Protecting the Third Ward

The recognition of the Third Ward as a National Historic District is a positive thing. This area is full of industrial history, and most of the buildings reflect a time of the past. The Third Ward has been made into one of Milwaukee’s “go-to” places, and its overall appearance is quite appealing compared to other areas in Milwaukee, such as some of the areas surrounding Marquette. I often hear stories about how this area used to be run-down and full of crime. The fact that it has been turned into the upscale district it has become today represents a promising future for other areas. The value of this area has also increased, and it shows no signs of regressing.

I found many strengths and weaknesses for the Design Guidelines for the Third Ward. First, the inclusion of public parks, and a park size minimum, is important to any urban environment because it allows people to connect to nature (Piwoni 17). The remaining strengths are associated with the façade of the buildings. I think it is a good idea to have large, decorative, transparent storefront windows because they are welcoming and appealing to shoppers (16, 66). When I walk past a building that is all boarded up, like the ones on Broadway right before The Wicked Hop, I feel very uncomfortable and cannot wait to get past that point. I get this same feeling when I walk past a blank street façade or enter a store through a back alley, so I am glad that these are also discouraged (36, 70). It is a good idea to keep the buildings as intact and true to their original aesthetic as possible. This also corresponds to new buildings, which should be able to fit in with the façade of the rest of the neighborhood (30). By doing this, a sense of cohesiveness is created. Another strength is having renovation projects stay true to the original character of a building. A perfect example of this is the old Walgreens building the Marriott wants to consume on Wisconsin Avenue. This building looks like a disaster because it has so many different time periods and façades attached to it. If it had been protected from the beginning, we may have seen a totally different building standing there today. In addition, it is great that the Third Ward is so accepting of art. Public pieces, murals, and street banners on sidewalks offer a sense of security and sophistication (80, 90-91. The fact that existing ghost signs are protected is also a strong a strong guideline. These visuals are not only interesting, but they also reflect the history of Milwaukee, and the businesses that helped make the city what it is today.

Despite these strengths, I also found the Design Guidelines to have some pretty significant weaknesses. The first thing that caught my attention was the set up of parking in the middle of the street, and using it as a means to encourage people to become part of the environment (22). While this sounds nice, from my experience I have found these parking setups to be a pain. They are either always full, or backed up from someone driving very slowly trying to find an open spot; people also have a tendency to not pay attention to their surroundings as they drive through them. Next, having sidewalk seating at cafes has always been an awkward experience for me. While it is meant to draw people in, I am always uncomfortable walking through the middle of the table setup, and having people stare and me and my friends as we walk through as if we were interrupting them (18). To avoid this, I usually end up walking on the street next to the sidewalk, which can be dangerous if someone is driving and not paying attention. These are the biggest weaknesses I found because I have had negative experiences with them. They have actually deterred me from certain areas because I did not want to deal with their inconvenience or discomfort.

I think it would be a good idea for all districts to have guidelines. The biggest reason for this is because it is nice to be in a place where everything seems to go well together, and there is a sense of community and aesthetic appeal. The only problem with this is deciding how strict the guidelines should be because this sometimes hinders the ability for new, unique buildings to be created. In an extreme case, if we preserve everything from the past, we will not have anything to show for our current time because too many things will have restrictions. However, this is unlikely, and overall I do think it is a good idea to have these guidelines so that we can protect the architecture of our past in order to showcase our heritage for the future.

Works Cited:

Piwoni, James. "The Historic Third Ward: Neighborhood Design Guidelines."GoMilwaukee. City of Milwaukee, 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. http://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/cityDCD/planning/plans/ThirdWard/pdfs/ThirdWardDesign.pdf.

Image: http://www.december.com/places/mke/album/catalanosqphotos.html