#milwaukee neighborhood

[danielflemingart]

The Alley at Night.

22x36"

Acrylic on bath towel.

[mercerharlan]

Sherman Park neighborhood of Milwaukee

October 2024

Fujifilm XT 30 II

[petsincollections]

Pigeon coop on N 3rd

This photograph shows a wire pigeon coop built off the side of a large brick building. It was located on the east side of what is today known as N Dr Martin Luther King Jr Dr, between W Vine and W Walnut streets. An African-American woman stands with a hand on her hip at the left edge of the picture.

Milwaukee Public Library Historic Photo

[teh-tj]

Greenbelt Maryland. Or, how America almost solved housing only to abandon it.

**I AM NOT AN EXPERT! I AM JUST AN ENTHUSIST! DO NOT TREAT MY OPINIONS/SPECULATION AS EDUCATION!**

During the Depression America faced a housing crisis that rhymes with but differs from our own. It’s different in that there wasn’t a supply issue, there were loads of houses in very desirable areas, but they were still unaffordable as people’s incomes collapsed causing a deflationary spiral. While the housing supply subtly grew and succeeded demand, people simply couldn’t pay the meager rents and mortgages. Herbert Hoover failed to manage the Depression, while his inaction is greatly exaggerated, his policy of boosting the economy with works projects and protecting banks from runs failed and the depression only got more pronounced in his term. In comes Franklin Roosevelt, a progressive liberal much like his distant and popular cousin/uncle-in-law Teddy. Franklin’s plan was to create a large safety net for people to be able to be economically viable even if they’re otherwise poor. These reforms are called the New Deal and they did many controversial things like giving disabled and retired people welfare, giving farmers conditioned subsidies to manipulate the price of food, a works program to build/rebuild vital infrastructure, etc. One of these programs was the USHA (a predecessor of America’s HUD), an agency created to build and maintain public housing projects with the goal of creating neighborhoods with artificially affordable rents so people who work low-wage jobs or rely on welfare can be housed.

In this spirit, the agency started experimenting with new and hopefully efficient housing blueprints and layouts. If you ever see very large apartment towers or antiquated brick low-rise townhouses in America, they might be these. The USHA bought land in many large and medium-sized cities to build “house-in-park” style apartments, which is what they sound like. Putting apartment buildings inside green spaces so residents can be surrounded by greenery and ideally peacefully coexist. Three entire towns were built with these ideas outside three medium-sized cities that were hit hard by the depression; Greenbelt outside DC, Greenhills outside Cincinnati, and Greendale outside Milwaukee. The idea was to move people out of these crowded cities into these more sustainable and idyllic towns. There were many catches though, the USHA planned for these towns to be all-white, they used to inspect the houses for cleanliness, they required residents to be employed or on Social Security (which basically meant retired or disabled), they also had an income limit and if your income exceeded that limit you were given a two-month eviction notice, and you were expected to attend town meetings at least monthly. While the towns didn’t have religious requirements they did only build protestant churches. Which is an example of discrimination by omission. While a Catholic, Jew, Muslim, etc could in theory move into town they also couldn’t go to a Catholic church, synagogue, or Islamic center without having to extensively travel. Things planned communities leave out might indicate what kind of people planned communities want to leave out. Basically, the whole thing was an experiment in moving Americans into small direct-democracy suburbs as opposed to the then-current system of crowded cities and isolated farm/mine towns. This type of design wasn’t without precedent, there were famously company towns like Gary and Pullman which both existed outside Chicago. But those lacked the autonomy and democracy some USHA apparatchiks desired.

The green cities were a series of low-rise apartments housing over a hundred people each, they were short walks from a parking lot and roads, and walking paths directly and conveniently led residents to the town center which had amenities and a shopping district. Greenbelt in particular is famous for its art deco shopping complex, basically an early mall where business owners would open stores for the townspeople. These businesses were stuck being small, given the income requirements, but it was encouraged for locals to open a business to prove their entrepreneurial spirit. Because city affairs were elected at town meetings the city was able to pull resources to eventually build their own amenities the USHA didn’t originally plan for like a public swimming pool or better negotiated garbage collection.

These three cities were regarded as a success by the USHA until World War II happened and suddenly they showed flaws given the shift in focus. These towns housed poor people who barely if at all could afford a car, so semi-isolated towns outside the city became redundant and pointless. The USHA also had to keep raising the income requirement since the war saw a spike in well-paying jobs which made the town unsustainable otherwise. During the war and subsequent welfare programs to help veterans, these green cities became de facto retirement and single-mother communities for a few years as most able-bodied men were drafted or volunteered. Eventually, the USDA would make the towns independent, after the war they raised the income limit yet again and slowly the towns repopulated. As cars became more common and suburbanization became a wider trend these towns would be less noticeably burdensome and were eventually interpreted as just three out of hundreds of small suburban towns that grew out of major cities. They were still all-white and the town maintained cleanliness requirements; after all they lived in apartments it just takes one guy’s stink-ass clogged toilet to ruin everyone’s day.

By the 1950’s these towns were fully independent. Greendale and Greenhills voted to privatize their homes and get rid of the income limit all together so the towns can become more normal. Greenhills, Ohio still has many of these USHA-era houses and apartments, all owned by a series of corporations and private owners. Greendale, Wisconsin property owners have demolished most of these old houses and restructured their town government so most traces of its founding are lost. But Greenbelt, Maryland still maintains a lot of its structure to this day. Greenbelt has privatized some land and buildings, but most of the original USHA apartments are owned by the Greenbelt Homes, Inc cooperative which gives residents co-ownership of the building they live in and their payments mostly go to maintenance. Because Greenbelt was collectively owned the House Un-American Activities Committee would blacklist and put on trial most of Greenbelt’s residents and officials. Though they didn’t find much evidence of communist influence, the town was a target of the red scare by the DMV area, residents were discriminated, blacklisted, and pressured into selling their assets. While Greenbelt did commodify some of the town, the still existing co-ownership shows the town’s democratic initiative to maintain its heritage. The green cities desegregated in the 50’s and 60’s depending on state law, Greenbelt was the last to desegregate under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, while discrimination persisted for years by the 1980’s the town would become half non-white, today the town is 47% black and 10% Asian.

Though these towns largely integrated with a privatized and suburbanized America, they do stand as a memorial to an idea of American urbanism that died. They were designed for walkability and were planned to be more democratic and egalitarian towns, with the conditions that came with segregation and government oversight. You can’t ignore the strict standards and racism in their history, but you can say that about many towns. How do you think America would be different if more cities had green suburbs that were more interconnected and designed for community gatherings?

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I don't believe it. I just found that one of my favorite houses hasn't sold. Look at how long the grass got, I guess the owners gave up. It's a yellow brick 1889 Victorian in Milwaukee, WI w/3bds, 3ba, $494,900.

Beautiful architecture, the front porch makes a stunning impression, especially with the original light fixture and double doors.

Isn't this beautiful?

The doors open to an entrance hall with an original staircase and railings.

To the right there's a sitting room with pocket doors on both walls, a pretty center fireplace, and gorgeous floors.

There are probably renters in it now, so can you imagine this as a beautifully decorated sitting room? Look at the original light fixtures.

The 2nd sitting room is a beauty. It has high ceilings, gorgeous moldings, a brick fireplace and the same lovely flooring.

Look at this high-ceiling center room. The fireplace and chimney go up to the ceiling, and there are windows to the room upstairs. Plus, pocket doors.

Also, look at the chandelier and windows on the outer wall. It's such an unusual home.

Then, it has a lovely dining room. The floors and all the pocket doors are incredible. Usually, you see 1 or 2 remaining pocket doors in these homes.

The vintage kitchen is so cute. Look at how they incorporated the ovens into a piece of industrial salvage. That's very clever. I love how they used antique industrial pieces rather than new cabinets.

The kitchen has a door to the garden. I wonder if the butler conveys. Interesting shutters on the window. You could probably fit a small everyday table in this area, too.

Look at this- they made a cabinet for the sink in the half bath and it even has pocket doors.

This is cool. They have a nice ceiling and an industrial light casually draped over the toilet.

The kitchen door leads down to the garden that has a brick patio. Very nice privacy fence surrounds the property.

This is lovely.

I wish they would've shown more of the interior, b/c this is a huge house.

It's in a residential neighborhood on a 4,791 sq ft lot.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3402-W-Saint-Paul-Ave-Milwaukee-WI-53208/40470662_zpid/

[bueckersbitch]

Grace and Grit - paige bueckers x oc

chapter three: like him

𐙚 grace and grit masterlist

𐙚 characters: hopkins!paige x oc

𐙚 warnings: underage drinking

𐙚 word count: 2.4k

𐙚 authors note: hiii lovies, here’s a little lore chapter, family is brought up hence the “like him” naming of the chapter… savor the fluff bc it starts going downhill from here… this is all fiction!! enjoy!

𐙚 taglist: @lupinqs @sierrale8ne @thaatdigitaldiary @pboogerswbb

A long practice leaves Blaire tired, her toes aching from her constricting pointe shoes, body aching from conditioning and fine tuning multiple numbers. Slowing to a stop at the gate of her neighborhood, as she waits she thinks about senior year, approaching in a couple of hours, dreading her rigorous schedule she had absentmindedly planned out during the end of her junior year. She drives through the gate, pulling up to her house, Blaire wasn’t ignorant to the fact that she was blessed, her dad being away had its downsides, him being absent, of course, but where there’s downsides, there’s always upsides. The upsides being more materialistic, her giant house on the lake, nestled into a private gated community, pine trees decorating the long driveway that leads to the towering dark wooden double doors.

Blaire turns into her driveway, halting her car to a stop outside of the Briar’s garage, a display case, essentially, with full glass windows showcasing three cars, orange, blue, and red. All sports cars that her dad had taken a liking to, purchasing them immediately as they were released. Wait, red car. Red car? No, that couldn’t have been right, the McLaren was gifted to Blaire’s sister, Parker, as a gift when she graduated high school, the color being a slight jab from her father to Parker, since Blaire’s dad had attended Harvard, while Parker would be attending Yale. Rivalry of the two schools being the main topic of thanksgiving dinners the last three years. That’s besides the point, Blaire couldnt help but wonder what Parker was doing here, in August. Blaire stares at the license plate, “PRKER” held by a rhinestone studded license plate holder. Quickly, Blaire steps out of her car and shuts the door, disregarding her dance duffel and holding the door handle to lock the car, swiftly walking to the doors that usually led to an empty house. Making quick work of the door code, she pushes her thumb down before stepping into the large entryway, low and behold, the overhead light was on, and her tall older sister, clad in a simple loveshackfancy mini dress, awaited her, seated legs crossed on the kitchen island chair, light brown hair slightly curled, long black nails wrapping around a glass of champagne.

Finally, the door shuts behind Blaire, grabbing Parker's attention, her green eyes darting to the root of the noise, smiling, she sets her glass and phone down. “Well look who it is, I’ve been waiting forever. I think the plant on this kitchen island knows more about my past year than you do.” Blaire rolls her eyes at that, making way to her older sister, wrapping her arms around her, Blaire regains her thoughts, Blaire and Parker only saw each other during Thanksgiving, and Christmas, Parker kept her promise of getting out of Minnesota, and staying out. She resided in Connecticut now, there was no need for her to visit the isolated state of Minnesota anymore, which provoked Blaire, “Why are you here Parks? Thought the next time I’d see you was during Thanksgiving” Parker pulls away from Blaire, holding her forearms, “My internship had me go to Milwaukee to figure out some logistics of the upcoming year. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to see you, Baby B” Baby B. Despite only being four years apart, Parker made sure to hold the fact that she was older than Blaire over her head. Every. Chance. She. Got. It didn’t take long until it got old, Parker was smart, graduating valedictorian of her class, a perfect ACT score, and getting accepted to multiple ivy’s, she was only four years older, but Blaire felt like an embarrassment beside her, reminders of the obvious difference in intelligence, plus the added age gap between them only separated Blaire from Parker more. Not to mention their contrasting features, Parker had light brown hair, green eyes, and stood at a height of 5 '10, while Blaire, had hair that toed the line of black, dark brown eyes, and stood at an average 5' 6. Blaire was happy to see her sister nonetheless, the house being eerily quiet again after her dad left in May for Dubai, work calling him away, the widespread house was nice, but it reminded Blaire of the loneliness that accompanied her when her family was away. “I’m glad you’re here Parks, especially since senior year starts tomorrow” Parker slouches at that, “Oh God, senior year. Have fun with that” Look on her face making it obvious there was something she was wanting Blaire to poke at, “What? Why do you have that look on your face?” Parker smirks to herself, “Oh, you know, all the parties, senior bonfire, homecoming afterparty, find your drink, prom afterparty, not to mention all the ones that come with every holiday you could think of” Blaire feels relief at this, “Oh, well, you know me. I won’t be able to make it to any of those anyway, senior season of dance means no distractions.” Parker chokes on her champagne at this, making Blaire step back, startled. “You’ve got to be kidding me right? No way you’re letting dance rob you of your senior year.” Blaire challenges her gaze, countering with, “You did it with studying. How is it any different?” Parker giggles at that, “The difference is that I balanced everything, you just didn’t know about my social life because I would sneak out to go to parties, I quite literally conditioned Dad so he wouldn’t be as mad at you when you would sneak out and you don't even take advantage of it” Parker shaking her head saying this, lips tucked into a tight line as she does so. Blaire thinks, no way her older sister, the girl who only studied her life away, was telling her this right now, her mind finding a new perspective, if Parker could balance everything, Blaire could too. Parker pats the seat next to her, before getting up and walking over to the champagne glasses, tugging a similar one to hers from the rack before pouring a glass, shoving it to Blaire. “We have a lot to talk about. About my life, about yours, and trust me, you’re going to want a drink for this.”

-

Blaire’s mouth is wide open, jaw dropped and eyes wide, “He cheated on you? At a nude party?” Parker laughs, the incomprehensible situation getting the best of her, “Yes bro! That’s what I’m saying, like damn I couldn’t see him for one week and he was already out fucking other bitches” Blaire blinks a couple of times before she responds, “Im sorry Parks, but at least you don’t have to deal with that anymore.” Parker nods, a clear, “Yeah, dodged a bullet with that one” coming from her. Parker was confident, in her looks, her intelligence, her capability, that’s the reason why shit like that didn’t matter to her, because at the end of the day, she was successful, not the guy she was dating. “Sooooo, any lucky people for you? Who am I kidding, probably not” Parker prods at her little sister, Blaire shooting her a pointed glare, sharply saying, “I’ll have you know that there actually is someone, and she’s great.” Parker sits up straight at this, “Ohhhhh reallllyyyy, who’s the lucky girl?” Blaire blushes, the mere thought of Paige overcoming her senses, body retreating into herself, a quiet murmur of “Her name is Paige Bueckers, she plays basketball.” Leaving her. Parker is fully turned towards Blaire now, every sentence her little sister saying connecting the dots in her brain, “Holy shit! Paige Bueckers?” Parker questions further, leaving Blaire to say, “You know her?” Parker pffts at that, “Of course I do! Everyone’s talking about ‘The basketball beast out of Hopkins, Minnesota’” Parker’s finger quotes around the summary of who Paige was make Blaire’s eyebrow raise, “Why the finger quotes?” With every word Blaire manages to sneak out, Parker becomes more and more astonished. “B, it’s quite literally what they’re calling her on every article, everywhere I turn it’s all about this amazing number one recruit from this town I tried so hard to escape from.” Blaire rolls her eyes, “And if you wanted to escape so badly, why do you know all the towns business.” Parker’s hand slams against the counter, playfully of course, “Baby B!!! Is it so wrong to want to stalk my opps once in a while? You further prove my point by the way, about wasting your time in highschool, you don’t even know about the girl you’re talking to! God how could you not? I feel like this town literally screams her name at this point.” Blaire smiles, thinking about the person that Paige Bueckers is, leaving such a mark on people, to the point where the ‘Town screams her name’ As her older sister said. Almost on queue, the starlite snapchat notification sounds from the dark haired girl's phone. Now it’s Parker’s turn to raise an eyebrow, “Right on the universe's timing, huh?”

-

Paige sighs, retreating to the comfort of her room, after greeting her dad and baby brother, Drew, downstairs. Opening her door, she’s met with the familiarity of it all, golden awards lining the shelves, medals hanging from the walls, SZA posters sloppily hung up above her bed. She reaches for her dresser, holding the light remote to her LED’s in her hand before turning them on to a blue color. She flops onto her bed, messy hair sprawling out on the purple bedding, staring up at the ceiling fan which is spinning counter-clockwise, she can’t help but glance at the clock, 11:30. Blaire should’ve responded by now, having been out of dance for thirty minutes, Paige reaches into her blue nike tech pocket, pulling her phone from it, hands comically large in comparison to it, swiping up and finding Blaire in her Snapchat, pinned at the top, of course. She holds her gaze on the soft “blaire 💝����” Wondering if she should double text her, she didn’t want to look desperate, obviously, but she also couldn’t help but wonder what was keeping her pretty dancer away from her for so long. She opts to texting her, what’s a relationship built on miscommunication, right? Okay, no. They were not ‘anything’ God she hated that. She was a lover, whether it be shown through her caring nature for others, her family, or even her love for the game. Paige Bueckers is a lover.

Soon enough, but not soon enough for Paige, Blaire responds. Paige immediately swipes into the chat, the background being a comforting photo of the two of their hands laced together. A cute photo Blaire didn’t know Paige even took on their night out. Paige takes in the message: you won’t believe what just happened. Paige falters. Something bad? Is that why Blaire was away for so long? Paige couldn’t get too caught up with her own thoughts though, because as soon as she finished her thought, the next message of, my sister’s back in town popped up shortly after. A weight being lifted off of Paige’s shoulders, grateful it wasn’t the worst thing she had thought of. u had me worried there, thought u were in danger or smth. Chat bubbles pop up from Blaire, well, if my sister’s in town, I may as well be. Paige laughs to herself at Blaire’s dramatics, it being something she admired. Blaire put up a front, for sure. But even her hard exterior showed her emotions, her dramatics being the top way for her to express her true self. Paige found herself breaking through that shell of Blaire, though. Responding with an ok but i’ll be ur knight in shining armor 😇 Blaire replies, ur funny bueckers. Paige smiles, hearting the message, then locking her phone. Making her way to her bathroom, she sets her towel down on the ledge next to the toilet, placing her plaid pj pants and plain black t-shirt on top. She turns on the hot shower, waiting for it to warm up a bit, knowing Blaire all too well, she decides to snap a mirror photo of her in her nike tech, the Hopkins blue bringing out her equally blue eyes, turning her head slightly towards her phone, showing off her jawline. Sending the photo to Blaire, she’s immediately met with the blaire 💝🩰saved your snap in chat notification, followed by a message of paigeeeee you know what youre doing and a photo of Blaire in a matching pj set, light pink mini shorts with a simple tank top to match. Paige matches Blaire’s energy, saving the photo and responding with yeah? so do u. She cherished these small flirtatious moments between them, setting her phone down, hopping into the now hot shower, taking her hair out of her ponytail, letting the day wash away. Paige pondered about Blaire’s family life for a little, of course, she knew that Blaire’s dad was the type of father who was “Present but absent” In the way where he was never home. Sure, some people would long for having a house to themselves all the time, but Paige couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Paige grew up with her mom away, in Montana, but it was different, because she had her Dad, Stepmom, and Drew. All of them being her biggest supporters through everything. USA basketball wins, gatorade player of the year, moving up the ranks, all of it. While they were there for the highs of her life, they were also there for the lows, bad games, injuries, her and her long term girlfriends split, and the worst of all, losing her best friend to cancer. She couldn’t imagine going through the most pivotal and personality shaping moments without someone there to lean on, so she had a lot of respect for Blaire, for putting up with the world. She found her resilient, and independent, something she found herself lacking. She turns the shower knob off, stepping out of the shower and into her warm towel, drying off, then pulling on her pj’s, Paige unlocks her phone, a message from Blaire, thirty minutes ago, okkk i really need to go to sleep a separate message right after the first saying, ill see u at school tmr :) Paige easily finds herself typing out, see u tmr pretty girl Tomorrow, they went back to the harsh reality that shaped their futures, senior year. One last year before their lives changed forever.

[transit-fag]

Why do you think Chicago is such a good city? It's terribly spread out and inefficient, with mostly single-family homes. Compared to New York, which is dense with apartments even outside of Manhattan or directly on the east river, it's basically a suburb. I don't think a dense downtown attached to suburban sprawl is suddenly good urban planning just because the sprawl has a train going through it, you've just created commuter rail with a subway system instead of infrastructure to allow the city to exist outside of the small radius that zoning allows it to.

Okay so first have you ever been to Chicago? I ask this because from the way this ask is phrased I feel like you haven't been there. Because yes there are very suburban sections in city limits but also Chicago has some of the most dense mixed use neighborhoods in the country and the L is not just there for commuters but it allows you to access shopping districts like Milwaukee Avenue or diverse neighborhoods like Chinatown, Uptown, Rogers Park, Pilsen, and Logan Square as well as many of Chicagos parks like Lincoln Park or Wicker Park. The reason I praise Chicago is because it much more similar to the typical American city than New York but still is incredibly walkable with a diversity of uses, a great parks system, and all around is one of my favorite places. Yes it does have flaws like the endless suburban sprawl but the city proper is a genuinely amazing place.

[genderkoolaid]

About a mile away from the RNC on Tuesday evening — past byzantine barricades and checkpoints and tall black cages blocking off sidewalks; past gaggles of armed cops sent from Florida and Indiana and Michigan to guard these assembled Red Hats; past a freeway that has long demarcated Milwaukee, the country’s most segregated city, into Black and white neighborhoods — there was a much more somber scene.

David Porter, an unhoused man living in a tent encampment, walked onto West Vilet Street and fell to his knees in prayer. Next to him, the street was stained with the blood of his friend, an unhoused Black military veteran named Samuel Sharpe, who hours earlier had been shot and killed by police officers from Columbus, Ohio. “He didn’t bother nobody,” Porter said of Sharpe. “He was just a homeless guy trying to get by like everyone else.”

“Why are cops from Ohio way out here?” Porter said. “Had that been Milwaukee PD, that man would be alive right now. I know that because they know him. They would have used non-lethal force.”

[fruitgoat]

Mapping/Routing the CTA

I'm still blaming @copperbadge for all of this.

As I am taking this trip in my mind, I have chosen to ignore a lot of the challenges the physical world brings.  Like road construction, neighborhood block parties, day of the week, trains that only stop there once a day in the opposite direction, buses that only run a few hours a day, the actual passage of time, etc.  This trip should not be attempted in the Real World – every route and stop apparently still exists, but you might need to wait hours if not days for the correct bus/train.  For the Extra Bonus Points of LOLs and Nostalgia I have included sections of the Metra (Milwaukee Districts North and West and South Shore Electric), Big Bus Tours, and the Water Taxi.

Again, do NOT try this route in Real Time.  Yet.  My ADHD brain may or may not get back to you in a few days on how long it would actually take just so we can all laugh at the idea of getting lost and being forced to sneak around and spend the night in a mattress store at the Golf Mill Shopping Center or whatever.  (Actually, that’s a hell of a meetcute.  I… I might need to go write something now….)

Starting at Linden.

Ride Purple Line to Howard.  Transfer to Yellow Line.

Ride Yellow Line to Dempster-Skokie. (Resist the muscle memory to catch the bus all the way to Deerfield. I really hated that commute.)

Bus to Morton Grove Metra.

Ride (MN) Metra to Mayfair.

Walk to Blue Line (Montrose).  Ride Blue Line to O’Hare.

Stretch legs and bathroom break.  Refill water bottle.  Refuel if needed.

Ride Blue Line back to Harlem. Bus to Fullerton.

Walk around my old neighborhood.  (I think the walk to Caputo’s is worth it, but maybe don’t buy any fresh squid if you’re getting back on the train.)

Ride (MW) Metra from Mont Clare to Grand/Cicero.

Bus to Blue Line (Montrose).  Ride Blue Line to Forest Park.

Bus to Green Line (Harlem/Lake).  Ride Green Line to Cottage Grove.  (I’m stopping along the way to visit family, get something to eat, and maybe nap while charging my electronics.)

Bus to Green Line (Ashland/63rd).  Ride Green Line to Garfield.

Walk to Red Line (Garfield).  Ride Red Line to Dan Ryan.  Hang Around Like An Idiot.  Ride Red Line to Lake.

Transfer to Pink Line.  Ride Pink Line to Cermak/54th, then back to Cicero.

Bus to Midway.  (Unhydrate.  Rehydrate.)  Ride Orange Line to Halsted.  Walk to River.  Or I think there’s a bus that’s just not showing up at the moment.

Water Taxi to West Loop.

Walk to Willis Tower.  (Bonus point for each instance of calling it Sears Tower.) Tour Bus to Museum Campus.

Metra Electric back to Millennium Park Station.

Walk to Washington/Wabash.  Ride Brown Line to Kimball.

Ride Brown Line back to State/Lake.  (Stop at Fullerton if it’s morning.  Walk to Orange and order the pancake flight and watch them fresh squeeze your citrus juice.  Walk to Molly’s if you like cupcakes.  Double Extra Bonus points if you pointedly reminisce about the Meatloaf Bakery when you pass where it was.  Crash a wedding at my old apartment building if you’re really bored. I really miss my neighborhood at the moment.)

Transfer to Red Line.  Ride Red Line to Howard.  (I’m going to stop at Granville for the Memories.  This was my first address in Chicago – even if I technically wasn’t supposed to receive mail because I wasn’t on the lease.)

[uwmarchives]

Black History Month Pop-Up Exhibit: Public Education in Milwaukee, 1950-2025

UWM Archives’ new Black History Month pop-up exhibit highlights the more than half-century of organizing for integrated public schools in one of the most segregated cities in the United States.  

The exhibit traces the fortunes of public education in Milwaukee from the early, militant organizing of Lloyd Barbee’s Milwaukee United School Integration Committee (MUSIC) through a stagnating desegregation program and flashpoints over school closings in the 1980s, to the rise of voucher schools and privatization since the 1990s. The exhibit also highlights how organizing to “Defend Democracy” and “Protect Our Public Schools” from takeovers since the 2010s sit within a longer activist vision of “Freedom and Independence” and “true equality of educational opportunities.”  

📸: MUSIC calls on Milwaukee parents to “Keep Your Children Out of School” and send them to a Freedom Day School instead. Call Number: MUSIC Records, Milwaukee Mss 5.

📸: A “Freedom School Certificate” certifies that a student “took an active part in this historic battle for equal education and human dignity.” Call Number: MUSIC Records, Milwaukee Mss 5.

📸: A flier from Blacks for Two-Way Integration shows how organizers kept up the pressure even after the adoption of a formal desegregation plan, protesting that the burden of integration rested primarily on students and families of color. Agitating for integration that was “two-way or no-way,” students, families, and community organizations defended neighborhood schools, autonomy, and the freedom to choose for students and families of color. Call Number: Metropolitan Integration Research Center Records, UWM Mss 332.

Drawing on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, we also invite visitors to respond to the exhibit by sharing their hopes for the future of public education in Milwaukee.

Drop by anytime during library open hours in February, and be sure to visit other stellar Black History Month pop-up exhibits at UWM Special Collections and the American Geographical Society Library!

[mercerharlan]

Cold Spring Park neighborhood of Milwaukee

November 2018

[telekineticseance]

NEIGHBORS

kinktober day five: sweat

pairing: doug remer x f! reader

summary: you have an attraction to your neighbor who walks his dog every day

genre: smut

word count: 2062

cw: fingering (f!receiving), unprotected sex

author's note: finished this at like midnight last night because i procrastinated so much on it

Moving to Milwaukee was one of the worst decisions you could’ve made. I mean you grew up there so deep down it was home, but when you finally moved away it was like fresh air. Only for you to be stuck moving back when you realized living in a bigger city would be too much on your own, so your parents helped you find a small rental house and helped you move back home.

The most interesting part about moving back, although you hated to admit it, was the fact that you could sit outside and watch your neighbor walk his dog every day. You didn’t know his name but around the same time every day, your neighbor from a few houses down would walk his rottweiler around the block, giving you a chance to sneak a peek at him. Sometimes he would walk him with a tank top, sometimes a baggy shirt, but most of the time because of the Summer heat, he’d walk shirtless.

Over time you started to get less secretive when you would wait for him to pass by. What started as the occasional peek through the blinds, became a sitting on your porch pretending to enjoy the fresh air.

You’d watch as he’d walk by, usually with a pair of headphones connected to a walkman as the brown curls on his hair bounced with every step. Sometimes he’d whistle so you were able to know what he was listening to but others he’d walk in silence.

You always thought about maybe going over to introduce yourself, or making it so you would have to talk to him some way or another, but mostly you just watched. But today you decided to try something different.

The temperature was pushing 100 degrees today so you decided to walk out to your yard in nothing but the smallest bikini you could find in your drawers before taking a towel and laying it on the grass, sunbathing on top.

You lie on your stomach, pretending to read a book through your sunglasses, constantly looking between the pages and your watch, checking the time anxiously.

And then, there he was. White basketball shorts that sat low on his hips, no shirt so you could see his waist. and his lower back dimples when he’d turn around. You continued to pretend to read from your book as you glanced over the pages, watching him.

It didn’t take long before he noticed you too, practically stopping in his tracks as he didn’t hide his staring. You decided to make a show of it, putting down the book before sitting up on your knees, stretching your arms as you did so.

When you opened your eyes from the stretch you suddenly saw his dog, charging full force at you making you squeal slightly before the dog jumped on you, smothering your face with dog kisses. You started to giggle as you pet the dog before your neighbor ran across the street yelling the dog’s name as he did.

“I’m sorry about him. He doesn’t really like people except for me and my roommate.” He told you, laughing as he grabbed the leash to his dog. “Oh it’s okay he’s nothing but a big sweetheart. What’s his name?”

“Mr.Yes.” He told you proudly, making you raise an eyebrow.

“Mr.Yes?”

“Long story,” He paused as the dog pulled away from you, standing next to the man’s legs before he crouched down meeting eye level with you, “I’m Remer. Well Doug Remer but everyone just calls me Remer.”

Doug Remer.

“Nice to meet you, Remer. I’m Y/N.” You introduced yourself, holding out your hand for him to take. It didn't take him long before he took your hand in his, giving it a firm shake.

“I haven't seen you around before. Are you new to the area?” He asked, looking around slightly before returning his gaze back to you.

“Milwaukee? No. The neighborhood? Yeah I just moved a couple months ago. Kind of keep to myself. After all, I do live alone.”

“Alone? No boyfriend in the picture?”

You shook your head in response, subtly playing with one of the strings on your bikini top that ties it in the front, “Nope. Just me all by myself. What about you? Girlfriend?”

Remer took his attention away from your chest, not doing the best at hiding his stare, “No just me and my roommate Coop. Not that we’re together. He’s a guy and I’m not into guys in that way.” He scoffed lightly at the end of his sentence.

“You should definitely come over some time then. Maybe we can have a drink and get to know each other?” You asked, biting your bottom lip, letting your eyes roam his torso. I mean if he could stare at you, then why couldn’t you do the same for him.

“Well if you’re free today I can finish the walk for him and then come back over. If that’s okay with you of course.” He asked, slowly standing up before you followed, standing up straight as well. “Sure that sounds great actually.”

“I’ll see you soon then.” He responded, giving you a big smile as you noticed the large gap in between his two teeth. Not that you minded it was actually cute to look at.

“See you soon.”

You watched as he turned around, the occasion glance over his shoulder as he walked away continuing his walk.

——

You didn’t take long after Remer left to go inside and clean yourself up a little before changing into a pair of shorts and a tank top. Shortly after you were finished getting ready and tidying up, you heard a knock on the door.

You took one last look at yourself before you walked to the door and opened it to reveal Remer. The look of him made you freeze for just a moment. It was clear he finished the walk and headed over without even putting on a shirt. You couldn’t help but stare at the beads of sweat that rested on his chest, the way his skin glistened ever so slightly.

“Come in.” You quickly told him, trying to peel your eyes away but you found it hard to.

Remer walked past you as you shut the door behind him, “You have a pretty nice house. I like the decorations.”

You watched as Remer looked around, occasionally pausing for a moment as he looked at a different picture before shrugging and moving onto another.

“How long have you lived in Milwaukee?” You asked, moving to the couch before sitting down. Remer turned to look at you before walking over to the couch himself to sit next to you, “I grew up here. Me and Coop, my roommate, grew up being close to one another so after high school we ended up moving into our own house. Not as easy as we thought it would be though.”

“You’re telling me,” You spoke softly with a small laugh before looking at Remer again, seeing the confused look on his face, “I moved to a bigger city for a little bit before realizing it wasn’t the best and moved back here.”

“So you’re kind of like a city girl then?”

You giggled slightly, “I guess I am. Or more like was.”

He shrugged, “I for one really like city girls. Or past ones.”

You felt a blush rise to your cheeks, “Oh really?”

He nodded, a smile on his face as he looked at you. You quickly adjusted yourself on the couch slightly, grabbing the remote. “Do you wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Or something..” He mumbled under his breath but just loud enough to where you could still kind of hear him.

“What was that?” You asked, turning your attention back to him. He continued holding eye contact with you, shrugging a bit as he looked at you. “Or something.”

You watched as his hand moved slightly closer to you, causing your heart to race. It didn’t take long before you felt Remer move close to you, caressing your face before putting his lips to yours.

The beating of your heart felt like it was beating so fast that it would explode. You felt Remer’s hands run down to your waist, pulling you closer to him as the two of you kissed. His tongue ran across your lips, begging for an entrance in which you granted, allowing his tongue to roam the inside of your mouth.

You let your handles tangle themselves into Remer’s hair, the curls wrapping around your fingers, getting close enough to him so your chests were pressed against one another.

Remer leaned you back on the couch, keeping your lips attached as he hovered over you, moving his hand from your waist to your thigh, gripping it as his other hand moved to the arm of the couch above you, using it to prop himself up.

He pulled away, keeping his eyes locked on yours, “I um..did you wanna stop?”

You shook your hand, moving your own hands from his hair to his face, caressing it as you felt the stubble underneath your palms, “No I want this.”

He nodded with a small smirk before leaning down to kiss you once more, letting his hand trail up to the waistband of your shorts before giving them a small tug, pulling them down to your ankles.

His lips started to leave kisses along your inner thighs as he looked up at you, “You know something?” Remer asked before he used his hand to slide your panties to the side, using his fingers to rub at your clit.

“W-What?” You moaned out, gasping under his touch.

“I’ve seen you watching me on my walks. I just didn’t know how to talk to you.” He spoke before dipping his fingers in between your folds, making you arch your back. You felt almost embarrassed by the fact he noticed you but too overwhelmed now to have any other emotion than what was going on in the moment.

He curled his fingers causing you to arch your back slightly, letting out another moan. As Remer pulled out his fingers you let out a small whine but it didn’t last long before he soon pulled off your panties completely, quickly pulling off his shorts to reveal the lack of boxers from underneath.

You couldn’t help but look at his length, you watched him as he wiped off the bit of precum off the tip before stroking himself a few times.

He kneeled between your legs, positioning his tip along your entrance as he stroked himself a few more times, before he slid his length in. He gasped as he slid in before letting out a soft whine, the sound of him sending chills throughout you.

He started thrusting slowly and carefully, pinning your arms above your head. Your toes curled from the feeling as he continued thrusting, him pausing every few thrusts as he would hit your g spot.

“Fuck,” he whined out, putting his lips to yours once more. The two of you were moaning messes into the kiss.

You wrapped your legs around his waist as his thrusts quickened. The room started to smell from the two of you, your sweat building up with the quicker he went, your face starting to heat up as you saw Remer’s curls stick to his forehead.

His eyes were scrunched together while his mouth parted, his grip still tight on your hands above you.

“Doug I’m so close,” You breathed out, your body heat just growing more.

“Come for me.”

It didn’t take long after that before you came. Your toes curling once more, as your back arched, the feeling of his thrusts starting to slow as you came around his cock.

Remer pulled out shortly after, pulling his hand away from yours as he stroked himself a couple times. You watched as the liquid spewed from his tip, the drops landing on your stomach as they did.

Your eyes flicked from his cock to his face, seeing the way he whined, the way he shuddered as he came.

When he finished, his eyes fluttered back open as he looked at you, the sweat beads dripping down his face and body, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

“That was…”

“Amazing?”

“Yeah..”

[entropyblog]

Greenbelt Maryland. Or, how America almost solved housing only to abandon it.

**I AM NOT AN EXPERT! I AM JUST AN ENTHUSIST! DO NOT TREAT MY OPINIONS/SPECULATION AS EDUCATION!**

During the Depression America faced a housing crisis that rhymes with but differs from our own. It’s different in that there wasn’t a supply issue, there were loads of houses in very desirable areas, but they were still unaffordable as people’s incomes collapsed causing a deflationary spiral. While the housing supply subtly grew and succeeded demand, people simply couldn’t pay the meager rents and mortgages. Herbert Hoover failed to manage the Depression, while his inaction is greatly exaggerated, his policy of boosting the economy with works projects and protecting banks from runs failed and the depression only got more pronounced in his term. In comes Franklin Roosevelt, a progressive liberal much like his distant and popular cousin/uncle-in-law Teddy. Franklin’s plan was to create a large safety net for people to be able to be economically viable even if they’re otherwise poor. These reforms are called the New Deal and they did many controversial things like giving disabled and retired people welfare, giving farmers conditioned subsidies to manipulate the price of food, a works program to build/rebuild vital infrastructure, etc. One of these programs was the USHA (a predecessor of America’s HUD), an agency created to build and maintain public housing projects with the goal of creating neighborhoods with artificially affordable rents so people who work low-wage jobs or rely on welfare can be housed.

In this spirit, the agency started experimenting with new and hopefully efficient housing blueprints and layouts. If you ever see very large apartment towers or antiquated brick low-rise townhouses in America, they might be these. The USHA bought land in many large and medium-sized cities to build “house-in-park” style apartments, which is what they sound like. Putting apartment buildings inside green spaces so residents can be surrounded by greenery and ideally peacefully coexist. Three entire towns were built with these ideas outside three medium-sized cities that were hit hard by the depression; Greenbelt outside DC, Greenhills outside Cincinnati, and Greendale outside Milwaukee. The idea was to move people out of these crowded cities into these more sustainable and idyllic towns. There were many catches though, the USHA planned for these towns to be all-white, they used to inspect the houses for cleanliness, they required residents to be employed or on Social Security (which basically meant retired or disabled), they also had an income limit and if your income exceeded that limit you were given a two-month eviction notice, and you were expected to attend town meetings at least monthly. While the towns didn’t have religious requirements they did only build protestant churches. Which is an example of discrimination by omission. While a Catholic, Jew, Muslim, etc could in theory move into town they also couldn’t go to a Catholic church, synagogue, or Islamic center without having to extensively travel. Things planned communities leave out might indicate what kind of people planned communities want to leave out. Basically, the whole thing was an experiment in moving Americans into small direct-democracy suburbs as opposed to the then-current system of crowded cities and isolated farm/mine towns. This type of design wasn’t without precedent, there were famously company towns like Gary and Pullman which both existed outside Chicago. But those lacked the autonomy and democracy some USHA apparatchiks desired.

The green cities were a series of low-rise apartments housing over a hundred people each, they were short walks from a parking lot and roads, and walking paths directly and conveniently led residents to the town center which had amenities and a shopping district. Greenbelt in particular is famous for its art deco shopping complex, basically an early mall where business owners would open stores for the townspeople. These businesses were stuck being small, given the income requirements, but it was encouraged for locals to open a business to prove their entrepreneurial spirit. Because city affairs were elected at town meetings the city was able to pull resources to eventually build their own amenities the USHA didn’t originally plan for like a public swimming pool or better negotiated garbage collection.

These three cities were regarded as a success by the USHA until World War II happened and suddenly they showed flaws given the shift in focus. These towns housed poor people who barely if at all could afford a car, so semi-isolated towns outside the city became redundant and pointless. The USHA also had to keep raising the income requirement since the war saw a spike in well-paying jobs which made the town unsustainable otherwise. During the war and subsequent welfare programs to help veterans, these green cities became de facto retirement and single-mother communities for a few years as most able-bodied men were drafted or volunteered. Eventually, the USDA would make the towns independent, after the war they raised the income limit yet again and slowly the towns repopulated. As cars became more common and suburbanization became a wider trend these towns would be less noticeably burdensome and were eventually interpreted as just three out of hundreds of small suburban towns that grew out of major cities. They were still all-white and the town maintained cleanliness requirements; after all they lived in apartments it just takes one guy’s stink-ass clogged toilet to ruin everyone’s day.

By the 1950’s these towns were fully independent. Greendale and Greenhills voted to privatize their homes and get rid of the income limit all together so the towns can become more normal. Greenhills, Ohio still has many of these USHA-era houses and apartments, all owned by a series of corporations and private owners. Greendale, Wisconsin property owners have demolished most of these old houses and restructured their town government so most traces of its founding are lost. But Greenbelt, Maryland still maintains a lot of its structure to this day. Greenbelt has privatized some land and buildings, but most of the original USHA apartments are owned by the Greenbelt Homes, Inc cooperative which gives residents co-ownership of the building they live in and their payments mostly go to maintenance. Because Greenbelt was collectively owned the House Un-American Activities Committee would blacklist and put on trial most of Greenbelt’s residents and officials. Though they didn’t find much evidence of communist influence, the town was a target of the red scare by the DMV area, residents were discriminated, blacklisted, and pressured into selling their assets. While Greenbelt did commodify some of the town, the still existing co-ownership shows the town’s democratic initiative to maintain its heritage. The green cities desegregated in the 50’s and 60’s depending on state law, Greenbelt was the last to desegregate under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, while discrimination persisted for years by the 1980’s the town would become half non-white, today the town is 47% black and 10% Asian.

Though these towns largely integrated with a privatized and suburbanized America, they do stand as a memorial to an idea of American urbanism that died. They were designed for walkability and were planned to be more democratic and egalitarian towns, with the conditions that came with segregation and government oversight. You can’t ignore the strict standards and racism in their history, but you can say that about many towns. How do you think America would be different if more cities had green suburbs that were more interconnected and designed for community gatherings?

[hometoursandotherstuff]

1889 Gothic Victorian in Milwaukee, WI looks like a little castle. It has 3bds, 2.5ba, & is $494K.

First thing I notice about the entrance hall is that it's bright. Usually, a Victorian main hall is dark. The railings are original and the wood is light, which is rare.

What a cute sitting room. It's also bright and it has 2 sets of pocket doors, plus a beautiful fireplace.

The shape of this room is also unusual. I like the ceiling fixtures, they look original.

The high ceiling in this room is magnificent. And. look at the 2nd fl. windows. Love the fireplace and the light fixture.

The decor in this house is lacking. It can be stunning. Look at this.

I'm not sure if the the architectural feature between the windows is original or added, but who cares, it's lovely. You can see that there are gothic lighting fixtures high on the wall.

The dining room is spacious and quite lovely.

The flooring is beautiful and I like the way the kitchen is open. There are more pocket doors in here. I've never seen this many.

The kitchen is wonderful. I can't get over the interesting ceilings in this house. I like the counter here and the two chandeliers above it.

This is so well done. No new built-in shelves. They have vintage pieces, beautiful lighting, and such a cozy look even though it's large.

Look at the industrial style island and how they had the ovens set into that furniture piece. I love the different lights on the coffered ceiling.

A Victorian screen door opens to a porch. I wonder if the butler conveys.

Here in the half bath there's exposed pipe, a sliding door and a sink made out of an industrial cart.

This home is so beautiful and thoughtfully done.

Look at the light. That is cool, and I love the stained glass window in the ceiling.

Isn't this a gorgeous porch?

I love this house, it's gorgeous.

Large fenced yard is part patio and garden. I like the casual garden look, too. It's not perfectly pruned.

Looks like a nice neighborhood and the house is on a .11 acre corner lot.

https://theizhimangroup.com/properties/3402-w-saint-paul-ave-milwaukee-wi-us-53208-1881254

[uwmspeccoll]

A Cheerful-Sparrow Feathursday

Among the most cheerful birds in our neighborhood are the common House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis). I wake up every morning with the House Sparrows on my porch telling me to chirrup! And as I walk to work, the Juncos flitting about close to the ground, with their white tail bars and their tiny chipping calls, just starts the day off right.

Both are sparrows, but the House Sparrow, a year-long resident here, is an Old World sparrow (family Passeridae), introduced into North America in the 1850s.The Junco is an indigenous New World sparrow (family Passerellidae). They breed much further north in summer, and while they do winter in our region, in Milwaukee I tend to see them only in spring and fall as they move through. For me, they are harbingers of the changing seasons.

The images shown here are from a 1930 painting by American nature artist Walter Alois Weber reproduced in Bird Portraits in Color by the American physician and ornithologist Thomas Sadler Roberts and published by the University of Minnesota Press in the 1934. The volume includes 92 color plates by five wildlife artists illustrating 295 North American species. 

The two birds in the upper left of this plate are male breeding adult and fall immature male Juncos; in the upper right are male and female House Sparrows; at bottom on the ground are female breeding adult and juvenile Juncos.

View other posts from Bird Portraits in Color.

View more Feathursday posts.

-- MAX, Head, Special Collections

[mariacallous]

Why Trump is wrong about crime

In Tuesday night’s debate, former President Donald Trump reprised a frequent campaign talking point, asserting that “crime here is up and through the roof.” When ABC News moderator David Muir cited FBI evidence that overall violent crime had declined, Trump countered, “They didn’t include the cities with the worst crime! It was fraud!”

This was classic Trump. Over the last eight years, Trump has fanned fears of violence in America by conflating crime, immigration and cities. In his 2016 inaugural address, Trump painted an apocalyptic picture of “American carnage” with “mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities,” denouncing “the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives.”

At the Republican convention in July, Trump called the nation’s capital “a horrible killing field.” His running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, proclaimed Chicago, the site of the Democratic National Convention, a “combat zone.” Yet data from police chiefs of major U.S. cities shows violent crime declined significantly this year in 69 large cities, including in Washington, D.C. and Chicago.

Trump’s rhetoric about “inner cities” and “blighted communities” is suffused with a long history of racial and ethnic prejudice. It also ignores that crime is not just an urban problem, but affects families and businesses in suburbs and rural areas too, across red and blue America. Yet the city versus “rest of America” rhetoric makes it hard to achieve effective, bipartisan solutions that improve safety across all communities.

In 2020, for example, the murder rate rose roughly equally in cities run by Republicans and Democrats, with Republican-led states reporting some of the nation’s highest murder rates. The same year, rural areas reported 40% higher gun deaths per capita than in metropolitan areas. Crimes related to substance abuse have also long been higher in rural communities.

To compare crime across cities, suburbs and rural areas, we looked at three states: North Carolina, West Virginia and Ohio, analyzing FBI data from 2019 through 2022, the most recent full year for which data is available for rural areas. FBI crime data isn’t perfect, but it’s the best measure we have for comparing crime trends between urban and rural areas. What it shows is that some suburbs and rural towns had significantly higher per capita crime rates than in nearby cities.

Take violent crime: In 2022 in North Carolina, the suburb of Wadesboro and the rural town of Laurinburg had higher per capita violent crime rates than the nearby city of Charlotte. Some suburbs and rural towns across the three states had higher violent crime rates than Chicago, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., which have been the target of Republican criticism.

Property crime in Laurinburg exceeded the rate in nearby Charlotte. In the same period in West Virginia, property crime rate skyrocketed in the suburb of Nitro, while it fell 27% in the city of Huntington. In Ohio, suburban Whitehall had a higher property crime rate in 2022 than the city of Columbus. In short, crime isn’t just a “city problem.”

Despite partisan rhetoric about “defunding the police,” spending on police has increased in the overwhelming majority of U.S. cities since President Joe Biden took office, and blue states that voted for Biden in 2020 spent 33% more per capita on police than red states that voted for Trump. Policies that decrease income inequality, reduce evictions and improve living conditions in high-poverty neighborhoods have been shown to reduce crime by reducing some factors that cause it.

Unfortunately, “tough on crime” rhetoric has shut down bipartisan conversations about criminal justice reform and stymied solutions. Some Republican-led states are seeking to control cities rather than support cities. Mississippi’s governor last year extended state control to criminal justice in a majority Black city, Alabama lawmakers have proposed a law allowing state officials to appoint local police chiefs and Missouri mandated that Kansas City spend at least 25% of its budget on police funding.

Rather than dictate policy to cities, state and local leaders should cooperate across urban and rural regions. In rural West Virginia – a region hit hard by the opioid epidemic – leaders have been working to help find employment for residents affected by the drug crisis. In Detroit, local leaders are focusing on public health programs to reduce violence, and last year the city experienced its lowest murder rate in 57 years.

The reality is that investing in economic, social and civic well-being of communities reduces crime. Safe streets and social cohesion, in turn, fuel economic growth and private investment that nurture secure, vibrant communities.

Whoever wins in November, our leaders must work together across parties so all American communities can be safe and prosperous.