Milwaukee Parks

Kaszube Park is less of a park and more of a memory forced onto the landscape. Its very existence seems defiant – impossibly placed, microscopic, edged on two sides with barbed wire-topped chain-linked fencing, but it’s there. It will hold it’s position. It will not be scrubbed out. The tiny …

Standing atop one of Three Bridges’ rolling hills, I can look in any direction and see Milwaukee’s landmarks. To the west, the hunched back of Miller Stadium and behind it the Old Soldier’s Home, rising out of the treeline like a phantasm from another era. Eastward is the boxy white …

“Swimming pool, Bronzeville swimming show, trailer camp (15 trailers), shower facilities, public baptisms”  1950 Milwaukee Park Commission report listing special attractions at Carver Park¹ At Carver Park, the city makes itself known even when you stand in the center of it’s broad grassy fields.  I-43 cuts the northern edge of …

Two Canadian Geese come in for a landing on the small pond in Holler Park, sending up spray as they skim the surface. In a feat of double-vision, a airplane just to the east makes a similar arc into General Mitchell Airport. Settled in on the lagoon, the geese bob …

January is hard. Adjust your expectations. Turn up your thermostat. Add another layer. Don’t count the days until spring; it’s too far, it will only break your heart to think about. If you tire of indoor pursuits, McKinley Park provides a perfect spot to watch winter tightening it’s grip on …

For years, Doctor’s Park for me meant the beach, and only the beach. I would park and walk down the steep north ravine path which turned even blindingly bright, hot days cool and dark on the descent down to the water. I would hear the Lake before I could see …

Despite the snow, which has become a way of life, it’s officially Spring on Wednesday! In addition to the bird migration, budding trees and the introduction of colors other than “gray,” it’s sinkhole season in Wisconsin, as this helpful article points out (but don’t worry, we don’t get the man-eating …

Washington Park is a shapeshifter, transforming itself every few decades to suit the new needs or new pursuits of leisure of the community. I like to imagine a time-lapse lapse animation of the history of the Park from the time the tract of land was purchased by the City of …

On day that rained in fits and starts, when everything seemed to shake awake with the aliveness of spring, I took a short bike ride to one of Milwaukee’s smallest officially recognized green spaces – Highland Park. I started in my neighborhood, Washington Heights; the sidewalks (as usual) were full …