Gallery Day - Lina Bertucci: Railroad Voices—The Milwaukee Road, 1974–1977
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Lina Bertucci: Railroad Voices—The Milwaukee Road, 1974–1977
(Sept. 4 – Dec. 20, 2026)
About the exhibition: Lina Bertucci was hired by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (The Milwaukee Road) in 1974 as a brakeman (brakewoman). She was only the second woman to work in the Milwaukee Road yards, following her aunt, Cindy Angelos. Both Bertucci and Angelos entered training on the same day, and their arrival immediately sent tremors through the male-dominated field. But through ambition and optimism, they settled in by demonstrating full competence in their many challenges. While difficult, the work paid more than most other entry-level jobs and appealed to their adventuresome spirits.
As an aspiring artist, Bertucci arrived armed with her camera in her bag, at first hoping to simply fit in, to be respected as more than just the “girl with the camera.” Before long, she was accepted by most of her colleagues and set about chronicling her experience and daily toil, and did so for three years, until The Milwaukee Road filed for bankruptcy protection in 1977. In recalling her work, she notes that “these photographs were never simply creative memories of a personal experience, but a record of a social and historical moment—a communal cultural and industrial transformation that intersected with my own identity as I stood witness to its passing.”
Bertucci’s work while on ‘The Road’ resurfaces for this special display of an important part of Milwaukee’s industrial history and a woman’s impact on art and industry. Through her portraits of the railroad and the railroad worker, we are provided an insider’s view of a world few had access to, but so many were impacted by.
Lina Bertucci: Railroad Voices—The Milwaukee Road, 1974–1977
(Sept. 4 – Dec. 20, 2026)
About the exhibition: Lina Bertucci was hired by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (The Milwaukee Road) in 1974 as a brakeman (brakewoman). She was only the second woman to work in the Milwaukee Road yards, following her aunt, Cindy Angelos. Both Bertucci and Angelos entered training on the same day, and their arrival immediately sent tremors through the male-dominated field. But through ambition and optimism, they settled in by demonstrating full competence in their many challenges. While difficult, the work paid more than most other entry-level jobs and appealed to their adventuresome spirits.
As an aspiring artist, Bertucci arrived armed with her camera in her bag, at first hoping to simply fit in, to be respected as more than just the “girl with the camera.” Before long, she was accepted by most of her colleagues and set about chronicling her experience and daily toil, and did so for three years, until The Milwaukee Road filed for bankruptcy protection in 1977. In recalling her work, she notes that “these photographs were never simply creative memories of a personal experience, but a record of a social and historical moment—a communal cultural and industrial transformation that intersected with my own identity as I stood witness to its passing.”
Bertucci’s work while on ‘The Road’ resurfaces for this special display of an important part of Milwaukee’s industrial history and a woman’s impact on art and industry. Through her portraits of the railroad and the railroad worker, we are provided an insider’s view of a world few had access to, but so many were impacted by.
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Where is it happening?
1000 N Broadway, Milwaukee, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53202
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherGrohmann Museum
