Kilbourntown

Kilbourntown went up as a direct, contemporary rival to Juneautown [1]. Speculator Byron Kilbourn refused to align his bridges with Juneautown’s, the consequence of which is apparent today. There wasn’t much going for the land, other than its location as a transit point to Madison [2]. Other than North Old World 3rd Street [3], much of the architecture was razed for megaprojects.

Highlights in Kilbourntown include the Mediterranean revival Riverside Theater along West Wisconsin Avenue; the Germania Building on West Wells Street, once the site of a German-language publishing empire and notable for its carved lions and copper-clad domes (endearingly dubbed “Kaiser’s Helmets”); the odd-shaped Milwaukee County Historical Center [4]; the legendary Turner Hall; the Milwaukee Public Museum [5]; Milwaukee Public Library [6]; and the enormous Grand Avenue Mall.