Across Winsconsin

Wisconsin became the second state of our big Midwestern crusade. In general, I would characterize Wisconsin as boring and vacuous. Even the state parks in the north did not seem on par with many other ones we had visited throughout the country. As a result, this post turned out very architecture-heavy. Sorry about that.

Milwaukee

We drove up to Milwaukee from Illinois on the second day of our journey. It was Tuesday, yet the city looked half-defunct (which was perfectly fine with me).

We started our excursion with Basilica of St. Josaphat, a sizable house of worship with lavishly ornate interiors.

Soldiers’ Home followed next. In my understanding, this building was once used as a rehabilitation facility for veterans returning from various wars.

After, we proceeded to the Concordia Houses neighborhood. Although it does feature a few lovely buildings, it is also fairly sketchy.

We reached the Pabst Mansion soon after.

Sadly, we could not gain access inside the imposing building of Grain Exchange.

Nearby we spotted the aptly named Ladybug Building.

The City Hall certainly has a peculiar design.

At the side of the Old St. Mary’s Church we caught a glimpse of a priest who appears to belong to a certain small percentage… anyway, the man’s got a very devious look.

The sky cleared up just as we were about to inspect some of Milwaukee’s finest architecture.

The North Point Tower marks the location of the very respectable (at least visually) East Side neighborhood.

The North Point Lighthouse rises a short distance away.

Our last stop in Milwaukee was less than stellar. The house of Weird Mary Nohl might be a local landmark, but it did not meet any of the mental criteria we would normally set for our places of interest. The fact that we could hardly photograph any of the sculptures from over the fence didn’t exactly help.

Waukesha

I could say that we visited the town of Waukesha out of desperation; there is just so little to do in Wisconsin. The reason for choosing Waukesha over some other obscure town was that it happens to be the birthplace of Les Paul, the father of the electric guitar and an influential musician of the 20th century, to whose legacy I am rather partial. We paid our respects at his grave site at the Praire Home Cemetery.

As an homage to the city’s distinguished son, the Waukesha County Historical Society installed a Les Paul guitar monument in front of its building.

Madison

Madison was the third and final Wisconsin municipality that we reached. A lot more dull than Milwaukee—but not as much as Waukesha—Madison had but a few attractions for us. Olbrich Botanical Gardens was one.