Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This article is about Milwaukee in Wisconsin. There is also Milwaukie, Oregon.

Milwaukee is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin, United States and the county of Milwaukee. The city's population is 596,974 with an estimated total of 1,709,926 in the Milwaukee metropolitan area (2004). The city of Milwaukee is the 19th largest city in the United States. The city is located in the southeastern portion of the state on the western shore of Lake Michigan.

History

The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago Indian tribes. Milwaukee received its name from the Indian word Millioke which is thought to have meant "The Good Land", or "gathering place by the water". French missionaries and traders passed through the area in the late 1600s and 1700s. In 1818, Frenchman Solomon Juneau settled in the area. Juneau bought out his father-in-law's trading business, and in 1833 he founded a town on the east side of the Milwaukee River. In 1846, Juneau's town combined with neighboring rival towns (Kilbourn Town and Walker's Point) to incorporate the city of Milwaukee. Juneau was Milwaukee's first mayor. (His statue is part of the montage at the right - the frontiersman with the rifle, in the center of the montage. Juneau's statue gazes upon the buildings of downtown Milwaukee, with its back to Lake Michigan. A replica of his tiny log cabin is in the same park.) German immigrants helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and the following decades. Milwaukee still today has a large German-American population. The liberal tradition of these peoples led to decades of socialist government in Milwaukee during the twentieth century.

Economy

Although most people associate Milwaukee's reputation with its breweries, today companies like Miller Brewing employ less than one percent of the city's workers. Milwaukee's reputation as a blue collar town is more accurate, however, with 22 percent of the workforce involved in manufacturing -- second only to San Jose, CA and far higher than the national average of 16.5%. Service and managerial jobs are the fastest growing segments of the Milwaukee economy, and healthcare makes up 27% of all service jobs in the city.

Milwaukee is headquarters to six Fortune 1000 manufacturers and six Fortune 1000 service companies. Among these are Briggs & Stratton, Harley-Davidson, Johnson Controls, Manpower Inc., Marshall & Ilsley, Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell Automation, Roundy's and Wisconsin Energy. Milwaukee also has a large number of financial service firms, particularly those specializing in mutual funds, and a disproportionate number of publishing and printing companies.

Arts, Culture and Sports

Milwaukee's most visually prominent cultural attraction is the Milwaukee Art Museum, and especially its new $100 million wing designed by Santiago Calatrava in his first American commission. The museum includes a "brise soleil," a moving sunscreen that quite literally unfolds like the wing of a bird. The Milwaukee Public Museum and Milwaukee County Zoo are also notable public attractions.

Milwaukee is home to the Florentine Opera, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Skylight Opera Theatre, and a number of other arts organizations.

It is also home to a number of professional sports teams including:

• Milwaukee Brewers (Baseball—MLB) playing at the new Miller Park
• Milwaukee Bucks (Basketball—NBA) playing at the Bradley Center
• Milwaukee Admirals (Ice hockey) playing at the Bradley Center
• Milwaukee Wave (Indoor Soccer) playing at the U.S. Cellular Arena
• Milwaukee Wave United (Outdoor Soccer) (Note: the Wave United will not play in 2005, might play in 2006)

Milwaukee has advertised itself as the "City of Festivals," especially emphasizing an annual fair along the lakefront called Summerfest. Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest music festival in the world, Summerfest attracts around 900,000 visitors a year to its twelve stages. Smaller festivals througout the year celebrate the city's German, Native American, African-American, Italian, Irish, Asian, French and Polish heritage.

Geography and Layout

Milwaukee's downtown area is about 90 miles north of the Chicago Loop. Milwaukee lies along the shores of Lake Michigan near the meeting points of three rivers: the Menomonee, the Kinnickinnic and the Milwaukee. It is crossed by Interstate 43 and Interstate 94, which come together downtown at the Marquette Interchange.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 251.0 km² (96.9 square miles). 248.8 km² (96.1 square miles) of it is land and 2.2 km² (0.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.88% water.

Demographics

In the 2000 census, over a third (38 percent) of Milwaukeeans reported that they were of German descent. Other large population groups include Polish (12.7%), Irish (10%), English (5.1%), Italian (4.4%), French (3.9%), and Hispanic origin totaled 6.3%.

As of the census² of 2000, there are 596,974 people, 232,188 households, and 135,133 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,399.5/km² (6,214.3 per square mile). There are 249,225 housing units at an average density of 1,001.7/km² (2,594.4 per square mile). The racial makeup of the city is 49.98% White, 37.34% African American, 0.87% Native American, 2.94% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.10% from other races, and 2.71% from two or more races. 12.00% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 232,188 households out of which 30.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% are married couples living together, 21.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% are non-families. 33.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.50 and the average family size is 3.25.

In the city the population is spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $32,216, and the median income for a family is $37,879. Males have a median income of $32,244 versus $26,013 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,181. 21.3% of the population and 17.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 31.6% of those under the age of 18 and 11.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Climate

• Average January high/low temperatures: 26°F/11°F (-3°C/-12°C)
• Average July high/low temperatures: 79°F/62°F (26°C/17°C)

Milwaukee's proximity to Lake Michigan causes a convection current to form mid-afternoon, resulting in the so-called lake effect, causing the temperatures to be warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer ("cooler by the lake" is practically boilerplate language for local meteorologists during the summer). Also, the relative humidity in the summer is far higher than that of comparable cities at the same latitude, meaning that it feels hotter than it really is.

Milwaukee's all-time record high temperature is 105°F (41°C) set on July 17, 1995. The coldest temperature ever experienced by the city was -26°F (-32°C) on both January 17, 1982 and February 4, 1996. The 1982 event, also known as Cold Sunday, featured temperatures as low as -40°F (-40°C) in some of the suburbs as little as 10 miles (16km) to the north of Milwaukee, although the city itself did not approach such cold temperatures.

Airports

• General Mitchell International Airport
• Lawrence J. Timmerman Airport

Colleges and universities

• Alverno College
• Cardinal Stritch University
• Marquette University
• Medical College of Wisconsin
• Milwaukee Area Technical College
• Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
• Milwaukee School of Engineering
• Mount Mary College
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Wisconsin Lutheran College

Newspapers

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• Shepherd Express

Neighborhoods

• Bay View [1] (http://www.gobayview.com)Known for it's cheap rent, stunning views of the skyline and lake and heavy concentration of hipsters and music. Located about 3 miles south of downtown on the lake.
• Brady Street: The original hipster neighborhood in Milwaukee. Filled with coffee houses, clubs, trendy restaurants, vintage clothing and thrift stores and of course, a Walgreens, this 1/2 mile street provides enough entertainment to keep even a Chicago scenester happy.
• Brewers Hill Neighborhood Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brewershill/): Quiet, tree-lined upper middle class area near Miller Park, next to a poor, high-crime black area.
• Capitol West
• Concordia
• East Side: One of the most diverse and interesting neighborhood in Milwaukee, the east side is a broad area that basically refers to anything east of the river, north of downtown and south of shorewood. This would include brady street, the UWM campus, the lakefront, the marina. The streets and buildings in this neighborhood range from towering, expensive high rises along the lake to brownstones and walkups a few blocks inland to cheap duplexes near the river. The mix of people is almost as impressive: hipsters, old-money, blacks, white-trash, average-joes, Italians and Jews all inhabit this area.
• Eastown
• East Village
• Granville: Far Northwest neighborhood, well away from urban life but becoming very poor and dangerous.
• Havenswoods
• Hillside/Lapham Park
• Jackson Park: Neighborhood on the south side about 6 miles south of downtown. Jackson Park is located the neighborhood is located around the park itself. Mostly two-story wood frame houses, constructed in the early 20th century, line the streets. Jackson park is lower-middle class, mostly white and known for it's larger population of aging blue collar workers. The mexican population is increasing in this neighborhood from the neighborhoods to the east.
• Jacobus Park
• Town of Lake
• Layton Park
• Martin Drive
• Metcalfe Park: Usually the considered the most dangerous area of Milwaukee. it is small, only covering about a 40 block area, bounded by North Aveneue on the north and Walnut on the south, 18th street on the east and 25th on the west. Much of the interior section of the neighborhood has been completely wiped out, buildings that were demoished for a freeway that was to be built in the area but never was. Now, an eight block area remains desolate, with no buildings or trees, and weeds growing in the streets. The area surrouding this area is extremely dangerous, and is often nicknamed "Little Beruit." Many people have been "mob-beaten" in this area, and some killed, sometimes by children. It is the heart of the Milwaukee ghetto, and a very dangerous area.
• Piggsville
• Riverwest Hyperlinked Neighborhood Map (http://riverwest.iqee.com): The punk-rock/artist neighborhood in Milwaukee, it is also easily the most racially diverse. In a city known for it's segregation, Riverwest defies that logic by having a demographic make up of 1/3 white, 1/3 black and 1/3 other, mostly hispanic, asian and Iranian. As the name implies, it lies just west of the river from the east side, it's more expensive and exclusive "cool" counterpart.
• Sherman Park: A middle class black area that used to be the heart of Milwaukee's Jewish population on the north side. Now, it is a stable, middle class area with beautiful, lavishly built homes.
• Story Hill
• Third Ward: A haven for yuppies, the third ward has become increasingly high rent. As Milwaukee's warehouse district, it often is said to resemble SoHo in New York in some areas. 5-6 story brick buildings are the average height in this neighborhood on all streets, giving it a very cosmpolitain and "big city" feel.
• Walker's Point: A vibrant mix of yuppie, gay, artist and Mexican immigrants. It lies just south of the third ward, and is less expensive than its northern counterpart. The northern part of the neighborhood, near 2nd and the river, is a desolate wasteland of old warehouses with charming old-style ads painted on the buildings. This area of the city has incredible potential to be the next third ward. Just south of this area, is a somewhat abandoned area that is the heart of Milwaukee's gay community outside of the east side. The underbelly of Milwaukee's gay scene, seedy gay bars and strip joints line South 1st street and Florida street south of the river. Further south, along national and mineral streets, the neighborhood becomes an ecclectic mix of art galleries, mexican restaurants and nightclubs. This is the beginning, geographically, of Milwaukee's vast southside hispanic community. Famous mexican restaurants such La Perla, Conjahitos, and La Fuenta line S 5th street, a vibrant hub for college kids and mexican locals alike.
• Walnut Hill: Another inner-city neighborhood on the north side, near center street and Teutonia. Mixture of extreme poverty to stately homes from block to block. Almost all black.
• Washington Heights
• Washington Park: Area bordering the dangerous and poverty-striken Metcalfe Park. Still poor and black, but more stable.
• West End
• West Town

Notable denizens

• Herbert Simon—Nobel laureate for advances in artificial intelligence (AI): the influence of Milwaukee even showed up in his professional work; as the inventor of bounded rationality, Simon showed that people work only as much as needed, and then adjust their priorities to other, perhaps more enjoyable things, an attitude which is very common in a city dedicated to gemuetlich pursuits and beer.
• Jack Kilby—Nobel laureate, co-inventor of the integrated circuit
• Golda Meir—prime minister of Israel
• Lloyd and Jane Pettit —Well known philanthropists of Bradley family fortune, who gifted the Bradley Center and Pettit National Ice Center. [2] (http://www.jsonline.com/news/Metro/nov03/184367.asp)
• Leroy Chiao — astronaut, Commander and Science Officer for International Space Station Expedition 10 in orbit as of October 16, 2004 for a 6-month mission.