Everyone has a favorite restaurant they remember from the past. If you could look back at the old menu it would take you back to those favorite memories of eating there and other happy thoughts that take you back to a special time. This was what the Milwaukee Public Library has done with its latest digital collection. This unique collection includes Milwaukee-area menus from the early 1900s up to the present.

The Historic Menus digital collection includes a variety of menus from the Milwaukee area from the early twentieth century to the present. The physical menus are part of the Local History Pamphlet Collection in the Humanities Department. There are menus from special events, beer gardens, and many different types of restaurants. Many of the menus included here were collected by Milwaukee Public Library staff members, who likely used them to get takeout lunches when they were working. Other menus were donated or collected specifically for the pamphlet collection.

See the Historic Menus Digital Collection here!

Also, if you stop by the Central Library between now and March 18th, look at the displays on the 2nd floor outside the Humanities Room to see some of the menus from the collection.