After a year virtually touring monuments, cultural attractions and concert halls on Zoom, it’s a treat to actually step inside wow-worthy buildings. Hosted and organized by Historic Milwaukee, Inc., 70 of the Doors Open Milwaukee locations are free, with no tickets or reservations needed. Additional online tours are available to view Sept. 25-Oct.3. Note that masks are required due to current COVID-19 policies and some require vaccination (indicated on the event’s website).
To prep your route, print out or download to your smartphone this PDF of sites, which lists addresses and hours for each. Some are only open one of the two days, and not all hours are the same.
From a farm to a rock-climbing gym, here are 10 sites that are new this year.
1. Adventure Rock WKP
613 S. 2ND ST.
In 2020, the third location for this rock-climbing gym (others are in Brookfield and in Milwaukee’s Brewers Hill) transformed the former Milwaukee Brewing Company into a vibrant, 15,000-square-foot space dominated by jagged-edge boulders, with Johnson Schmaling Architects shepherding the design.
Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 pm, Sunday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
2. Adams Garden Park
1836 W. FOND DU LAC AVE.
Restoration of a vacant building into this “green” hub promoting eco-minded jobs and conservation efforts by providing office space for those groups as well as co-working space for concerned citizens debuted in 2020.
Saturday: Noon-4 p.m.
3. Collaborative Farm
5500 W. SILVER SPRING DR.
The North Side farm’s mission is to teach others how to grow fruits and vegetables, as well as raise animals, in an urban setting, with a kitchen, coffee shop and research space, on the former Growing Power site led by MacArthur Genius Grant winner Will Allen.
Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
4. Dead Bird Brewing Co.
1726 N. 5TH ST.
While founded in 2015, Wisconsin’s only vegan brewery opened at its current location in late 2019, with Edison bulbs dangling from the ceiling and a raw, industrial vibe within a former warehouse.
Saturday: Noon-5 p.m., Sunday: Noon-4 p.m.
5. MARN ART + CULTURE HUB
191 N. BROADWAY
Home to the Milwaukee Artist Resource Network’s new location (as of earlier this year), this meeting place for creatives includes an art gallery, FOMA Coffee and Wine Bar, artist marketplace and innovation studio.
Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
6. Milwaukee Robotics Academy
3063 N. FRATNEY ST.
Fostering a place for youth to deeply dive into STEM careers, the academy in Riverwest hosts no-cost summer workshops and year-round robotics programming, often a costly endeavor.
Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
7. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Bradley Symphony Center
200 W. WISCONSIN AVE.
The long-awaited new home for the MSO inside the former Warner Grand Theater includes a 1,650-seat theater, merging modern acoustics with a 1930s aesthetic, led by Kahler Slater Architects.
Sunday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
8. Oriental Theatre
2230 N. FARWELL AVE.
Fresh off its latest restoration, this 1927 East Side movie theater – home to the Milwaukee Film Festival – features Moorish, Islamic and Byzantine architectural elements.
Saturday: Noon-5 p.m., Sunday: Noon- 5 p.m.
9. Rozga Family South Side Settlement Museum
707 W. LINCOLN AVE.
The first immigrants to Milwaukee’s South Side hailed from Poland and, in more recent years, are Latinos. This museum merges the two group’s stories through exhibits, including a miniature version of the popular Polish flat, common housing during the Great Depression.
Saturday: 10 a.m.-3 pm
10. Urban Ecology Center Washington Park
1859 N. 40TH ST.
Within the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed, 135-acre park this outpost of the first Urban Ecology Center (in Riverside Park on Milwaukee’s East Side) coaches kids (and adults) about science and conservation through a 560-gallon fish tank, workshops, hikes and more, with canoeing in summer and skating in winter.
Saturday: 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Sunday: 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
