The city of Milwaukee, from its socialist-dominated political scene to its German-inspired brewing industry, is a vibrant melting pot of all the culture, tradition and ways of living of its early inhabitants. Fortunately, many of the tangible influences and memorabilia from foreign settlers have been saved, and are on display in a number of Milwaukee museums.
The Milwaukee Public Museum or MPN (located in 800 West Wells Street, downtown Milwaukee, telephone number 414-278-2702) is a leading facility for showcasing cultural and educational (specimens, geological and archaeological finds) treasures of the city.
Founded by the German academician Peter Engelmann, it opened to the public in May 1884. The museum was divided into major departments like Anthropology, History, Geology and History. The collection extends to over 100,000 volumes of natural and human history books in its Library, about 300,000 images from its Photography, and rare finds from the Archive.
The Milwaukee Art Museum (located in 700 N. Art Museum Drive, telephone number 414-224-3200) is considered the city’s prime destination for art and culture. Here, visitors are treated to a visual display of about 20,000 artworks covering antiquity to the present. Works by The Old Masters, as well as known artists from German Expressionism, Folk Art fusion, American Art and other genre form part of the finest art collections today.
The museum underwent a major gallery renovation in 2001, and thus, works like that of Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Edgar Degas, and those of emerging artists today are displayed in brighter and more spacious gallery halls.
The Milwaukee Beer Museum (located in 722 South Fifth Street, along the Walker Point district, telephone number 414-643-0050) is a unique attraction that preserves the rich and nostalgic legacy of the pioneering beer barons of Milwaukee. The museum building was built in 1877, in itself a historical site very close to the first German brewery in the city.
The gallery alone, with over 550 photographs, is an important link to the past, showcasing images that relive the old brewery industry - the German brewhouses (Pabst, Schlitz, Miller, Blatz), the beer bottles, the saloons and pubs, and the people that propelled the city.