Renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted favored prospects so much that he would create them in landscapes if they did not occur naturally (and he considered Prospect Park in Brooklyn his best work).
Hilly Milwaukee offers many prospects. There are more of them within local parks than one could easily count. Nonetheless, a few stand out.
Juneau Park
East of Prospect Avenue from Mason Street to Juneau Avenue in Downtown Milwaukee
Milwaukee’s earliest designed park features stunning lakefront views from a high bluff, including of iconic landmarks most visible from the south end. Another breath-taking vista is from a plaza with a monumental bronze sculpture of Solomon Juneau, a Milwaukee founder and its first mayor. Juneau Park Friends now hosts “Poetry in the Park” at that hallowed site on second Tuesdays from June to September. The season ends September 12 and features one-act plays produced by Renaissance Theater Works’ “Brink” program.
This view of Lake Michigan frames a distant breakwater, often accented by white-sailed boats, and can be enjoyed from benches and picnic tables.
O’Donnell Park
Bordered by Wisconsin Avenue, Prospect Avenue, Mason Street, Lincoln Memorial Drive and Michigan Avenue in Downtown Milwaukee
Dating to 1870, Juneau Park originally extended further south — to what is now the North Garden Plaza of O’Donnell Park. (Ultimately, the entire lakefront, including Juneau, was reshaped by lake in-filling, which staved off bluff erosion and created more parkland.) O’Donnell’s 360-degree panoramic vistas showcase the lakefront, Downtown’s skyline, Mark Di Suvero’s bright-orange “The Calling” sculpture and Santiago Calatrava’s soaring addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM), which is accessible by a bridge. Seating in the well-shaded upper garden offers more intimate views, including of the Eero Saarinen-designed War Memorial.
MAM is poised to assume stewardship of O’Donnell Park and its structures for Milwaukee County. One welcome prospect of this arrangement would be to transform an erratically-open restaurant in the public pavilion at the corner of Wisconsin and Prospect into an affordable café with all-day service. An appealing gathering place there could help East Wisconsin Avenue come alive in all seasons and make the most of incomparable vistas from the pavilion and park.
Kadish Park
Bordering North and Reservoir avenues, Bremen Street and the Oak Leaf Trail, and near Booth Street, in Riverwest
A performance stage was recently nestled into a hillside in this city-owned park that boasts phenomenal views of Downtown and the Milwaukee River. The nonprofit Children’s Outing Association (COA) hosts the free summertime Skyline Music Series on Tuesday nights, which draw big crowds for high-energy bands. It’s a glorious place to watch the effects of changing light at dusk.
Three Bridges Park
Just east of Miller Park, roughly between the 35th and 27th Street Viaducts and along the southern bank of the Menomonee River
This four-year-old park was created by the Urban Ecology Center and Menomonee Valley Partners on 24 acres of an abandoned railyard owned by the City of Milwaukee. Former brownfields were mounded with soil and transformed with swaths of native plants.
This linear park provides two miles of biking and walking trails and river access for fishing and canoeing. One bridge connects through Mitchell Park (on Layton Boulevard) and overlooks the Menomonee Valley. One can be accessed from Canal Street or at 37th and Pierce Streets (next to the Urban Ecology Center). The third bridge is at 33rd Street, just off Roundhouse Road.
The Hank Aaron State Trail, which links Milwaukee’s lakefront to Waukesha County, intersects the park. Walkers and cyclists can enjoy varied prospects along the way, including of the Menomonee River. These reclaimed greenways highlight Milwaukee’s ongoing regeneration.
Lake Park
Bordered by Wahl Avenue, Lake Drive, North Avenue, Kenwood Boulevard and Lincoln Memorial Drive on Milwaukee’s East Side
Olmsted himself chose Lake Park as one of three Milwaukee sites he would design in 1892 — in part because of its spectacular vantage points of Lake Michigan. Of course, trees planted to help stabilize its bluffs have since closed in once-open views.
Three key areas offer expansive vistas: from the Grand Staircase beneath the park’s pavilion (which houses Lake Park Bistro, a high-end French restaurant); from the Lion Bridges south of the pavilion, which also also provide views of the ravines below; and a stretch south of the bridges along Wahl Avenue. The last includes abundant benches.
Grant Park
Bordered by College Avenue, Lake Drive and Hawthorn Avenue, with the Oak Creek Parkway and Oak Leaf Trail traversing the park in South Milwaukee
This Milwaukee County park also overlooks Lake Michigan, but its legendary attraction is a journey with ever-changing wooded vistas along the Seven Bridges Trail. Rugged natural ravines lead to a sandy beach; you can see where you’re heading as well as well as where you’ve already traveled. It’s easy to lose count of the bridges, and the total has actually swelled to ten over time. The 381-acre park was built by Depression-era work-relief crews and epitomizes rustic design motifs that characterize Milwaukee County’s park system.
