Doors Open Milwaukee

Cyn left work early on friday, to fly to Columbus to visit her aunt. After supper that night, I went to my mom's to help her with her computer again. I got home late.

Saturday morning, I had a leisurely morning for an hour, until I realized I had more to get ready than I remembered, and rush out of the house to make it downtown by 11:00. I barely made it to The Rep for a backstage tour.

Then I visited all three lift bridges. I went in the bridgehouses, and saw the operators operate them. Then I walked up Wisconsin to see the belvedere (gazebo) at the Mitchell Mansion. I went across the street to see the inside of the big red Calvary Presbyterian Church.

Then, since I was in the neighborhood, and had more time than I expected, I went in the downtown library. I went above the dome over the lobby. Kinda cool. I wanted to take the behind the scenes downstairs tour, but missed it by a minute, so I took the behind the scenes upstairs tour. Not real exciting. The guy talked about the buildings days as the museum, but there wasn't much to see, and it was short. I saw the rare books collection (through the glass).

Then I walked back down and got something to eat at Mo's Irish Pub (sports bar). It look longer than I'd hoped. I went on to the US Bank Building. They had the observation deck open on the 41st floor - tallest building in Milwaukee. It was the first time it had been open since 1993, so it was kind of a can't-miss event. It was a twenty minute wait to go up. It was crowded, since there is so little glass, most of it being covered up by their signs. I spent fifteen minutes up there, then waited fifteen minutes for the elevators back down.

I walked back to my car, stopping at a fire station on the way. And that was it.

I went over to Doug's house, where I had a little food, and we played Star Wars Life and a card game that Doug dreamed up. Booth were playable, but his card game needs some tuning.

By the time I was done with the touring, I was pretty beat. And then I didn't get home until 10:00. It took almost two hours to upload and view my photos. Then I went to bed, but since I was more exhausted than sleepy, I didn't fall asleep right away.

My alarm was set for 7:30. I intended to be downtown by 8:30 to get (free) event tickets. It was not to be. I got in line at 9:05. I only got tickets for one of my two events. If I'd been there by 8:45, I might have gotten to tour the City Hall Bell Tower. That would have been pretty damn cool. I've wanted to go up there for years, and as far as I know, this is the first time the public has been allowed up.

So around 9:30, I had some time to kill. I walked over to near the lake. There was a Race for the Cure going on. I walked back. Sat down for a bit. Walked around some more. likethebeer was going to meet me at the Mitchell Building for an 11:00 tour. A little before 10:30, I left there and walked down to City Hall. I had started on my way back, when she called to tell me she was there. So I went down and met her, and told her I didn't get tickets for 11:00, so we went to City Hall. Saw the City Council Chambers, which I understand is the largest in the country.

We went across the street and went all around inside the Pabst Theater. Backstage, under the stage in the dressing rooms and lounge. All around the house. We went down along the river, past the Bronze Fonz, and saw the Mackie Building. It was the Grain Exchange, back in the day, and it's pretty fabulous.

Then it was time for our 12:30 tour of the Mitchell Building. It was built in 1876, in the ornate French Second Empire Style. The outside is fabulous, but the inside has been heavily remodeled, so there's no trace of the original style. But we toured the interior, and learned about its history. Then we went to the basement, and learned about the extensive repairs to keep the foundation from sinking. The up to the dome at the top, where it was very interesting to learn was the National Weather Service's first Milwaukee office. The weatherman lived there, and put up flags to give the forecast. So that was good.

By this time it was raining. We walked a couple of blocks in the rain to the Milwaukee Public Market for food. After that it was pouring but we ventured out anyway. We stopped for a break under shelter, and the rain let up. We had a long walk to Turner Hall. We were almost there, when I decided I'd better verify that they were still open. They were not. We studied the guide to see if there was someplace we wanted to go. We started back the other direction, for the Riverside Theater. It started to rain, and we were soaked by the time we got there. Or at least I was. The tour was similar to the Pabst, but not quite as much backstage areas were open. And the theater isn't quite as ornate.

Back out into the rain. We decided to hit a couple of churches before closing time. On the way there, I decided to take a shortcut through a parking garage, to get out of the rain. Since we were very near my car, I decided to drive there instead. This worked well, because the rain was coming down pretty hard, and I luckily found parking near to the doors, in both cases.

First, we saw Old St. Mary's. It was built in 1847, and it has to be one of the oldest buildings in the city. Cream City brick on the outside, and not that much to look at, but I've always wondered what it looked like on the inside. It's a very ornate, and somewhat typical Catholic church. You'll have to see the pictures. The we drove a few more blocks to see the Cathedral of St. John. A big church, and very pretty, but not very ornate. There are some nice columns with decorations (I'm sure there's a name for that part), but no big altarpiece - oar altar, for that matter - just a modern art crucifix and crown of thorns hanging in the center of the church.

Then likethebeer and I said our goodbyes. I headed home to dry out and get some supper.

Cyn got back home around 1:00, I think. She unpacked, washed the dishes and made supper. By the time I got home, she had spent as much time at home for the weekend, as I had (not counting bed time). And speaking of bedtime, I'll post pictures tomorrow.