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Ice Skating

High-angle wide shot of people in winter clothes skating on the frozen Milwaukee River. Three young people are in the foreground, and many are scattered in the background. Several buildings appear atop the bluff in the distance.
The Milwaukee area has a rich history of ice skating, providing opportunities for speed skating, figure skating, and amateur and public skating. In 1928, the first United States Olympic speed skating time trials were held in Oconomowoc. In 1949, the West Allis Speed Skating Club’s winning reputation earned West Allis the title of “Skating Capital… Read More

Indoor Recreation

Grayscale long-shot of Milwaukee Turnverein gymnasium interior showing various gymnastics apparatuses. Regularly spaced climbing ropes hang here and there from the room's ceiling. Vault equipment appears at the image's center and right. Balls of different sizes lay on the floor in the image's center foreground. Beam, bars, and pommel horses are in the background. Ladders lean on the wall in the left background next to rectangular windows emanating outside light. The other wall visible in this photo consists of two stories. The upper story is enclosed with a balustrade. An American flag is set on the railing. Several frames hang on the second floor's wall.
Since Milwaukee’s earliest days, organized indoor recreation has promoted fitness, hygiene, entertainment, and civic betterment. While a wide variety of Milwaukeeans participated in these activities, there were noticeable class, gender, and age distinctions that often reflected the deeper social goals at work. The earliest references to indoor recreation in Milwaukee date to the 1850s and… Read More

Miller Park

Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers National League baseball team.
Miller Park serves as the home of the Milwaukee Brewers and bears the name of its primary sponsor, the MillerCoors brewing company. Located west of downtown, Miller Park features North America’s only fan-shaped retractable roof and houses a retro-style asymmetrical playing field designed to benefit hitters and baserunners. Miller Park was the site of the… Read More

Milwaukee Admirals

Group photo of dozens of Milwaukee Admirals members in uniforms posing at a hockey rink. Some people in the front lie on the ice surface flanking a trophy. Two people, one in a suit, and one in a sweater pose, on the right. They all smile while pointing their index fingers. In the background are spectators in the blue-colored seating area.
Milwaukee has been home to the Milwaukee Admirals since 1970. After memberships in the United States Hockey League and International Hockey League, the Admirals joined the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2001. Previously affiliated with the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks, the Admirals became the minor league affiliate of the Nashville Predators… Read More

Milwaukee Braves

Sepia-colored photograph of four members of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves kneeling on a baseball field while holding bats. They pose in uniforms. Blurred in the far background is a grandstand full of spectators.
The Milwaukee Braves were unique among professional sports franchises. When owner Lou Perini moved his National League baseball club from Boston to Milwaukee in March 1953, the Braves became the first major league ball club to change cities in half a century. The shift initiated a series of westward migrations by teams and provided the… Read More

Milwaukee Brewers

Group photo of 1979 Milwaukee Brewers team members in uniforms, posing in five rows. Members in the first row kneel while holding bats upside down. Two men in the second row and one in the third row do not wear the team uniform. The image's caption has a special section containing all the members' names.
Numerous baseball teams have used the “Brewers” moniker in Milwaukee since the 1880s. The Milwaukee Brewers (1902-1952) of the minor league American Association departed upon the arrival of the major league Braves franchise. The present-day Milwaukee Brewers joined the American League in 1970, when the Seattle Pilots relocated to Milwaukee, and shifted to the National… Read More

Milwaukee Bucks

Long shot of the large "History in the Making" sign on the top front of the Fiserv Forum facade showing five Milwaukee Bucks stars with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the middle. Two work crews stand on a boom lift while working on the sign on the right, next to Khris Middleton's photo. A street sign under the portrait reads "Herb Kohl Way."
The Milwaukee Bucks joined the National Basketball Association in 1968 and won the league championship three years later—setting a record for the shortest time from entering the league to becoming world champions. The team has won thirteen division titles and played in the conference finals twice. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Junior Bridgeman, Bob Lanier, Jon McGlocklin, Sidney… Read More

Milwaukee County Stadium

Bird's eye view of Milwaukee County Stadium with a green field on its ground surrounded by empty, multilevel grandstands. Rows of cars are parked in large parking lots outside the stadium. A portion of a green landscape appears in the foreground. Crisscrossing highways are in the far right background.
Construction began on Milwaukee County Stadium in 1950 with the hope of bringing professional baseball back to Milwaukee, but the stadium ultimately served as a multi-functional entertainment venue in the city’s industrial Menomonee Valley. Its construction was unique among Major League ballparks in two ways: it was the first one to be erected with lights… Read More

Milwaukee River

Long shot of boats docked on the left in the Milwaukee River. The water body flows from back to front. A bridge and downtown buildings are visible in the background. A clear blue sky spans above.
About 12,000 years ago, the Laurentide Ice Sheet began to retreat from northern and southeastern Wisconsin. This ice sheet, which covered most of Canada and the northern United States, left its mark on Wisconsin, cutting moraines, kettles, drumlins, and rolling hills into the state’s landscape. This glacial retreat also created Wisconsin’s many ponds, lakes, rivers,… Read More

Milwaukee Turners

Grayscale picture of the 1880 Milwaukee Turners team standing in a row. It illustrates seven men in uniform and one in a suit posing on the farthest right. Turner apparatuses are placed around them. Behind two members on the farthest left is a pommel horse. Parallel bars are set behind three men in the center. A vault is located on the right background.
Turnen is simply the German word for gymnastics, but the Turner movement has been defined by its compelling combination of physical exercise, cultural activity, and civic engagement. The German-American group played a leading role in the public life of Milwaukee, especially in the late nineteenth century. At that time, an estimated one in twelve Milwaukeeans… Read More

Milwaukee Wave

High-angle shot of Milwaukee Wave forward Ian Bennett in white-colored uniform with the ball outside of the touchline at the image's left. Shoes of spectators next to the perimeter line appear on the farthest left. A Baltimore Blast player in a predominantly orange-colored uniform is on his right behind with his eyes focus on the ball. The arena is green colored.
In 1984, club president Tony Ramos announced the formation of an indoor soccer franchise known as the Milwaukee Wave. The Wave have played their home games at various locations, including the Milwaukee Auditorium, the Bradley Center, and the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Although mired near the bottom of the American Indoor Soccer Association ranks for… Read More

Model Railroading

Grayscale high-angle shot of a crowd standing around a model railroad set-up. The model railroad is displayed in the foreground. It features a set of railways and tracks, miniatures of a series of buildings, trees, and roads, among others. The crowd stands from the left to right background. Some lean on railings that are installed next to the model railroad.
Whether fabricating color-matched dirt for a layout or studying U.S. topographical reports to achieve a precise scale, model railroaders strive for accuracy and authenticity. While there are a number of cities that boast clubs and manufacturers, Milwaukee is arguably the historical headquarters of model railroading. One of the nation’s oldest model railroading organizations, the Model… Read More

Motorcycling

Grayscale wide shot of the rider of a vintage motorcycle on the left racing with an antique car on the right. Both leave behind a cloud of dust . The motorbike rider wears a Harley Davidson jacket. His vehicle features a sidecar. Both drive through the corner of the dirt-surfaced track. A fence lines the circuit in the far background.
Motorcycling and Milwaukee have long and intertwined histories. In 1903, the Harley-Davidson factory was founded by William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson. Throughout the early twentieth century, the Harley-Davidson brand expanded its customer base and factory and employee size and began selling motorcycles outside the United States. The popularity of motorcycling grew with the formation… Read More

Nightlife

A painted postcard of the Schlitz Palm Garden's interior with an array of dining tables, palms and other plants scattered in the hall. The vaulted ceiling is colored in shades of purple. Inscribed in red ink on the top right of the postcard is "Interior Schlitz Palm Garden, Milwaukee."
Beginning in rustic boardinghouse barrooms serving straight whiskey and lively conversation and evolving into multi-million dollar night clubs with state-of-the-art sound systems entertaining finely-attired patrons, nightlife in Milwaukee has changed considerably as the city has grown and its population has diversified. Nightlife—the after-dark pursuit of entertainment, liquor, social mixing, romance, and sex—is an essential aspect… Read More

Outdoor Recreation

A clipping contains the Milwaukee Cricket Club group photo in sepia. The fourteen members pose outside in three rows. Two people on the left in the front row carry cricket balls, and two on the right hold cricket bats. Numbers are written on the image. Men in the back row are numbered from one to five. The second row is from six to ten, the first row is from eleven to fourteen. Names of all members are listed at the bottom portion of the clipping based on the numbers.
Throughout the city’s history, Milwaukeeans have engaged in outdoor recreational activities in pursuit of fitness, entertainment, community development, and other benefits. Outdoor recreation varies from individual to collective in scale, and from relaxing to active in character. Unlike indoor varieties, outdoor recreation changes with the seasons, and Milwaukeeans commonly engaged in both warm and cold… Read More

Pettit National Ice Center

Long shot of Pettit National Ice Center interior. An indoor track appears in the foreground. Next to it is the ice rink reflecting the shine from ceiling lights. Blue-colored benches sit near the rink. Above them in the background are various international flags hanging from the rafters. The rafters' white-colored steel structures are visible all over the ceiling.
The Pettit National Ice Center hosts international speed skating competitions, offers HOCKEY and ICE SKATING lessons and leagues for children and adults, and is an official United States training site for Olympic speed skating. Since the Ice Center’s opening in 1992, all U.S. speed skaters who have participated in the Winter Olympics have competed or… Read More

Professional Baseball

Image of a vintage baseball card in the shape of a vertical rounded rectangle showing John Freeman standing in his uniform that features the word "Milwaukee." His body directs to his right along with his outstretched right hand which holds a ball. Freeman poses with his eyes staring at the ball.
Milwaukee has been an important baseball location in professional baseball since the 1870s. It has never been the hub of mid-western baseball and certainly never could be with Chicago’s close proximity. The last quarter of the nineteenth century and first half of the twentieth century often found Milwaukee in the thick of major league baseball… Read More

Professional Wrestling

A photo montage showcases Dick "The Bruiser" Afflis and Reggie "The Crusher" Liswoski. This photo of the two wrestlers is made as if they are standing next to each other. They appear in wrestling belts, glaring while pointing in different directions with their forefingers.
Professional wrestling, distinguished from other forms of wrestling by its tacit fakery and showmanship, has provided performance art for the masses in Milwaukee for more than a century. The modern American pastime emerged as a spectator sport in the second half of the nineteenth century as strongman acts in touring carnivals. These small-time shows looked… Read More

Recreational Fishing

Image of a stereograph features two identical images showing a kid and two men standing beside a line of caught fishes hung horizontally on a string. Written on the left and right side of the stereograph is "The Globe Stereographs Co Chicago." On the bottom is inscribed "26G- A Morning's Catch, Oconomowoc, Wis. Copyright, 1906, by The Globe Stereographs Co. "
Humans have fished Milwaukee area lakes and rivers for centuries. Natives, fur traders, and early settlers subsisted in part on the fish they caught in these waters. While the commercial fishing industry reduced the need for Milwaukeeans to fish for their survival by the 1860s, many residents continued the practice to maintain a connection to… Read More

Robert George Uecker

Full shot of Bob Uecker in a Milwaukee Brewers jacket and cap walking to the left on the green baseball field. His left hand wears a baseball glove. He raises his right hand that holds the ball while pointing up with his forefinger. Photographers and videographers are visible in the far background.
Robert George “Bob” Uecker is best known as a Milwaukee Brewers’ radio broadcaster, but he also has gained fame as a national baseball commentator, actor, author, and commercial spokesman. Born in Milwaukee on January 26, 1935, Uecker grew up watching the minor league Milwaukee Brewers at Borchert Field and aspired to a professional baseball career.… Read More