The majestic church, the sylvan pond, and the graceful swans give this scene an air that seems more European than American. The view may be reminiscent of Brussels or Vienna, but it’s in the heart of Milwaukee’s South Side, near the intersection of Sixth and Lincoln.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
The church is the Basilica of St. Josaphat, built in 1901 for a parish of Polish Catholics who numbered roughly 12,000 at the time. Their congregation was almost certainly the largest of any faith in Milwaukee, and so architect Erhard Brielmaier gave them what is still the largest church in the city, a scaled-down version of St. Peter’s in Rome.
Determined to save money for his working-class parish-ioners, Father Wilhelm Grutza bought a disassembled Chicago post office and had its granite columns, brass railings and massive blocks of sandstone shipped north by rail to serve as the bones of the new basilica. Milwaukee has never seen a more monumental example of creative recycling.
The park that frames the view was named for Gen. Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Polish military hero who had helped the American colonists win their independence from England. In 1890, after lagging behind its sister cities for years, Milwaukee bought the sites for six major parks that are still pillars of the system. Those sites included what would become Kosciuszko Park, a 34-acre parcel that was eventually equipped with a pavilion, playfields, a lagoon and a swimming pool. The park has always been a critically important breathing space for one of Milwaukee’s most densely settled neighborhoods.
Restored to its original glory in recent years, the Basilica remains a vital anchor for the South Side community, and the Kosciuszko Park lagoon is still a liquid mirror for one of Milwaukee’s most significant buildings.
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK:
- Feeding the park’s pet swans was a favorite activity for South Side bird lovers.
- Bells in the east tower and clocks on the dome kept time for the neighborhood.
- The Kosciuszko Park lagoon offered rowboats for rent in summer and lighted ice skating for free in winter.
- When St. Josaphat’s was dedicated, the only larger steel dome in America was the U.S. Capitol’s.
- Converted to classrooms when the church was finished, St. Josaphat’s school stood until 1977, when it was replaced by a new building one block west.
IN COLLABORATION WITH MILWAUKEE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
