Milwaukee Area Technical College Archives (MATC): "The Milwaukee" Special Collection

The Milwaukee Fire Department, like the city it serves, boasts a long and proud past, rich with diverse details. The department first formed as a volunteer organization in 1837, evolving into a full-time service by 1874. Steeped in pride and tradition, its penchant for innovation is legendary. These traits have characterized legions of brave and skillful professionals whose devotion to duty established the department's reputation as a leader in protecting lives and property. Throughout the department's history, its members have left their mark in countless ways, reflecting the background, work ethic, and talent of Milwaukee's citizens.

Milwaukeeans love their parks, and with nearly 15,000 acres of parkland throughout Milwaukee County, there is much to love. But few know the story behind the development of this great park system. Milwaukee County Parks takes readers on a photographic tour of the area's earliest parks--town squares and beer gardens established by the early settlers--through the creation of city and county park commissions, to the parks today. It will leave one with a better appreciation of the vision and dedication it took to build such a park system and the need to assure it remains intact for the enjoyment and benefit of future generations.

Paddle through the watery history of the Midwest's Cream City.  The success and survival of Milwaukee lies in the rivers that meander through its streets and the great lake at its shore. The area's earliest inhabitants recognized the value of an abundant, clean water supply for food and transportation. Settlers, shipbuilders, and city leaders used the same waters to travel greater distances, power million-dollar industries, and even have a bit of fun.  In Milwaukee: A City Built on Water, celebrated historian John Gurda expands on his popular Milwaukee Public Television documentary, relating the mucky history of the waters that gave Milwaukee life--and occasionally threatened the city through erosion, invasive species, and water-borne diseases. Telling tales of brewers, brickmakers, ecologists, and engineers, Gurda explores the city's complicated connection with its most precious resource and greatest challenge. You'll meet the generations of people, from a Potawatomi chief to fur traders and fishermen, who settled on the small spit of land known as Jones Island; learn how Milwaukee's unique water composition creates its distinct cream-colored bricks; visit Wisconsin's first waterparks; and see how city leaders transformed the Milwaukee River--once described as a "vast sewer" with an "odorous tide"--into today's lively and lovely Riverwalk.  

Explore long-lost and never-before-seen images of downtown, Mayfair Mall's Ice Chalet, Brady Street, the Mitchell Park Domes, Milwaukee County Stadium, and much, much more. Introduced by Kodak in 1935, Kodachrome quickly became popular with professional and amateur photographers in the years after World War II. Countless Kodachrome slides now lie neglected and discarded in attics and basements like tiny time capsules just waiting to be rediscovered. Sharing more than 140 full-color photos from his own collection, Adam Levin, curator of the popular Old Milwaukee Facebook group, leads a stroll down memory lane into the Milwaukee of yesteryear.

The history of Chinese Milwaukee begins in April 1874, with the opening by Wing Wau of a Chinese laundry at 86 Mason Street. Other Chinese soon followed, and by 1888, there were at least 30 Chinese laundries operating in the city. Charlie Toy moved to Milwaukee in 1904 and within two decades had built both one of the largest Chinese trading businesses in the United States and a six-story Chinese-style building in downtown Milwaukee described as the largest and most luxurious Chinese restaurant building in the world. An example of the community's influence as a whole is the period 1937 to 1940, when the community of less than 300 residents contributed more money to the Chinese war effort against Japan than any other Chinese community in the United States except San Francisco.

The colorful history and culture of Wisconsin are reflected in its place names, from those created by Native Americans, French explorers, and diverse European settlers to more recent appellations commemorating political figures, postmasters, and landowners. Organized alphabetically for easy reference, Edward Callary's concise entries reveal the stories behind such intriguing names as Fussville, Misha Mokwa, Couderay, and Thiry Daems. Fun to read and packed with information, Place Names of Wisconsin is a must-have for anyone interested in Wisconsin and Midwest history, language, geography, and culture--or anyone who simply wonders "why did they name it that?"