BY: CHRIS DROSNER AND ARCHER PARQUETTE
EXPLORE MORE OF THE BEST OF MILWAUKEE 2024 HERE
Every year we have the privilege of curating Best of Milwaukee, highlighting our favorite things about our favorite city. This year, we wanted to share the love. Here you’ll find more than 20 guest curators – tastemakers, influencers and other people you know, or ought to – who give their perspectives on what makes Milwaukee great.
Our editors still weigh in with their picks from the last 12 months, and, of course, you have your say, too, in our annual Readers’ Choice poll. On to the medley of Milwaukee’s magnificent!
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
Our Best
Baird Center
The new Baird Center’s been a long time coming – almost three years since ground broke – and much was promised. The $456 million invested to revamp the space and double its size is supposed to bring in 100,000 more visitors a year, $12.6 billion in spending and $150 million in income tax revenue for the state over the next 30 years.
Those big promises will take time to materialize, but as of its May unveiling, the expanded Baird Center is looking dang impressive. The vast spaces are full of eye-catching decor. A spacious deck overlooks Downtown. The bougie halls are ideal for conferences, workshops and of course, cocktail-sipping. We’re partial to the color-shifting mood lighting on the ballroom ceiling. Here’s hoping the major new Downtown landmark continues to help Milwaukee grow. – AP
MKE Diaper Mission
Four years ago, with no business or nonprofit experience, Meagan Johnson launched Milwaukee Diaper Mission in her garage. The stay-at-home mom’s local diaper bank boomed – it now fills a 5,000-square-foot warehouse and this summer distributed its 2 millionth diaper to parents in need. Also this year, the organization’s impressive efforts were celebrated in a short documentary, Why We’re Here. – AP
Pat Murphy
Initially, we were underwhelmed by the Brewers’ hire to replace turncoat (and, um, 2022 Best of Milwaukee honoree) Craig Counsell. An internal hire? With no MLB managing experience? Not named Rickie Weeks? There’s plenty of season left as of this writing, but egg is clearly on our face. With his cool-but-quiet-uncle vibe, Murphy has gotten the most out of a young team that wasn’t expected to do a whole lot. We hope to be watching his no-BS postgame press conferences well into October. – CD
A New City Attorney
Thank you, voters. Thank you, Evan Goyke. So long, Tearman Spencer. – CD
A World-Class Skyline
Next time you’re crossing the northbound Hoan, remember that you’re looking at the 15th most beautiful skyline in the world, according to no less an authority than Architectural Digest. With the completion of The Couture and 333 Water adding even more visual interest, maybe we can muscle past No. 14 Seattle next year. – CD
MilMag is Generally Excellent
This May, Milwaukee Magazine landed the most prestigious national award anyone on staff – even Ann! – could remember. We can’t overstate how proud we are to win General Excellence from the City and Regional Magazine Association, because every month we read those peer city mags we beat out, and they are good. Thank you for supporting our work! – CD
Davidson Park
This new park created by Harley-Davidson is a showcase for how thoughtful design can translate to the much-sought “activation” of public space. The paths, playgrounds, event area, beer garden and more free-form green space all work together around and within a series of concentric circles that evoke a gear or wheel hub. Visit once, and you’ll want to return. – CD
New Life for Riverwest Co-Op
The Riverwest Co-op looked like it was on its last legs. Open since 2001, the co-op sells healthy groceries at a low cost and operates a small, beloved cafe in the neighborhood, with a mission of “food for people, not for profit.” And for 20 years that model worked, but “once COVID hit, everything changed,” says Wendy Mesich, a member of the co-op’s board.
The co-op lost many of its volunteers, financial woes followed, and a GoFundMe was launched to save the business. The efforts caught the attention of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, which encouraged the co-op to apply for an “impact investment” loan. In July, the foundation awarded it a $150,000 loan, which will allow the Riverwest cornerstone to not only continue operating but renovate and make some much-needed infrastructure improvements. – Jonathan Joseph
Their Best
Co-Working Spaces Bloom
As the gig economy, solopreneurship and remote-work trends continue to grow, a great place to work from is a necessity. Three great ones: Ambition Center MKE (530 E. Vienna Ave.), Fruition MKE in the Concordia 27 development (825 N. 27th St.) and CW Creative Studio + Shop (2201 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.). – Ranell Washington, Social X co-founder
Ivanhoe Plaza
Business owners and elected officials seized an opportunity to reimagine one of the city’s many underused streets, reclaiming the land as a bright, playfully landscaped gathering place for Milwaukeeans to eat, drink and play. – Isaac Rowlett, urbanist and photographer
Bronzeville 3.0
Bold new developments around MLK Drive and North Avenue – once the heart of German Milwaukee’s downtown – have the area thriving again as a center of African American culture. – John Gurda, historian extraordinaire
Social X
Social X is revitalizing Milwaukee’s social scene with a vibrant array of curated events, from dance nights to insightful panels. It brings fun and inclusivity to the city, creating spaces for individuals often overlooked in Milwaukee’s social landscape to connect. – Nyesha Stone, journalist and marketer, Carvd N Stone
A New Sales Tax
We’ve done so much to attract conventions, music tours and festivalgoers to the city. It made no sense for the city and county to get zero dollars in revenue from the sales tax those groups provided. More revenue means more resources. – Jonathan Newby, realtor and newcomer influencer
Your Best
See the full list of the Best of Milwaukee Readers’ Choice winners here.
