A light house

The only other time I had visited this park was when a friend of mine needed a lift to the Lake Park Bistro to pick up a gift card for her mother. We explored a little bit, but not nearly as much as what we did the other day. I was pleased to learn about the Lake Park Friends and how much they have done for the park. I recently worked with Juneau Park Friends to design a website and brochure for them to help get donations to renovate the park, and it was nice to see that there was similar groups among the Park People that are doing well.

I believe it is important to keep green spaces in beautiful condition. I recently read about a study that said in areas where 90% of the environment around the home is green, only 10.2% of the residents feel unhealthy, as compared with areas in which 10% of the environment is green, where 15.5% of the residents feel unhealthy. So there is some sort of correlation there.

It's also pleasing to know that Milwaukee brought in Frederick Law Olmsted to design this park. I believe this shows a great deal of thought went into the design of the park, and that it was important to have something beautiful to contrast the urban life that Milwaukee provides.

The park has been around for a long time and I enjoyed learning about the history of it and the lighthouse. It was interesting to learn that they had to move the lighthouse at one point due to the deteriorating bluff, and the lions bridges that have recently been brought back to their original structural integrity. I had never been up to a lighthouse before and was by far my favorite part of the field trip. The docents were very knowledgeable on the area, I just wished they would clean up a few of those cobwebs once in a while.

I might argue that preserving green spaces is far more important than the preservation of areas like Mount Vernon. It is important to have parks like this as the city expands and the population grows. Spaces like Lake Park provide glorious scenic views and wide open spaces that you can really get lost it. I almost forgot we were in the city last week when we were walking around. That was some serious alliteration there. For those reasons I think Lake Park deserved to have people like the Park people looking after it.

Westert GP, Schellevis FG, Bakker DH de. et al Monitoring health inequalities through general practice: the second Dutch national survey of general practice. European Journal of Public Health 2005;15:59–65.

blog numero six (sprawl)

For my topic I have chosen to look at sprawl and contrast that to urban renewal and preservation. I find it very interesting that more and more people continue to spread outward from cities and are forced to drive more and more. If you choose to live in the suburbs you have to own a car to get anywhere. This is contrasted with preservation and renewal in the city. Milwaukee is a perfect example to show places like the 3rd ward that have sprouted numerous apartments and condos out of warehouses. Creating livable conditions out of nothing in a centralized location is ideal for growth in my opinion rather than spreading outward. The city supports bicycle and pedestrian traffic and is completely feasible to walk anywhere you want to go. In fact just today I put in almost 4 miles of walking. This is something you can simply not due in the suburbs. There are no sidewalks, limited bicycle lanes and great distances between shops and stores that are pushed back from the street to accommodate the insane amount of parking spaces needed to funnel people into their stores. I plan to focus on Brookfield, the city I lived in for 18 years, and contrast the city panning that has made it impossible to live there without a car with the urban life I have grown to love here in Milwaukee.

Lake Park Friends, Indians, and Trolls

I knew that the North Point Lighthouse existed but had no idea Lake Park was an actual established park within Milwaukee. I was surprised and excited to see such a beautiful ‘natural’ area within Milwaukee as being part of a preservation project. I realize that the park was ‘planned’ but if it hadn’t been ‘planned’, there might not have been a park there in the first place.

I was excited to see that Indian mounds within the area were being preserved, other than the fact that the plaque on the one we took a look at was placed right on top of the mound. Native Americans were a huge part of Milwaukee’s past, and I think that it’s important that current and future generations acknowledge the past which their present and future is built upon.

The North Point Lighthouse, however, was somewhat of a disappointment to me. I was more impressed with the outside of the lighthouse and the surrounding landscaped area than the inside of the lighthouse itself. The inside seemed overly re-made and modernized. It didn’t help that there was a flat screen television sitting in the front room. I’m sure the original keepers didn’t have such a thing. Another thing that was disappointing was that a lot of the stuff inside the lighthouse was ‘remakes’ of what MIGHT have been the original. Nothing seemed to match the time-period.

Despite of my cynical attitude towards the renovated and ‘restored’ lighthouse, it is nice to see that the lighthouse was able to stick around. The landmark stands for Milwaukee’s past history and its architecture adds to the landscape surrounding Lake Park.

Side note!:

Trolls under the bridge?

I took a picture of what appears to be a barred window built into the side of the bridge. This was intriguing to me because I’ve never seen such a thing. I tried doing some outside research on the subject but wasn’t even sure what I should be researching. I speculate trolls.

Getting back on track now. I think that preserving a park/natural environment is as equally important as preserving an area such as Mount Vernon. Each destination holds its own antiquity and value. Mount Vernon is significant to the founding of our country and it is fascinating to those who are able to go and visit the area. A natural preserved area is important because as populations grow and as civilization progresses, natural environments are dwindling away, and it is important that we realize the importance and significance of nature.

Without groups such as the Lake Park Friends and the North Point Lighthouse Friends, preservation projects like these wouldn’t be able to exist. If there was no one who stood up for their beliefs in preserving the natural environment or built environment in Milwaukee, areas like these probably wouldn’t exist. Often times we get caught up in moving forward and making progress towards the future that the past gets forgotten, and important historic landmarks and natural areas become destroyed.

Pennsylvania Station

For my topic I am choosing to research the original above ground structure and the demolition of Pennsylvania Station, in New York City. As the major transportation center for commuters travelling in and out of the city, the current above ground structure was completed in 1968 after a bitter and historic battle to save the original and grand above ground station completed in 1910. I want to research the culture, politics, and attitudes about preservation of those on each side of the issue leading to the decision to demolish the original above ground structures. I also want to understand the processes leading to the decision to demolish the train station commonly called Penn Station. My initial thoughts are that destroying Penn Station was a huge mistake and a tremendous loss to the architectural landscape in New York City.

Park

Preserving a park is as important as saving a building like Mount Vernon. When you set aside of land “nature” as a place to go. I saw the first couple episodes of The National Parks: America's Best Idea by Ken Burns and from that I really couple a true appreciation for the park system and what’s behind it.

The first episode talks about Yosemite Valley, Yellowstone how John Muir became their eloquent defender. I did not know who John Muir was before I saw this. Muir’s family moved to Portage, Wisconsin from Scotland and started a farm called Fountain Lake Farm, which is a National Historic Landmark. In 1868 Muir visited Yosemite and fell in love. From that he established the Yosemite area and the Sierra as pristine lands. He is a big reason why we have parks. It is a great documentary! I think we should watch some of it.

Frederick Law Olmsted designed Lake Park. North Point Lighthouse is surrounded by two acres of land, which divided Lake Park into two sections. The park itself has not changed that much from the original design. It is obvious that Lake Park Friends are doing a lot to restore the parts of the park that is not in the best condition. The waterfall that they restore looks and sounds great. Milwaukee has so many great park areas and Lake Park is one on them.

I really enjoyed visiting North Point Lighthouse and the adjourning Keeper’s Quarters. Seeing the second lens that was used was cool. The lens is really not that big, thinking about how far the light needs to shine. I cannot see myself slopping the oil around. Going up and down the ladder and stairs. Seeing more of Keeper’s Quarters would have been nice.

Lake Park

Natural landscapes are special gems that should be preserved. Not only just because they're beautiful but because the public can come and enjoy them, especially in a city like Milwaukee.

I never have been to Lake Park or ever really associated it with preservation. Whenever I passed the Lake Park Bistro Entrance, I thought it was just some rich person's house. When there, I saw lots of people there who jogged, ran, and were doing other activities. I took a second and thought, "wow, this is a gorgeous place, (especially with all the fall colors) I can't believe I have never been here before." With natural landscapes such as this one, I believe it's very important to save such beauties such as this park.

As I looked for pictures of what everything first looked like back in the day, The lighthouse was small and moved several times, then of course it was built taller to overlook all the trees, otherwise, what's the purpose of a lighthouse if you can't even see it?! As I went on, I came across the Lion Bridge, which was my favorite part. Not only because it was gorgeous but because there were lion status, my favorite animal! (haha). Found out they were recently restored which brought back more value to me than they were before. Shows that this part of the park was worth restoring!

With more research that I did, The park was designed by a famous park designer but the name of Olmstead. I didn't even know there were such designers, but this adds to the list of reasons to preserve this park. Without gorgeous parks throughout cities in this state, such as this one, it would look like Nebraska. Flat and boring with a few hills here and there.

Lake Front Park: Its Importance to Thrive

View from the top of North Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse open to the public, provides a 365 degree view of the entire city,

and even reaches sight of the suburbs.

Preservation, I believe, has more of a social connection to buildings rather than natural places within societies outlook. In my eyes, it seems to be more important to maintain parks and continue to build new public spaces that are outdoors. Especially living within the city, there is more of a focus to continue to build, which is important in order to keep up with the growing population as well as the need for certain resources. Though, natural land continues to diminish. Lake Park is a great example of a public space that involves the community and provides a break from the metropolitan area.

The Lion Bridge, newly renovated for the park. Provides a beautiful aesthetic to the lakefront.

Lake Park has many things that are open for the public. Recreationally speaking, the fields for children’s sports stand out the most, but there is also an ice skating rink in the winter as well as bird watching groups, as well as the North Point Lighthouse that is open for tours. Because of the size of the park it is vital for these programs to stay alive. Preserving land seems to be more difficult than buildings in a way that buildings don’t usually have to be used for communal activities, and more often are used as places of business. As long as a preserved building is in use usually it is not seen as a poor choice in preservation. While if land is not in use, at least to me, it would look as if the resources where being wasted, as if something else could go on that land.

I think it helps that the park has a strong history to Milwaukee as well. The Native American burial grounds, even though most were destroyed, are a good reason to use that land in a more natural state. Although, it would not be my first choice to put a little league field right on top of them. The lighthouse as well as the missile detection shelter are also interesting landmarks that fall within the boundaries of the park. It seems to me that since all of the landmarks fell in such close proximity that it only made sense to preserve that land.

Historically speaking when compared to places like Mount Vernon, the park might not stand up against too well. Nothing along the lines of historically famous people affected the area, though there might be something to be said about the lighthouse keepers. I don’t necessarily believe that figureheads like George Washington need to be affiliated in order to preserve something. It doesn’t hurt to have that background, but Lake Park has so much rich history outside of fame that deems it important. The fact that it has thrived for so long, even through the renovations of the lakefront prove that it is an important part of the area. It is nice to have organizations that are so involved with the community and that use the park as a common ground to unify. Lake Park is unique in that there is no other area in Milwaukee that has this much activity that happens solely for the public’s benefit.

Inside of the North Point Lighthouse there are many relics on display. The people that work there have vast knowledge of the

history of the lighthouse as well as the history of the park. Open to the public for tours.

Lake Park

Upon going to Lake Park, although it was not the first time, I never really associated it with preservation. I grew up in Chicago and we had “forest preserves” throughout the entire city in which you could run a whole marathon in the connected parks without ever seeing the city. This is what I associated Lake Park with. There were many people running and doing recreational activities while we were there, and I couldn’t help thinking this was a nice place to be. I believe it is very important to save the natural landscapes and to have rural areas throughout cities. It is beautiful to our health and beautiful to escape to after or before a long day at work.

Natural landscapes are just as important in preservation as Mount Vernon. Without our land and natural resources we could not survive in this world. As people we are always trying to build more to make the most profit, that is why we need to preserve parks. Mount Vernon may have had a president live in its residence, but Lake Park was designed by Olmstead, a famous park designer. Why does it make it any less significant?

The lighthouse was a great start to the park. The docents were very knowledgeable about the history of the lighthouse. It was also funny to see the progression of the North Point Lighthouse. First it was a small shack, and then it was moved, and moved again then made taller because of the trees. It was just very entertaining to hear about all the “well what should we do about that?” every time something changed.

It was greatly appreciated that our tour guide was apart of the Lake Park Friends Association. Without them, the park still could have been in such disrepair and bring in the wrong crowd. The lion bridges were a beautiful sight, especially because they were recently restored. I’m not sure if I enjoyed the original footpath being brought back in, instead of the carriageway. It did seem slightly out of place next to the large concrete landings. The old cannon spot was a nice place to stand, but before finding out that it was made for a cannon, I though it was the perfect place for a bench to watch the sunrise. It was also a pleasure to learn that Music Monday’s had been going on for at least ten years and brings in a lot of money for the park. It was interesting to see the pavilion that will be built for Music Mondays.

The fact that the park was designed by Olmstead makes it significant to preserve and opens up the community to a place that they can get away and see some trees. Without parks in cities, they would just be hills and valleys of concrete and be a mess of people, are natural landscapes are meant to be preserved so we don’t destroy everything.