Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
File:MKE skyline.jpg
Flag of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Flag Official seal of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Seal
Nickname(s):  "Cream City," "Brew City," "Mil Town," "The City of Festivals"
Location of Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
County	Milwaukee
Government
• Mayor	Tom Barrett
Population  (2005)
• City	578,887
• Metro	1,753,355
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Website	www.city.milwaukee.gov

Milwaukee is the largest city within the state of Wisconsin and 22nd largest (by population) in the United States. The city is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, Milwaukee had a population of 578,887. The city is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee–Racine-Waukesha metropolitan area with a population of 1,753,355.

The first Europeans to pass through the area were French missionaries and fur traders. In 1818, Frenchman Solomon Juneau settled in the area, and in 1846 Juneau's town combined with two neighboring towns to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee. Large numbers of German and other immigrants helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and the following decades.

Milwaukee residents are known as Milwaukeeans. Milwaukee is known as "The City of Festivals" for its great number of ethnic and musical festivals, the largest of which is Summerfest. It has also been called "Brew City," due to Milwaukee having been home to several major breweries throughout its history.

Like other historically industrial northern cities, Milwaukee has taken steps over the past few years to reshape its image, in large part by reviving its downtown. In the past decade, new additions to downtown have included a Riverwalk, the Midwest Airlines Center, an internationally renowned addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, as well as the major renovations to the Milwaukee Auditorium and U.S. Cellular Arena. In addition, many new skyscrapers, condos, lofts, and apartments have been constructed in neighborhoods on and near the lakefront and riverbanks to attract people back to the city.

History

Main article: History of Milwaukee

The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) American Indian tribes. French missionaries and traders first passed through the area in the late 1600s and 1700s. The word "Milwaukee" comes from the Native American word Millioke which means "The Good Land", "Gathering place by the water" or "beautiful or pleasant lands".

Milwaukee has three "founding fathers," of whom French Canadian Solomon Juneau was first to come to the area, in 1818. The Juneaus founded the town called Juneau's Side, or Juneautown, that began attracting more settlers. However, Byron Kilbourn was Juneau's equivalent on the west side of the Milwaukee River. In competition with Juneau, he established Kilbourntown west of the Milwaukee River, and made sure that the streets running toward the river did not join with those on the east side. This accounts for the large number of angled bridges that still exist in Milwaukee today. Further, Kilbourn distributed maps of the area which only showed Kilbourntown, implying that Juneautown did not exist or that the east side of the river was uninhabited and thus undesirable. The third prominent builder was George H. Walker. He claimed land to the south of the Milwaukee River, along with Juneautown, where he built a log house in 1834. This area grew and became known as Walker's Point.

By the 1840s, the three towns had grown to such an extent that on 31 January 1846 they combined to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee and elected L. Solomon Juneau as Milwaukee's first mayor. A great number of German immigrants had helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and continued to migrate to the area during the following decades. Milwaukee has even been called "Deutsches Athen" (German Athens), and into the twentieth century, there were more German speakers and German-language newspapers than there were English speakers and English-language newspapers in the city. (To this day, the Milwaukee phonebook includes more than forty pages of Schmitts or Schmidts, far more than the pages of Smiths.)

Milwaukee City Hall

During the middle and late 19th century, Wisconsin and the Milwaukee area became the final destination of many German immigrants fleeing the Revolution of 1848. In Wisconsin they found the inexpensive land and the freedoms they sought. The German heritage and influence in the Milwaukee area is widespread.

The late 19th saw the incorporation of Milwaukee's first suburbs. The aforementioned Bay View existed as an independent village from 1879-1886. In 1892, Whitefish Bay, South Milwaukee, and Wauwatosa each incorporated. They were followed by Cudahy (1895), North Milwaukee (1897) and East Milwaukee, later known as Shorewood, in 1900. The early 20th century saw the additions of West Allis (1902) and West Milwaukee (1906), which completed the first generation of so-called "inner-ring" suburbs.

During the first half of the twentieth century, Milwaukee was the hub of the socialist movement in the United States. Milwaukeeans elected three socialist mayors during this time: Emil Seidel (1910-1912), Daniel Hoan (1916-1940), and Frank Zeidler (1948-1960), and remains the only major city in the country to have done so. Often referred to as "Sewer Socialists," the Milwaukee socialists were characterized by their practical approach to government and labor. Also during this time, a small, but burgeoning community of African-Americans who emigrated from the south formed a community that would come to be known as Bronzeville.

Milwaukee, like many northern industrial cities, continued to grow tremendously until the late 1950s. Milwaukee was home to immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Hungary, Poland and other central European nations. There was also great northward migration of African-Americans from the Southern United States. With the large influx of immigrants, Milwaukee became one of the 15 largest cities in the nation, and by the mid-1960s, its population reached nearly 750,000. Starting in the late 1960s, like many cities in the Great Lakes "rust belt," Milwaukee saw its population start to decline due to various factors, including the loss of blue collar jobs and the phenomenon of "white flight." However, in recent years the city began to make strides in improving its economy, neighborhoods, and image, resulting in the revitalization of neighborhoods such as the Historic Third Ward, the East Side, and more recently, Bay View, along with attracting new businesses to its downtown area. The city continues to make plans for increasing its future revitalization through various projects. Largely due to its efforts to preserve its history, in 2006 Milwaukee was named one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Geography and climate

Milwaukee lies along the shores and bluffs of Lake Michigan at the confluence of three rivers: the Menomonee, the Kinnickinnic and the Milwaukee. Smaller rivers, such as the Root River and Lincoln Creek also run throughout the city. Because Lake Michigan is too large to see across, Milwaukee's waterfront resembles an ocean rather than an inland lake.

Milwaukee's terrain is relatively flat, except for steep bluffs along the lakeshore that begin about one half mile north and four miles south of the downtown.

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.

Cityscape

The city runs largely on the grid system, although in the far northwest and southwest corners of the city, the grid pattern gives way to a more suburban-style streetscape. North-south streets are numbered, and east-west streets are named. However north-south streets east of 1st street are named, like east-west streets. The north-south numbering line is along the Menomonee River (east of Hawley Road) and Fairview Avenue/Golfview Parkway (west of Hawley Road), with the east-west numbering line defined along 1st Street (north of Oklahoma Avenue) and Chase/Howell Avenue (south of Oklahoma Avenue). This numbering system is also used to the north by Mequon in Ozaukee County, and by some Waukesha County communities.

File:11057411 8d37e9dc35.jpg

Milwaukee viewed across the river

It is crossed by Interstate 43 and Interstate 94, which come together downtown at the Marquette Interchange, which is currently under an extensive construction project set to be completed in 2008. The cost of the reconstruction will be around $810 million. The Interstate 894 bypass runs through portions of the city's southwest side, and Interstate 794 comes out of the Marquette interchange eastbound, bends south along the lakefront and crosses the harbor over the Hoan Bridge, then ends near the Bay View neighborhood and becomes the "Lake Parkway" (WIS-794).

See also: List of Milwaukee neighborhoods

Climate

Main article: Climate of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee's location in the Midwest means that it often has rapidly changing weather, and the city experiences the full range of the seasons throughout the year. The warmest month of the year is July, when the average high temperature is 82°F (28°C), with overnight low temperatures averaging 66°F (19°C); January is the coldest month, with high temperatures averaging 27°F (-3°C), with the overnight low temperatures around 13°F (-11°C). Of the 50 largest cities in the United States, Milwaukee has the second-coldest average annual temperature, next to that of Minneapolis.

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 than regions farther from the lake, and cooler in the summer. "Cooler by the lake" is practically boilerplate language for local meteorologists during the spring and summer. Also, more snow falls in Milwaukee than surrounding areas, due to the lake effect. The lake causes the relative humidity in the summer that is far higher than that of comparable cities at the same latitude, meaning that it feels hotter than the actual temperature.

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.

In Milwaukee, the wettest month is August, due to frequent thunderstorms. These can at times be dangerous and damaging, bringing hail and high winds. In rare instances, it can bring a tornado to the more inland parts of the city. However, almost all summer rainfall in the city is brought by these storms. In spring and fall, longer events of prolonged, lighter rain bring most of the precipitation. Snow commonly falls in the city from early November until the middle of March, although it has been recorded as early as September 23, and as late as May 31. The city receives an average of 47.0 inches (1.19m) of snow in winter, but this number is highly variable. In 2000, 49.5 inches (1.26m) of snow fell solely in the month of December.

Environmental organization SustainLane ranked Milwaukee along with Mesa, Arizona, the least likely to suffer natural disasters, in a study of 50 U.S. cities measuring the risk of a natural disaster striking the city. The study used the possibilities of "hurricanes, major flooding, catastrophic hail, tornado super-outbreaks, and earthquakes" as criteria.

Demographics

City of Milwaukee
Census year	Population
1850	20,061
1860	45,246
1870	71,440
1880	115,587
1890	204,468
1900	285,315
1910	373,857
1920	457,147
1930	578,249
1940	587,472
1950	637,392
1960	741,324
1970	717,099
1980	636,212
1990	628,088
2000	596,974
2005	578,887

Population

As of the census estimate of 2005, there are 578,887 people residing in Milwaukee. As of 2000, there were 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).

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.

According to the 2000 Census, there were at least 1,408 same-sex households in Milwaukee which accounts for 0.6% of all households in the city. Although this number is lower than other cities in the region such as Chicago and Minneapolis, Milwaukee continues to be noted for its generally accepting attitudes towards the LGBT community. In 2001, it was named the #1 city for lesbians by Girlfriends magazine.

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.

Milwaukee still faces a shrinking population, and other problems, such as crime, racial tension (especially between inner-city Blacks and white suburbanites), poverty, and a precarious school system, presenting a serious challenge to the city. Although the crime rate is down since the early 1990s, the issues of urban crime and police corruption are still at the forefront, frequently appearing on the front page of local newspapers. Accusations of police brutality are common and have gained national attention as of late with federal charges being brought down on the Milwaukee police officers accused of beating Frank Jude Jr. Many considered the hiring of the first black Chief of Police, Arthur Jones, to be a turning point for Milwaukee, noting that crime in 2004 was at its lowest in nearly 15 years. However, critics accused Jones of ineffectiveness, eventually leading to his resignation.

Race and ethnicity

According to the 2004 Census Estimate, the racial makeup of the city is 46.7% White, 39.5% African American, 13.3% Hispanic or Latino, 3.6% Asian, 0.8% Native American, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 7.3% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. According to the 2000 census, 39.5% of Milwaukeeans reported having African-American ancestry and 38% reported German ancestry. Other significant population groups include Polish (12.7%), Irish (10%), English (5.1%), Italian (4.4%), French (3.9%), with Hispanic origin totaling 6.3%.

The metropolitan area is frequently cited as being hypersegregated, and was long known as the most segregated metro area in the U.S. However, due to continued dialogue between Milwaukee's citizens, the city is making an effort to reduce racial tensions and reduce the rate of segregation.. With demographic changes in the wake of white flight, segregation in metropolitan Milwaukee is primarily within the suburbs rather than the city as in the era of Father Groppi.

Religion

Milwaukee is home to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee, the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the ELCA and the headquarters of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The School Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis have their mother house in Milwaukee and several other religious orders have a significant presence in the area, including the Jesuits and Franciscans.

The Association of Religion Data Archives reported on the religious composition of the Milwaukee-Racine area as of 2000. Approximately 55% of residents were adherents to one of the 188 groups included in the data. Of them, 58% were Catholic, 23% Lutheran, 3% Methodist, and 2.5% Jewish. Others included adherents to other Protestant denominations, Orthodox churches, and Eastern religions. Historically African-American denominations were not included in the data.

Education

Chapman Hall at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Raynor Library at Marquette University

Colleges and universities

Higher education in Milwaukee is dominated by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on the East Side and Marquette University, located just west of downtown. Milwaukee is also served by Alverno College, Cardinal Stritch University, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Mount Mary College, and Wisconsin Lutheran College, collectively giving the city a student population exceeding approximately 70,000, the largest in Wisconsin. A January 2000 study from McGill University in Montreal ranked Milwaukee 6th in a list of U.S. and Canadian cities with the highest number of college students per 100 residents.

Primary and secondary schooling

Milwaukee maintains Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), the largest school district in Wisconsin and one of the largest in the nation. As of 2006, it has an enrollment of 95,600 students and employs 6,100 full-time and substitute teachers in 223 schools. Milwaukee Public Schools operate as magnet schools, with individualized specialty areas for interests in academics, or the arts. Golda Meir School, Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School, Milwaukee School of Languages, Milwaukee High School of the Arts, and Lynde & Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School are just some examples of the magnet schools in Milwaukee. In addition to its public schools, Milwaukee is home to a large number of parochial schools, including over two dozen private high schools and hundreds of private middle and elementary schools.

The district has a reputation for a poorly performing student body and efforts have been underway for years to reform the school system. School District officials note declining funding as a catalyst to problems in the district.

Of persons in Milwaukee aged 25 and above, 84.5% have a high school diploma, and 27% have a Bachelor's degree or higher. (2000) See also: List of High Schools in Milwaukee County

School voucher program

In 1990, Milwaukee became the first community in the United States to adopt a school voucher program. The program enables students to receive public finding to study at parochial and other private schools free of cost. The 2006-2007 school year will mark the first time that more than $100 million will be paid in vouchers, as twenty-six percent of Milwaukee students will receive public funding to attend schools outside the MPS system. If the voucher program alone were considered a school district, it would mark the sixth-largest district in Wisconsin. St. Anthony Catholic School, located on the city's south side, boasts 966 voucher students, meaning that it very likely receives more public money in support of a parochial elementary or high school than any such school in American history. Still, the program remains the topic of controversy. For example, under the current state formula for paying school vouchers, Milwaukee residents pay more in property taxes for voucher students than for students attending public schools. This flaw is the subject of 2007 state legislative proposals.

Economy

File:256896915 06e9ed1b4c.jpg

Northwestern Mutual

Milwaukee and its suburbs are the home to the headquarters of 13 Fortune 1000 companies, including Johnson Controls, Northwestern Mutual, Manpower Inc., Kohl's, Harley-Davidson, Rockwell Automation, Fiserv, Marshall & Ilsley Corp., Wisconsin Energy, Briggs & Stratton, Joy Global, A.O. Smith, and MGIC Investments. In fact, the Milwaukee metropolitan area ranks fifth in the United States in terms of the number of Fortune 500 company headquarters as a share of the population. Milwaukee also has a large number of financial service firms, particularly those specializing in mutual funds and transaction processing systems, and a disproportionate number of publishing and printing companies, including Quad/Graphics. Milwaukee is also the headquarters of Midwest Airlines, the Koss Corporation and Master Lock.

Twenty-two percent of Milwaukee's workforce is involved in manufacturing, second only to San Jose, California 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.

Technology

Milwaukee boasts that it will soon become one of the first fully wireless large cities in the United States thanks to its Milwaukee Wireless Initiative. A private firm, Midwest Fiber Networks, has contracted to invest $20 million in setting up wireless infrastructure all over the city. If all goes as planned, the city should be completely wireless by March 2008. Under the plan, the city will designate dozens of free websites, and city residents will be able to access unlimited content for a monthly fee.

The city had previously established free wireless networks in two downtown city parks: Cathedral Square and Pere Marquette Park.

Brewing

Milwaukee was once the home to four of the world's largest breweries (Schlitz, Blatz, Pabst, and Miller), and was the number one beer producing city in the world for many years. Despite the decline in its position as the world's leading beer producer after the loss of three of those breweries, its one remaining major brewery, Miller Brewing Company, remains a key employer by employing over 1,700 of the city's workers. Due to Miller's solid position as the second-largest beer-maker in the U.S., as well as basing its world headquarters in Milwaukee, the city remains known as a beer town despite now only representing a fraction of its economy.

Culture and sports

Museums

The Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee's most visually prominent cultural attraction is the Milwaukee Art Museum, 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 unfolds like the wing of a bird. Milwaukee is also home to the America's Black Holocaust Museum. Founded by lynching survivor James Cameron, the museum features exhibits which chronicle the injustices suffered throughout history by people of African descent in the United States. The Milwaukee Public Museum, Discovery World Museum, Betty Brinn Children's Museum, Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, the Charles Allis Art Museum, Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory and Milwaukee County Zoo are also notable public attractions.

Performing arts

Milwaukee is home to the Florentine Opera, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Skylight Opera Theatre, First Stage Children's Theater, Milwaukee Youth Theatre, and a number of other arts organizations including the Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps. Additionally, Milwaukee is home to artistic performance venues such as the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Pabst Theater, The Rave/Eagles Ballroom, Riverside Theatre, and Milwaukee Theatre. The Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, a first-of-its-kind Arts-in-education facility, is a national model.

Festivals

Henry Maier Festival Grounds

Milwaukee, "A Great Place on a Great Lake" has also advertised itself as the "City of Festivals," emphasizing an annual lakefront fair 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.

Along with Summerfest, Milwaukee is home to a variety of ethnic and socially themed festivals throughout the summer. Held primarily on the lakefront Summerfest grounds, these festivals span several days (typically Friday plus the weekend) and celebrate Milwaukee's history and diversity. PrideFest-a celebration of Milwaukee's GAY community-typically kicks off the festival season in early June. The season is concluded with Indian Summer in early September. Polish, Greek, French, Italian, German, African-American, Arab, Irish, Native American, Asian and Mexican heritages are celebrated throughout the summer.

The Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau publishes a schedule of major events.

Music

Main Article: Music of Milwaukee

Sports

Miller Park, Home of the Milwaukee Brewers

File:MilwaukeeBucksNBA.PNG

Milwaukee has a rich history of involvement in professional and nonprofessional sports, going back to the 19th century. Currently, its major sports teams include:

Club	Sport	Founded	Current League	Stadium
Milwaukee Brewers	Baseball	1969	Major League Baseball (NL)	Miller Park
Milwaukee Bucks	Basketball	1968	National Basketball Association	Bradley Center
Milwaukee Admirals	Hockey	1970	American Hockey League	Bradley Center
Milwaukee Wave	Indoor soccer	1984	Major Indoor Soccer League	U.S. Cellular Arena

Major League Soccer has been looking into the possibility of expansion or relocation to Milwaukee over the past couple of years due to the popularity of the Wave and the city's growing Hispanic population. However, without the construction of a soccer specific stadium, whether or not Milwaukee will be granted a franchise is up in the air. The Park East Freeway site which was originally proposed was rejected by the city in 2006. The new site for the proposed MLS stadium is just south of the 6th street bridge, adjacent to the Harley-Davidson Museum.

Men's college basketball is currently enjoying a renaissance in the city as both of its NCAA Division I teams - the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Milwaukee Panthers, have made the post season in each of the past four years (three NCAA appearances for Milwaukee and two for Marquette). Starting with the 2007-08 season, the schools will rekindle their annual rivalry game which has been dormant since 1998.

Previously, numerous other teams have played in Milwaukee, including:

Club	Sport	Played from	League	Stadium
Cream Citys	Baseball	1878	National League
Milwaukee Unions	Baseball	1884	Union Association
Milwaukee Brewers	Baseball	1888-1901	Western League/American League	Lloyd Street Grounds
Milwaukee Brewers (1891)	Baseball	1891	American Association (19th century)
Milwaukee Brewers	Baseball	1902-1952	American Association	Borchert Field
Milwaukee Badgers	Football	1922-1926	NFL
Milwaukee Bears	Baseball	1923	Negro National League	Borchert Field
Milwaukee Chiefs	Football	1940-1941	American Football League
Milwaukee Hawks	Basketball	1951-1955	NBA	Milwaukee Arena
Milwaukee Braves	Baseball	1953-1965	MLB	Milwaukee County Stadium
Milwaukee Does	Basketball	1978-1980	WBL	MECCA Arena (now U.S. Cellular Arena)
Milwaukee Mustangs	Arena football	1994-2001	Arena Football League	Bradley Center
Milwaukee Rampage	Soccer	1994-2002	USL First Division
Milwaukee Wave United	Soccer	2003-2004	USL First Division

The early 20th century Milwaukee Brewers's time in the American League predates the league's evolution into a major league, going back to the 19th century to its predecessors, the Western Association and Western League. The minor league Milwaukee Brewers was not directly connected to the older team. In fact, there was concern at the time about the prospect of both teams simultaneously playing in 1901 or 1902. It should also be noted that the 19th century baseball teams in Milwaukee were interchangebly referred to as the Cream Citys, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Greys or Milwaukee Unions.[3] This was common during the time as most teams did not have official names and rather adopted names which reporters assigned to them. The table lists the most common name used for each particular team.

The Milwaukee Braves won the National League pennant in 1957 and 1958, and won the World Series in 1957. The Brewers made their first post-season appearance in 1981 and won the American League pennant in 1982.

The Green Bay Packers played a portion of their home schedule in Milwaukee on a regular basis from the 1930s until 1994 in the following locations:

• Borchert Field, 1933
• Wisconsin State Fair Park, 1934-51
• Marquette Stadium, 1952
• Milwaukee County Stadium, 1953-1994

The first Milwaukee game was played on December 3, 1922, against the Racine Legion; the last on December 18, 1994, against the Atlanta Falcons. The 1939 Championship between the Packers and the New York Giants was played at State Fair Park. The Packers won, 27-0. A 1931 championship against the Portsmouth Spartans was also scheduled for Milwaukee, but was called off.

The Packers maintain two separate season ticket plans, reflecting their time spent in Milwaukee: Gold package holders, made up primarily of former Milwaukee season ticket holders, have a three-game package consisting of the annual Midwest Shrine preseason contest plus the second and fifth regular-season home games each year; Green package holders (made up of original Green Bay ticket holders) attend the annual Bishop's Charities preseason game and the remaining six regular-season contests.

The Milwaukee suburb of West Allis is home to the Milwaukee Mile auto racing facility, the oldest active auto race track in the United States, located on the Wisconsin State Fair Grounds. Also near the Fair Grounds is the Pettit National Ice Center, a U.S. Olympic Team training facility.

Throughout the sports world, Milwaukee is perhaps best known for its tradition of tailgating before Brewers baseball games.

Transportation

Interstate 94 comes north from Chicago to enter Milwaukee and continues west to Madison. Interstate 43 enters Milwaukee from the southwest and continues north to Green Bay. Milwaukee has two branch interstate highways, Interstate 894 and Interstate 794. I-894 extends from the western suburbs to the southern suburbs, bypassing downtown. I-794 extends east from the Marquette Interchange to Lake Michigan before turning south over the Hoan Bridge toward the airport, turning into Highway 794 along the way.

Milwaukee is also served by three US highways. U.S. Route 18 provides a link from downtown to points west. U.S. Route 41 and U.S. Route 45 both provide north-south freeway transportation on the western side of the city.

U.S. Route 41, which also connects the city with the Fox Valley beyond its suburbs, is being considered for expansion which will qualify it for an upgrade to Interstate status. The proposed Interstate 41 would become Milwaukee's third main Interstate.

The Milwaukee County Transit System provides a bus transit system. The city is also served by the Hiawatha Amtrak express service between Milwaukee and Chicago. In addition, Milwaukee is home to two airports, General Mitchell International Airport on the southern edge of the city, and the smaller Timmerman Field on the north side.

A tram system known as the Milwaukee Connector was proposed and passed by the common council, but mayor Tom Barrett vetoed the bill over problems of cost and availability. Currently, a 0.5% sales tax is being proposed for the counties of Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha by the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority to fund a commuter rail from Kenosha to downtown Milwaukee. The tax would also be used to fund the bus systems in those counties which currently rely on property taxes.[4]

In recent years, Milwaukee has become one of the more bicycle friendly cities in the Untied States, obtaining bronze-level status from the League of American Bicyclists [5]. The city has over 65 miles of bicycle lanes and trails, most of which run alongside or near the cities rivers and Lake Michigan.

Media

Milwaukee's leading newspaper is the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The most prominent weekly is Shepherd Express, a free publication. Other local newspapers, city guides and magazines with large distributions include Milwaukee Magazine and MKE (magazine),Riverwest Currents and The Onion. OnMilwaukee.com is an online magazine providing news and events.

Milwaukee's major network television affiliates are WTMJ 4 (NBC), WITI 6 (Fox), WISN 12 (ABC), WVTV 18 (CW), WCGV 24 (MyNetworkTV), and WDJT 58 (CBS). WMLW 41 is a popular independent commercial station in Milwaukee largely due to its coverage of local collegiate sports teams. Spanish language programming is on WYTU-LP 63 (Telemundo). Milwaukee's public broadcasting stations are WMVS 10 and WMVT 36.

There are numerous radio stations throughout Milwaukee and the surrounding area.

See also:

• List of Milwaukee area television stations
• List of Milwaukee area radio stations

Milwaukee's name

Milwaukee received its name from the Native American word Millioke which means "The Good Land", or "Gathering place by the water." Another interpretation is "beautiful or pleasant lands". Early explorers called the Milwaukee River and surrounding lands various names: Melleorki, Milwacky, Mahn-a-waukie, Milwarck, and Milwaucki. For many years, printed records gave the name as "Milwaukie". A Short History of Milwaukee, by William George Bruce, gives the story of Milwaukee's final name:

"[O]ne day during the thirties of the last century [1800s] a newspaper calmly changed the name to Milwaukee, and Milwaukee it has remained until this day."

Milwaukeeans, in common with most Wisconsinites, sometimes confuse outsiders in their pronunciation of the name. It is often pronounced as [mʊ·ˈwa:·ki], which is humorously observed on some T-Shirts sold as "M'waukee"[6].

Sister cities

Milwaukee has eight sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc (SCI):

• Galway, Republic of Ireland
• Mulhouse, France
• Nuevitas, Cuba
• Parma, Italy
• Queenstown, South Africa
• Schwerin, Germany
• Ticuantepe, Nicaragua
• Omsk, Russia

See also

• List of mayors of Milwaukee
• List of Milwaukeeans
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee
• Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee
• Flag of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Seal of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Sewer Socialism
• Third Coast
• Miller Park

External links

• City of Milwaukee website
• VISIT Milwaukee website, from the Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Metro Milwaukee Association of Commerce
• Milwaukee Information from about.com