nearby.  I have only heard great things about it, though.  Another note in the must see some day agenda.

I went through all of these again. Still not sure why Milwaukee is such a forgotten city but it's definitely impressive looking.

I'm impressed! Can't wait to get that driver's license.  So many midwest road trips to be made.... and Milwaukee's obviously one of the key ones!

^At first I thought maybe you were 15 from what you just said about getting a license, but now I see you're from Spain. Good to hear you say great things about our American cities!

^Hah! In fact I'm neither 15 nor from Spain  :-D

 

I'm a born and raised Clevelander who's lived in Spain the last couple years.  I discovered OU a couple months ago and it has been vital in getting me revved for my return home in August.

 

 

I sure hope this isn't supposed to be representational of our economic state here in MKE.  Umm....yeah.

 

 

I went through all of these again. Still not sure why Milwaukee is such a forgotten city but it's definitely impressive looking.

 

It's called "Chicago."