Gone but Not Forgotten: The Mansions of Milwaukee's Grand Avenue

Gone but Not Forgotten: The Mansions of Milwaukee's Grand Avenue

Speaker: John Eastberg

Thursday, February 12

5:30 PM Social, 6:00 PM Dinner

Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Avenue has a storied history.

In the late 1840s, workers built what was called Spring Street by removing a fifty-foot bluff and using the excess material from the demolition to fill in wetlands. Milwaukee’s economic elite filled in the void around Spring Street. So many magnificent homes were built on Spring Street during the 1860s and 1870s that they were scattered all the way
to 27th Street and beyond. These elaborate demonstrations of wealth made Spring Street a prime tourist destination. Reflecting its new character, in 1876 the city changed the street’s name from Spring Street to Grand Avenue.

Over the successive decades, the growing number of mansions emerged as a suburban “gold coast.” By the 1920s, however, that suburban character dissipated as downtown pushed outwards and Milwaukee renamed the street Wisconsin Avenue.

Historian Emeritus of the Pabst Mansion, John C. Eastberg, has spent more than a quarter- century researching and compiling the histories of many of the lost mansions that once lined Milwaukee's famed thoroughfare, Grand Avenue. Delving into public archives and the private photo albums of many of Milwaukee's famed families, Eastberg
has brought together a collection of images and stories that bring to life the city's splendid Gilded Age. Once the residential district that housed the Mitchells, Plankintons, Brumders, Pabsts and Harnischfegers, Grand Avenue eventually became West Wisconsin Avenue. As the city pushed ever westward, many of these celebrated homes fell to
the wrecking ball. Join John Eastberg as he steps into Milwaukee's past and visually walks you up the sidewalk of Grand Avenue.

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Stuffed Baked Chicken

Raspberry Bella Vitana Cheese

Artichokes, Leeks

Fresh Herbs

Lemon Grass Jasmine Rice

Roasted Asparagus

Blackberry Reduction

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Caraway Crusted Salmon

Warm Beet and Farro Salad

Horseradish and Dill Yogurt

Sauteed Radish

Warm Rolls and Flatbreads with Butter

Almond Cake / GF

Crème Anglaise

Fresh Berries

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