10 ways to enjoy Doors Open Milwaukee 2017
Business, churches among spots to visit
From Milwaukee's newest architectural marvel to historic gems often taken for granted, nearly 170 local buildings and sites will welcome visitors during the annual Doors Open Milwaukee event Sept. 23 and 24.
More than 31,000 people visited sites during last year's event. Visit doorsopenmilwaukee.org for complete details, including a searchable database of participating buildings and sites. You also can download a PDF version of the printed Doors Open event guide.
While Doors Open hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 23 and 24, some sites, such as Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, are participating only on the 23rd or have other time restrictions, so please check the guide.
Suggestions for enjoying this year's event:
1. Get acquainted with Milwaukee's newest skyscraper and landmark, the light-filled 32-story Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons at 805 E. Mason St. “This is the most magnificent building that we’ve built in this city in generations,” Mayor Tom Barrett said during the grand opening of the $450 million project in August. Doors Open visitors will be able to explore the first floor of the Commons as well as the 4.6-acre Northwestern Mutual Gardens (but the Tower is not open for this event).
2. Visit the home office in Milwaukee. Specifically, check out the new headquarters of business marketing agency Bader Rutter, in the former Laacke & Joys building at 1433 N. Water St., and Digital Measures, in the Mercantile Building at 220 E. Buffalo St., floor five. The Bader Rutter
building includes a monumental staircase where employees often meet to schmooze. The glassfilled Digital Measures structure features a connected outdoor space.
3. Go green. Tour the Milwaukee County Greenhouses, which supply flowers and plants for the Mitchell Park Domes at 524 S. Layton Blvd. Horticulturists will discuss their work at the site, which includes a laboratory. Also, get acquainted with Havenwoods State Forest & Environmental Awareness Center, 6141 N. Hopkins St. Join a naturalist-led hike at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day, or pick up a booklet and explore on your own.
4. Go backstage. Tour the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, 108 E. Wells St., including the scenic, costumes and props shops, where Rep designers and artisans create their magic. The Rep's theater complex is built on the site of a former power plant. Then visit Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St., which was transformed from a former industrial crane bay with few walls into a hard-working performance space with related technical and craft areas.
5. Enter a sacred space. Visit one of two dozen houses of worship participating in Doors Open Milwaukee this year, such as St. Nikola Serbian Orthodox Church, 3802 E. Squire Ave., Cudahy, notable for its Serbo-Byzantine style frescos; Islamic Society of Milwaukee, 4707 S. 13th St., the state's largest Muslim house of worship; St. Joan of Arc Chapel on the Marquette University campus, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave., a 15th-century French stone building; and The Meetinghouse of the Milwaukee Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), 3224 N. Gordon Place, snuggled along the Milwaukee River in Riverwest.
6. See the Wright stuff. Visit one of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 9400 W. Congress St.; the Wisconsin-born architect's sources of inspiration for this church included the legendary Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Church docents will be on hand to answer questions. Tour the Burnham Block of American SystemBuilt Homes, 2714 W. Burnham St., bungalows and duplexes Wright designed as affordable, beautiful housing.
7. Take a walk. Doors Open Milwaukee 2017 includes more than 40 ticketed tours and walks. Some are sold out, so be sure to check the website. The Art & Justice Trail's Bronzeville Loop (9 a.m. Sept. 23, $10), which starts at N. 9th and W. Vliet streets, explores a historic African-American neighborhood and current neighborhood institutions Pete’s Fruit Market, Gee’s Barbershop and RedLine Milwaukee art studio.
8. Wheels up. Meet at the Harley-Davidson Museum, 400 W. Canal St., for a ticketed tour ($10) of the museum and its Menomonee Valley site. Beyond the motorcycles, the Harley museum itself is a remarkable example of industrial salvaging, reclamation and repurposing.
9. Go with the flow. Pick up a Doors Open Water Passport and explore sites associated with water research and creativity in Milwaukee, including the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences, 600 E. Greenfield Ave.; the Clock Shadow Building, 130 W. Bruce St., with its rooftop garden; Fondy Farmers Market and Park, 2200 W. Fond Du Lac Ave., where landscape elements manage stormwater runoff; and the Urban Ecology Center, 3700 W. Pierce St., where green roofs and permeable pavers put rainwater to good use.
10. Bring the family. Pick up a family activity booklet and visit a few of the Doors Open familyfriendly sites, including Milwaukee Fire Museum, 1615 W. Oklahoma Ave.; Survive Alive House, 2059 S. 20th St.; Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, 839 S. 5th St.; and Alice’s Garden Urban Farm, 2136 N. 21st St.