Getting the flavor of ... Milwaukee’s makeover

The city's former brewing factories have been converted into galleries and boutiques.

Milwaukee’s makeover

Beer may have made Milwaukee famous, but Wisconsin’s largest city has “more than barley and hops to boast about these days,” said Margaret Loftus in National Geographic Traveler. By the late 1980s, the heart of the city had become a “ghost town” of run-down factories. Now most are gone, save for the still-operating Miller Brewing Co., and Milwaukee’s downtown is abuzz again. The Historic Third Ward has been transformed into a “mini-SoHo” where 20th-century warehouses have been converted into galleries and boutiques. At the Public Market, vendors sell local foods. Commerce Street’s decrepit rail yards have been torn down to make room for condos with views of the Milwaukee River, while the Milwaukee Art Museum’s brise soleil, or sunshade—designed by Spain’s Santiago Calatrava—makes a striking addition to the Lake Michigan waterfront.

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