Here’s a tricky mystery picture. It barely looks like a creature but it is a little gargoyle visible from the street. This is downtown and there are clues in the picture but not much else to go on except for maybe the street name. This is the Monday Milwaukee Mystery, afterall!!
Where is the mystery gargoyle?
This Monday Mystery takes a small departure from faces which makes it more difficult. This is the upper corner of one of the taller buildings in the Westown area showing some of the classical themed decorative details. The older crowd among us may remember the building as the place to get your music. Which building is this?
OldMilwaukee.net was given the prestigious 2011 Wisconsin History Website Award by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Every year a website is chosen that makes the most valuable contribution to presenting Wisconsin history during the previous year.
We have always made it a point to engage and involve site visitors in discovering Milwaukee and Wisconsin history. It is hoped that everyone comes here to learn something new about this great city.
I hope everyone had a chance to come downtown this past weekend to enjoy Doors Open Milwaukee and hopefully be on the lookout for future mystery faces.
Today’s mystery is a downtown building with a face very high on the tip-top of a well known 19th century structure that was the center of exchange but it is still visible if you look well. This lion was built as part of the drain system of the building. Where might this head be?
Author Martin Hintz has released his latest book on the history of booze in Milwaukee, A Spirited History of Milwaukee Brews & Booze.
Crack open this comprehensive history of Brew City booze. Explore Milwaukee’s “rum holes,” discover how the city weathered Prohibition and which Jones Island sported the longest mustache. Copy down the best recipe involving Sprecher Special Amber, Rainbow Trout and sauerkraut. Sample the rich heritage of Pabst, Schlits, Gettelman and Miller-the folk who turned Milwaukee into the Beer Capital of the World. And save some room for the more recent contributions of distillers and craft brewers who continue to make the city an exciting place for the thoughtful drinker.
Be sure to stop by Friday, September 30th, 7:00pm at Boswell Book Company, 2559 N. Downer Avenue to meet the author and buy the book.
The Public Natatorium restaurant opened in the fall of 1979 and stayed opened until 1984 when it went into bankruptcy proceedings. It began with an idea by owners, John and Margaret Garlic to re-use an old Natatorium building for an interesting restaurant. They used the old swimming pool to house dolphins and sea lions for performances to lure diners looking for a unique experience. Unfortunately as the business foundered during the winter of 1984, the animals were left in limbo without food and in danger of freezing. A federal bankruptcy judge had to step in to make sure the last dolphin was taken care of during the final days.
The building was constructed in 1894 after a design by Eugene Liebert and finally was closed as a public swimming pool in 1977.
A mystery for a dreary Monday. These are a couple of many lion heads on the cornice of a downtown building. The heads are small on this ornate neoclassical building but once you look up should be easy to spot! Which building are these lion heads on?
This coming weekend be sure to visit downtown for Doors Open Milwaukee to see many downtown buildings featured in the Monday Milwaukee Mystery series. While you are there pay attention to faces on buildings not yet shown so that you are prepared for upcoming mysteries!
Today’s mystery monk is on a downtown building. This should be a relatively easy mystery and hopefully someone should be able to come up with the rite answer.
The Bay View Library will hold a program presented by Ellen Puerzer about octagon houses on October 4th. It will be a slide presentation on Wisconsin octagons, and those across the country. Some then and now photos will also be shown.
Its free and begins at 6pm and The Octagon House Inventory book will also be available at a discounted price of $20.
In case anyone has a curiosity about 19th century octagon houses inspired by Orson Fowler’s 1848 book, this your opportunity to meet the author and learn about this unique building type.
You can contact Bay View library for more info.
Happy Labor Day!! Take time out of your holiday to show support for the backbone of Wisconsin – working men and women. We make Wisconsin strong!
This Monday mystery shows the work of anonymous craftsmen who made and installed the beautiful terra-cotta on this east side building. It was once a hotel and is about a mile north of downtown. Where are these gryphons?
