A Second Life for the Third Ward
Historic commercial district now has an artistic flair
by Tara Domine

A view overlooking today's Third Ward. Photo by Danielle Chase

Drivers speeding down I-794 into Milwaukee for the daily grind, a shopping trip or a Bucks game could easily miss the gathering of beautifully tarnished factory and warehouse buildings to the right. After all, this very highway cut off this area from most of civilization when the road was constructed in the early 1970s. Instead of merely standing by, this area, better known as the Historic Third Ward, has evolved into a little sliver of immense culture.

The transformation of the Third Ward
While these 10 blocks are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Milwaukee’s oldest center of commerce and warehousing, they now have the highest concentration of art galleries. It began in the early years of Milwaukee when Irish immigrants established the area and began manufacturing in industries like saddleries and clothiers. When the railroad linked Milwaukee to the Mississippi River, the industry in the Third Ward boomed. On Oct. 28, 1892, though, everything changed. A paint can exploded at the Water Street Union Oil and Paint Co. and a fire burst out, quickly spreading through the buildings in the Third Ward. Fire crews from as far as Chicago and Oshkosh joined Milwaukee squads, but it flared out of control. By the next day, 440 buildings were destroyed and 1,900 people, mostly Irish immigrants who had established the area, were homeless.

The next few years brought a time of massive reconstruction. The now-homeless immigrants left the “Bloody Third,” as it was referred to because of their frequent drunken bar fights, and moved to other areas of Milwaukee, while a large group of Italian settlers moved in. The Italians rebuilt the business sector, with establishments such as grocery stores and dry-good warehouses.

After the Depression and World War II, trucking operations and the growth of suburbs replaced inner-city manufacturing businesses like the ones in the Third Ward. When Milwaukee built I-794 to connect the suburbs to the city, it further displaced the district. It became a string of abandoned warehouses.

The arts come to the Third Ward
Despite the desperate need for renovation, the Third Ward languished in this state for many years. Eventually one man made a halfhearted attempt to establish the area as red-light district. This lit a fire under three of the remaining business owners to properly renovate, and they pioneered the Historic Third Ward Association (HTWA). “[The reconstruction] was all initiated by these three men,” says HTWA Executive Director Nancy O’Keefe. In 1984, the National Register of Historic Places added a group of 70 buildings in the Third Ward to its list, saving it from the threat of becoming a seedy area. “It really helped when those 70 buildings were accepted,” O’Keefe says.

The Broadway Theatre Center houses three performing arts companies in the Third Ward. The Third Ward has become a hub for the arts. Photo by Tara Domine

While cities across the country were seeing the gentrification of manufacturing districts at this time, the Third Ward’s was largely influenced by artists who moved into the cheap lofts available when the district was abandoned in the 1960s. The Third Ward and its residents had a mutually beneficial relationship. According to O’Keefe, this link eventually allowed for the development of the Third Ward into an arts district. The cultural connection also spills down from Milwaukee’s nearby theater district, which includes the Pabst Theatre, just down Water Street. The Third Ward now boasts eclectic art galleries, nationally renowned theater and opera companies, the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, and many shops and restaurants.

The Katie Gingrass Gallery developed in the evolution of the Third Ward. Its building at 241 N. Broadway St. was originally the home of the Roundy, Peckham & Dexter Co., now known as the Roundy’s grocery stores. In 1962, Roundy’s followed the trend out to the suburbs and left the building deserted. The Gingrass gallery moved there in 1984 and enlivened the building with its contemporary arts and fine crafts.

Down the road is one of the most interesting new developments, the Broadway Theater Center. O. R. Pieper Co. originally commissioned the building as grocery warehouse in 1907. Ten years ago, Colin Cabot, the founder of the Skylight Opera Theatre, donated the money to purchase and renovate the building to house his group. Finally, after 30 years of performing at various locations around Milwaukee, Skylight had a permanent address.

“Having a home has definitely helped solidify the group as a fixture in the city,” says Valerie Rodgers, marketing director at Skylight. In turn, this group and theater center helped the Third Ward become a welcome home to other arts as well. The Broadway Theatre Center now houses three performing arts companies: Skylight, The Chamber Theatre and Theatre X.

Even the bars in the Ward have an artsy twist. Centanni’s, a swanky new bar on Water Street, keeps its baby grand piano busy with talents from all over the Midwest. Milwaukee residents flock to the live cabaret shows on Friday and Saturday at The M&M Club, located in the old Pabst Brewing Company Saloon and Boarding House building, also on Water Street. For resident Dan Latzke, the Third Ward nightlife provides a unique alternative from usual Milwaukee bars. “You don’t get the falling-down drunk people like you do down on the other end of Water Street. Everyone is chill and it makes for a nicer night out,” he says.

According to O’Keefe, the Third Ward will continue to evolve in all aspects in the coming years; however, residences will dominate that growth. The 2000 Census designates the Third Ward as the fastest-growing residential area in the Milwaukee vicinity, and 500 new apartment and condominium units are currently in the works. With the influx of residents, the arts will continue to flourish in the area. The Trinity Irish Dancers studio, which is moving to East Menomonee Street at the end of the year, will add new flavor to the arts scene. Also, HTWA sponsors events such as the annual Jazz Festival and biannual Gallery Night, a “pub-crawl” of the art galleries.

The Third Ward’s evolution from an immigrant-established manufacturing district to Milwaukee’s premier arts and culture center is an amazing change.

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