We often forget that Milwaukee is an old city. This photograph, taken in 1885, shows some beautiful Victorian homes along W. Wells St. near 24th St. The sidewalks were wooden in those days, and no automobiles would be seen for quite a few years. You can make out the hitching posts for the horses. The trees were small, the street unpaved. If you look closely, in the foreground you can make out horse car tracks for the West Side Street Railway. Ele ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeW8MSsua00 #MKE #OldMKE

Herman Weiss operated his meat market virtually in the shadow of Milwaukee's Exposition Building (seen in background). The store's awning reads "C. Weiss" because the market was in his mother Caroline's name. Gloria Wetzel of Cedarburg tells us that her grandfather's store was at 502 Wells, on what is now the northwest corner of 5th and Wells. Gloria's mother, now Mrs. Alma Wetzel, was born in the living quarters above the market in 1893 and migh ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeVwcyR0u00 #MKE #OldMKE

On April 25, 1931, parents Luigi and Gaetana Marchese (at left end of the line) had a double reason to celebrate. It was the wedding day for both their son and daughter. After the double ceremony, Anna Marchese and Frank Lupo and their wedding attendants posed for this photograph with Carl Marchese and Marie Malloy and their wedding party in front of Madonna di Pompeii Church. Smiling guests and well-wishers lined the sidewalk. Although the churc ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeVplu1ya00 #MKE #OldMKE

The time: Shortly after the turn of the century. The place: Harwood av. looking south to State st. in Wauwatosa. The streets were unpaved and residents made their daily rounds in horse drawn wagons and carriages, on bicycles or on foot. The "village" was built in the hollow of a hill with the Menomonee river flowing through its center under the Harwood av. bridge. The electric car line which provided Wauwatosans with streetcar service to Milwauke ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeVc0zZ0i00 #MKE #OldMKE

A close look at this late 1800s picture of the intersection of E. Water and Cedar Sts. (later N. Water and W. Kilbourn) enables you to pick out some interesting details. The Herman Toser Co., a wholesaler of wines and liquors, was located at the corner, and one of its street level windows advertised its "sample room," while the other told German speaking passersby of its weinstube (meaning wine cellar). The Mi-Flora Cigar Factory sign included me ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeVV9U-4e00 #MKE #OldMKE

The land for the park which was in time to become Milwaukee's Washington park zoo was purchased in 1891 and given the name West park. It offered an excellent view of the city which at that time was developing around it. Its chief attraction, according to a report written in 1895, was its "grand, old forest, some 15 acres in extent, composed of the only maples and other old trees 100 feet high that were spared by the ax for a great distance around ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeVHRUE0a00 #MKE #OldMKE

The home-building business thrived as Milwaukee expanded in the early 1900s and the land west of W. Washington Blvd. and N. 60th St. was subdivided to provide new homes. The fields had belonged to the Pabst Brewing Co., which had used them for farming hops. The Kamm family moved into their new home at what is now 6426 Upper Parkway North in December 1919. They were the second family to become residents of the area still known today as the Washing ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeVAZTD8i00 #MKE #OldMKE

During World War II, a shipyard sprang up overnight in Milwaukee along the banks of the Kinnickinnic River. Local builder Ben Froemming, despite a lack of any shipbuilding experience, won a contract from the government in December 1941 to build four seagoing tugs at a cost of $1.2 million each. Before the war was over, the Froemming Brothers Shipyard, located at 1901 S. 1st St., built 26 ships at a rate of almost one a month. Here people gathered ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeUyqE3im00 #MKE #OldMKE

Carriage and wagon building and repairing was a booming business for many years in Milwaukee. Until the automobile, almost every family had one of these hand made carriers. This was the C. Abresh Carriage and Wagon Works at Poplar and 4th sts. Outside the shop were carriages of the Badger Pump factory, located next door, and the J. Obermann Co., which bottled lager beer. Also seen are fancier non-commercial coaches. Besides building and rebuildin ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeUrywQCi00 #MKE #OldMKE

This photo of Wisconsin Ave. between 3rd and 4th Sts., taken in January 1951, shows work beginning on the $500,000 renovation of the city's "Magnificent Mile" from the Milwaukee River to 11th St. The avenue from 11th to 27th Sts., immodestly called the "Miracle Mile," had been rebuilt in 1947, in time for the Wisconsin State Centennial of 1948. Although causing great inconvenience until completed for a grand reopening in September 1951, the secon ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeUeEgqSi00 #MKE #OldMKE