A Fun Day in Milwaukee

Milwaukee Wisconsin is about an hour and a half from Chicago, so I’ve been wanting to check out a few things I heard were great. My friend Cheryl coming in from Kansas City was a good opportunity to have a fun road trip with a great friend plus Cheryl is always up for any crazy idea I concoct.

The first stop was the Milwaukee Art Museum. It’s located right in downtown Milwaukee on the beautiful shore of Lake Michigan. There was a special Scandinavian exhibit I was interested in seeing since I’m heading there very soon. Plus I had heard the museum was wonderful. That was actually an understatement. The building itself is spectacular and starts out right as you approach with the most incredible “wings” on top of the museum. They are called the Burke Brise Soleil and is a moveable sunscreen that rests on top of the museum’s vaulted glass-enclosed entrance hall. They open when the museum opens, close and reopen at noon, and close again when the museum closes. They are giant wings that are the size of a Boeing 747 and really take your breath away. It’s two ultrasonic wind sensors automatically close the wings if the wind speed reaches 23 mph or greater. Being right on the lake that probably happens pretty often. The picture of Cheryl and I on the left is before the wings opened and on the right fully opened. So cool!

What was a big surprise to me was how gorgeous the inside of the museum is and how the style of the sleek wings is reinterpreted throughout the entrance hall and hallways of the modern structure. All the while allowing you to gaze out at the gorgeous lake just steps away.

The Scandinavian exhibit was really great and made me even more excited for my upcoming trip. The museum had many exhibit rooms of their permanent collection, but we wanted to have a bite to eat and then head to our next destination. They have a small but nice cafe where you can get a coffee, drink, sandwich or salad etc. so we decided to get a light meal and take it out to one of the tables right by the lake since it was a perfect weather day. I will definitely plan to get back up there soon to see some of their other beautiful works of art.

Next stop the Joan of Arc Chapel on the campus of Marquette University. It is the oldest building in North America still used for the purpose it was intended. Build in 1420 it was purchased in 1966 by a wealthy couple who donated it to Marquette and had it taken apart, shipped to Milwaukee, and rebuilt on the campus. The chapel contains the stone that has a French endorsement of authenticity that it is the stone Joan prayed at for success in battle. She would then kiss the stone. Joan of Arc is a French heroine of the Hundred Years War and is now the patron saint of France. The stone is installed in a niche behind the altar and pictured in the bottom left below. Engineers have repeatedly tested the stone and found it is always at least a few degrees colder than all the other stones in the chapel. We were able to touch it and it did feel colder! We took the opportunity to sit for a few minutes and take in the peace and beauty of the chapel. Also say a few prayers for those we love and the world in general.

Did someone say we need dessert? Did I mention it was Cheryl’s birthday? Did you know Milwaukee is the world capital of frozen custard? All of these things are true! Let me share more information than you ever thought you needed to know about frozen custard. it originated in the UK and made its first appearance in the US in 1919 on Coney Island. It made it to Chicago in 1933 for the World’s Fair and then moved up into Wisconsin. More frozen custard is consumed in Milwaukee than anywhere in the world! So we just had to have some plus Cheryl needs a birthday treat. I did some research and landed on Leon’s. A Milwaukee legend since the early 1940’s. It did not disappoint. We decided we would share a sundae so the birthday girl picked fresh raspberry with hot fudge and salted pecans. It was incredible! Almost worth a trip to Milwaukee just for that! Your health tip of the day is that as good as it tastes - frozen custard is lower in calories and fat than most ice cream. So go ahead and indulge ever so often.

Our last stop before heading back to Illinois was the Burnham Block. Frank Lloyd Wright designed this block of American System-Built Homes in 1915. There are 6 homes in total - two one story homes and four two story duplexes. Wright was trying to solve the housing shortage and build smaller less expensive but still beautifully designed homes. In 1985 the block was added to the National Historic Registry and thanks to a remarkable group of volunteers the homes are being returned one by one to exactly how they were originally designed complete with furniture. They only do tours of the interiors on Saturdays with a reservation but our lucky stars aligned and there was a volunteer there working on a deck who offered to give us a private tour after we chatted about Wright a bit and he could see that we were more than just the casually curious. We felt like we had won the lottery! Not the billion dollar lottery but a pretty decent one😂

That was our fun day in Milwaukee! From the research I did in advance I know there are more things to see there so a return trip at some point is on my list. Enjoy the last month of summer and check back soon for my upcoming trip posts!