The largest city in Wisconsin and the fifth largest city in the Midwest, Milwaukee is perhaps best known for its plentiful breweries and the Milwaukee Brewers major league baseball team.
But Milwaukee is more than just suds and mudded baseballs; it has a vibrant city life as well as a laid back attitude. In 2014, it was listed as the 31st largest city in the United States with a population of 595,351.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not known as “Cream City” because of its dairy farms, but rather for the cream colored bricks that were first made in Milwaukee in the 19th century. Many of these bricks were used on the buildings of the time period.
History
For those of you who watched the 1992 movie, Wayne’s World, you probably remember rocker Alice Cooper telling Wayne and Garth:
“…Milwaukee has certainly had its share of visitors. The French missionaries and explorers were coming here as early as the late 1600s to trade with the Native Americans. … Actually, it’s pronounced ‘mill-e-wah-que’ which is Algonquin for ‘the good land.’ ” [1]
However, the Menominee called it Māēnāēwah which means “some misfortune happens.”
In 1785, the first European settler opened a trading post and the modern-day city began. There is also a city in Oregon, Milwaukie, which was named after the Wisconsin city.
Economy
Milwaukee currently has thirty breweries in town and is a very welcoming city for independent and niche brewers. Not only does this boost the economy with beer sales, but it also provide an added bonus for tourism dollars as many of the breweries have a storied history.
And we can’t forget that other edible which comes from Wisconsin: cheese. The state has over 600 different varieties of cheese making it the Cheese capital of the union. The dairy industry in Milwaukee is strong much like the many cheesemongers.
Milwaukee’s manufacturing area is always booming and has attracted many companies including six Forbes’ Fortune 500 businesses: Johnson Controls, Northwestern Mutual, Manpower, Rockwell Automation, Harley-Davidson and Joy Global.
Culture
Aside from the aforementioned beer and cheese, many Milwaukee residents enjoy many festivals earning the city a second nickname, “City of Festivals.” A festival occurs at least once a week, usually more, and the Milwaukee Makers Market happens once a month during the summer.
Artists enjoy the laid back atmosphere and display their art at one of the many galleries or festivals. If you are a fan of “Happy Days,” you can find a bronze statue of the Fonz on the Riverwalk south of Wells Street.
Milwaukee has long been a supporter of sports and has a number of professional teams the best known being the Milwaukee Brewers who were created in 1970. Many current baseball fans don’t remember that the Milwaukee Braves, who won the World Series in 1957, moved to Atlanta in 1966. Hall of Famer Hank Aaron helped the Braves win that World Series and went on to break Babe Ruth’s record of most home runs in a career in an Atlanta uniform, but he is well-loved in Milwaukee to this day.
Other sports teams include: the Milwaukee Bucks (NBA,) Milwaukee Admirals (AHL,) Milwaukee Bavarian SC (UPSL,) Milwaukee Wave (MASL,) Brewcity Bruisers (WFTDA) and Marquette Golden Eagles (NCAA.)
Trivia
The modern typewriter (the one which uses QWERTY) was invented in 1868 in Milwaukee by Christopher Latham Sholes, Samuel W. Soulé and Carlos Glidden. It was initially called the Remington Typewriter and Sholes devoted the rest of his life to it.
William Harley and Arthur Davidson began to build motorcycles in 1901 starting the successful Harley-Davidson Motorcycle company which still remains strong in 2019.
How Halloo Can Help You
It’s a great city to visit and go to one of the many places and activities located throughout. You are sure to be delighted with the entertainment, culture and food.
Have a festival, brewery or dairy farm? Halloo can help set up your business with a virtual phone system including a phone number. Find a Milwaukee area phone number for your local business. Search phone numbers in area code 414.
[1] “Wayne’s World.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0105793/characters/nm0004840.