Description
Discover Bay View on your own time and at your own pace with 9 unique walking tours:
Tour 1) The KK-Link Walk
The KK-Link walk contains one of Bay View’s two main commercial districts, which extends south from the Five Points intersection of Lincoln, Howell and KK to the Bay View Library. This area of Bay View was once a fashionable residential district settled by Germans. May of its homes and churches reflect their Germanic heritage and were designed or built more than a century ago by well-know architects and contractors.
The tour covers approximately two miles within the area from Dover Street north to Lincoln Avenue, and between Lenox and Howell. Some of the sites include the Bay View Library, St. Lucas Lutheran Church and School, Dover Street School, Bay View Bethel Evangelical Church, Avalon Theater, Joseph Williams house (behind the Avalon Theater), and many historic homes.
Tour 2) The South Shore Walk
Do you know where the young Spencer Tracy lived in Bay View? Have you ever been to the “Devil’s Elbow”? These are just two of the 47 historic sites on the South Shore walk.
The South Shore walk covers most of the area within the Bay View Historic District. View sites belonging to the Estes Family, one of Bay View’s settlers; original “puddlers’ cottages” built by the Milwaukee Iron Company; the oldest surviving Welsh church; an original Sears Roebuck house; and the home of Beulah Brinton, who started the first social center in the US.
Tour 3) The Midtown Walk
Kinnickinnic Avenue, also known as KK, was originally an Indian trail widened by pioneers in the 1830’s. Its meandering tendency has created several triangular intersections that give this area a small-town feel.
The Midtown walk includes the southern section of the KK Avenue business district between Potter and Logan Avenues known as Downtown Bay View, and extends east to S. Bay Street. This area of Bay View developed when neighborhoods were designed for pedestrians, and businesses were scattered throughout residential areas. It has a village aspect enhanced by churches, retailers, Bay View High School, the old Llewellyn library, a former convalescent home, converted storefronts and well-preserved homes.
Tour 4) The Iron Company Walk
The Iron Company walk contains Jones Island and the site of the old Milwaukee Iron Company (also know as the North Chicago Rolling Mill and United States Steel). Since the Italian population in this locate grew from 43 in 1905 to about 1,000 in 1920, this area also became know as “Little Italy”.
Most of the walk lies within the Bay View Historic District, which was designated by the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The Milwaukee Landmarks Commission nominated Bay View for this honor in 1979, the year of Bay View’s centennial. The historic district is bounded by Lake Michigan on the east, St. Clair and Delaware on the west, the Lake Parkway on the north and the south end of South Shore Park at Meredith.
Tour 5) The Way Down South Walk
The Way Down South walk covers the southwest corner of the original Village of Bay View. The last area of Bay View to be developed, it contains the newest homes — some built as late as the mid 1950’s — and a variety of architectural styles.
This largely residential area has a few businesses scattered throughout but emphasize recreation and leisure. It features three park sites: the former Union Park was a private park and popular picnic spot typical of the beer gardens frequented by Milwaukeeans before free public parks exited; Humboldt Park is one of the five original public parks that the City of Milwaukee established in 1890; and Sijan Field, owned by Milwaukee Public Schools, is a playground converted from a former brickyard and dump.
Tour 6) Fernwood & Sauerkraut Hill Walk
The walk is approximately two miles, covering the area between Oklahoma Avenue and Morgan Avenue from Lake Michigan to the Lake Parkway.
Highlights include: Bay View Park which was developed in 1926 when houses were threatened by bluff erosion. You will see houses that were moved from the park to nearby locations. Erwin Zillman Home, 3328 S. New York Avenue (1925), home to “Mr. Bay View” Erwin Zillman, Alderman and editor/ publisher of “The Bay View Observer.” St. Francis State Bank/ Knights of Pytheos/Cream City Realty, 3474 S.
Pennsylvania Avenue (1923), original home of the St. Francis State Bank and BVHS landmark. Morgan Park, established 1927 on triangle formed by Pennsylvania, KinnicKinnic, and Holt Avenues to honor Elizabeth Morgan, beloved teacher at Trowbridge Street School. Russell Bennett Home, 3317 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue (1855-56), the oldest known home in Bay View, built in Gothic Revival style on a hill by farmer
Russell Bennett. Fernwood Montessori School, 3239 S. Pennsylvania Avenue, founded in 1895 as a Town of Lake school. The present school dates from 1928. Messiah Lutheran Church, 2015 E. Fernwood Avenue (1961) was founded in 1917 and the original church still stands at 3208 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue.
Tour 7) Western Border Walk
Highlights of the Western Border include: The home and office of Bay View architect Stanley Kadow, as well as homes and businesses designed by him. The home of Paul Gauer, Bay View’s Alderman from 1920 until 1936. In 1956 he published “The Gauer Story, a Chronicle of Bay View” as a history of Bay View and memoir of the Gauer Family. Gauer Circle in Bay View was named for him.
Two BVHS landmarks are on the tour. The Keller Winery received landmark designation in 2006 while St. Augustine school was landmarked in 1988. The church, rectory and convent are nearby. One of Milwaukee’s oldest homes at 2418 S. Howell Avenue. It belonged to Uriah B.Smith, Milwaukee’s first tailor and a realtor. He was the father of Milwaukee’s first non-indigenous child, a girl named Milwaukee Smith.
Tour 8) Northern Border Walk
The approximately two-mile walk has three sections. The first is the residential area north of Lincoln Avenue and east of Kinnickinnic Avenue. The second section is centered on the industrial area north of Bay Street. The final section is along Kinnickinnic Avenue with its businesses and historic buildings. The Northern Border has been part of the city of Milwaukee since 1857, yet it attached itself to Bay View sometime after 1887 when Bay View joined the city of Milwaukee. Most of the Northern Border Walk is unfamiliar to even Bay View residents.
Here are some of the highlights: The alley between Allis Street and Mound Street was known as “Punk Alley” starting in the 1970s. Gangs ruled this area which was populated with liquor stores, dingy bars and
boarded up homes. Kohl Brothers Grocery and Meats site, 630 E. Lincoln Avenue, northwest corner of Lincoln & Woodward In 1898, a wooden store was built on this site. It was taken over in 1927 by Max Kohl
(Senator Herb Kohl’s father), his brother Jack, and his brother-in-law, Jacob Shapiro. Brunks Lane was named during the 1870s for William Brunk, a carpenter who lived on the street. There were about fifteen houses on the street which extended to Kinnickinnic Avenue until 1960 when Ward Street was extended east of Kinnickinnic Avenue to Allis Street. Ward Street was named for Milwaukee Iron Company
founder Eber Brock Ward. The city turned this area into a nameless mini-park (named Zillman Park in 1978). Today there is one house on Brunks Lane which is the only brick street in Bay View.
Tour 9) Southwestern Border Walk
The borders of the walk form an “L.” The southern section is bounded by Oklahoma Avenue on the north, Morgan Avenue on the south, the Lake Parkway (Wisconsin Highway 794) on the east and 6th Street
on the west. The western portion extends west from Howell Avenue to 6th Street between Oklahoma Avenue on the south and Russell Avenue on the north.
Bitter battles were fought between the town of Lake and Bay View’s alderman Paul Gauer to annex the area south of Oklahoma Avenue. The town didn’t want to lose its land or tax base, but town residents wanted to obtain the same amenities enjoyed by their neighbors in Bay View. When these areas were annexed piecemeal between 1922 and 1929 they became part of not only Milwaukee, but also Bay View.
Most of the homes were built after 1925, but there are some old farmhouses that date to the late 19th century. The majority of the homes are duplexes, Bungalows and Tudor revival homes along with a generous sprinkling of Cape Cod, Colonial revival and Mediterranean homes.