10 moments from Milwaukee’s past — July
July 1, 1948: Double the drive-in fun
The Highway 41 Outdoor Theatre opened in Franklin. With a double-sided screen and room for 1,850 cars, it was known as the 41 Twin, even after adding two more screens in 1981. Just the second drive-in theater to open in the Milwaukee area, the 41 Twin was the last one to close, in September 2001.
July 5, 1927: Air travel takes off
The first passengers landed at Milwaukee County Airport (now Mitchell International Airport) courtesy of Northwest Airlines. Before it got here, the flight was forced down by engine trouble about 30 minutes out and had to return to St. Paul before trying again.
July 11, 1947: The debut of ‘headline news’
The Telenews, Milwaukee’s first and only all-newsreels-allthe-time theater, opened with an inaugural program promising 40 world news events (”Truman Rebukes Russia!” “Texas City Rebuilds!”) in 60 minutes. The Telenews, 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., abandoned the all-news format in May 1952. (The theater was sold in 1965 and renamed the Esquire; it was replaced by the Reuss Federal Plaza in 1983.
July 14, 1836: Milwaukee’s first newspaper
Launched by city co-founder Byron Kilbourn, the Milwaukee Advertiser, the city’s first newspaper, began publishing. A weekly, the Advertiser was first edited by Hans Crocker, a Kilbourn ally who was mayor in 1852.
July 16, 1900: Going for the gold, times four
Alvin Kraenzlein, who grew up in Milwaukee, won his fourth gold medal at the Paris Olympics, in the 200-meter hurdles. His four golds — the others were in the 110meter hurdles, the long jump and the 60-yard dash — set an Olympic record for individual (vs. relay team) track-and-field medals that still hasn’t been broken.
July 17, 1853: Turners stick the landing
Turnverein Milwaukee, a gymnastics-centric social and political organization based on those formed in Germany, was founded. The outfit, known today as Milwaukee Turners, built a permanent home 29 years later at 1040 N. 4th St. — Turner Hall.
July 26, 1970: Hot fun in the Summerfest-time
Sly and the Family Stone lured more than 100,000 people to Summerfest’s new site at the lakefront. The band was several hours late — in part, because Sly Stone refused to leave his hotel after hearing about the size of the crowd — and played a barely onehour set.
July 27, 1922: Racial clash in New Butler
African-American workers, brought in to replace striking railroad workers, were attacked by dozens of armed white strikers in their camp in New Butler (now the village of Butler). Nearly 30 of the African-American workers were injured; white strikebreakers, who were sleeping nearby, were not attacked. No one was arrested.
July 28, 1953: Beer back on tap
About 7,100 brewery workers voted to end their 76-day strike against Schlitz, Miller, Pabst, Gettelman and the maker of Braumeister. (Blatz, the sixth brewer hit by the strike, cut a separate deal days earlier.) The union got a pay increase and other gains, but not what it sought most: a 35-hour workweek.
July 30, 1967: Last call at ‘Little Pink Church’
The final Mass was held at Blessed Virgin of Pompeii Church. The “Little Pink Church,” 419 N. Jackson St., had been the heart of Milwaukee’s Italian community since it was built in 1904. The church was torn down that fall to make way for I-794.