Streets Of Old Milwaukee Lives In Spirit Of New Museum Gallery Plans

MILWAUKEE, WI — As the Milwaukee Public Museum gears up to relocate entirely by the end of 2026, many have wondered what will become of the Streets of Old Milwaukee.

The beloved experience won't make its way through the relocation as-is, but it will be re-imagined as one of five permanent galleries at the new museum and called "Milwaukee Revealed." On Friday, museum officials gave us more details and a first glimpse at some of the much-awaited exhibits.

See also: Future Milwaukee Public Museum To Feature These 5 Gallery Themes

Ellen Censky, the museum's president and CEO, told reporters in a call Friday that the design process for the new museum is about 50 percent along, and that community input was essential in planning Milwaukee Revealed.

For many people, Censky said, their love of Streets of Old Milwaukee isn't about one object or storefront, but rather the overall feeling of walking through the gallery. With that, Censky said designers created something that feels familiar but is different.

"Just as Milwaukee is an urban environment built on a rich natural landscape," said Censky in a news release, "Milwaukee Revealed will simultaneously explore the bustling business corridors and neighborhoods of the city, the unique ecology of the lakefront and waterways and the ways in which nature and culture come together in confluence to create the place we call home."

Chris Muller, a senior designer for Thinc Design, the firm behind the plans for the new museum, told reporters the new gallery will be smaller in its footprint but said it will have more things you can walk into and explore, whereas the current gallery has more window displays.

The new gallery will also be more immersive in other ways, according to Helen Divjak, a senior curator for Thinc.

"It's not just about taking you back in time, it's about peeling back the layers, discovering common knowledge sitting aside new things, secrets hidden in plain sight," Divjak said.

The old gallery will live on in its entirety in virtual reality. Censky said the Streets of Old Milwaukee and the European Village are being digitally scanned and will be accessible to explore in a VR experience in the new gallery.

Here are some highlights shared by the museum Friday:

• The first part of the gallery seen by visitors will be a model of the historic Mitchell Building constructed with fabric in such a way that it can look solid, or lights can reveal a model of city founder Solomon Juneau's cabin inside.
• Storefronts will line the streets of the gallery including a dress shop, where historic and contemporary textiles from the museum's collection can be shown. A market storefront will display other collection items of business and industry.
• A Haymarket Candy Shop selling sweet treats will provide visitors with a familiar experience from the current museum.
• A common shop will hide the Schlitz Palm Garden, where visitors can explore the history of German and Polish migration and labor plus the history of Milwaukee's beer. Artifacts will cycle through, with one notable item including a giant Japanese incense burner that once stood in the real Schlitz Palm Garden.

The current museum is planning to relocate from its Wells Street location to a newly constructed space near 6th Street and McKinley Street. The future space is expected to break ground later this year, but the current museum space will remain open until the new building is done.

See also: Peak At 'Time Travel' Exhibit Plans For Future Milwaukee Public Museum