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Everyone knows who Dr. Fauci is and, not surprisingly, he is the best-selling bobblehead at Milwaukee’s National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum — one of the city’s 17 museums.
The museum rates as high among the many unique and fun attractions in Wisconsin’s largest city. This is a city with a sense of humor. Vogue Magazine called Milwaukee “the Midwest’s coolest and most underrated city.”
The city boasts both a riverfront bronze statue of Gertie the Duck and a Riverwalk bronze of “The Fonz,” plus a stunning waterfront art museum with “moveable wings” boasting a 217-foot wingspan. Of course, Milwaukee is well known for its cheese, beer, and many breweries.
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But there is another Milwaukee treat that is glorified by residents and visitors alike. It is frozen custard. The city is known as the “Unofficial Frozen Custard Capital of the World,” with more frozen custard shops per capita than anywhere else on the planet.
The city is the birthplace and world headquarters of Harley-Davison. Visitors are warmly welcomed on the Harley campus that includes a lively museum as well as a restaurant and bar.
Summer visitors can enjoy expansive sandy beaches. When you imagine a beach vacation you probably don’t imagine Milwaukee but the “third coast” is home to 1,400 acres of beaches and parkland adjacent to Lake Michigan. Bradford Beach is downtown and the Travel Channel named it one of the top city beaches.
Summerfest, known as the Big Gig, is the world’s largest music festival. The festival runs over three weekends (June 23-25, June 30-July 2, and July 7-9) and features more than 1,000 live performances, 12 stages, and attracts more than 900,000 guests every year thanks to the combination of top musical acts and its perfect lakeside location.
This is a sports city with major league baseball — Milwaukee Brewers; basketball — Milwaukee Bucks; and indoor soccer — Milwaukee Wave; and outdoor soccer — Milwaukee Torrent. Baseball fans have no worries about rain since the Milwaukee Brewers play rain or shine because of American Family Field’s retractable roof.
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Harley-Davidson brings worldwide attention and fame to the city where the company was founded and became an iconic American brand.
“People come from all over the world to our campus and museum,” explained Bill Davidson, vice president and great grandson of one of the company’s founders. “It was 1903 when the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle was sold out of a wooden shed that served as our factory.”
That wooden shed has been recreated as part of the museum exhibits. The museum is housed in what was once the expanded factory. Much of the museum displays the company’s collection of historic Harleys but there are also exhibits on racing bikes and the Experience Gallery where everyone is invited to sit on a Harley motorcycle and pretend to be a biker.
There’s live music on Thursdays May-September. If you have a motorcycle license there are free demo rides during the same months on Saturdays.
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The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum opened three years ago and houses the world’s largest collection of bobbleheads. Mark your calendars: It is too late for this year, but National Bobblehead Day is celebrated on January 7. There are more than 20,000 bobbleheads on display including some local favorites including Josh Allen and Jim Kelly.
“The first known bobblehead dates back to 1765 in a famous portrait of Queen Charlotte,” explained Phil Sklar, co-founder, who clearly enjoys sharing his bobblehead tidbits. “There are two Chinese nodding head figures in the background of that painting — what we call bobbleheads today.”
There are 12 different versions of Dr. Fauci in the hall and more than 50,000 of his bobbles have been sold. For the person who has everything, the Bobblehead Museum can even create a personalized bobblehead.
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A river cruise through downtown along the Milwaukee River to Lake Michigan is a must do for all ages. The three-mile long RiverWalk follows the Milwaukee River through downtown neighborhoods.
Our guide pointed out the many cream-colored brick buildings along the river that led to the city’s nickname “Cream City.”
If the timing is right, when the tour boat arrives on the lake front you can witness another unique Milwaukee sight. It is the opening and closing of the Burke Brise Soleil, the amazing moveable, wing-like sunscreen that rests on top of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s vaulted, glass-enclosed Windhover Hall.
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The sunscreen has a wingspan comparable to a Boeing 747-400 and its two ultrasonic wind sensors automatically close the wings if the wind speed reaches 23 mph. The wings open at 10 am Tuesday-Sunday and then close and reopen at noon and close again at 5 pm.
The art museum is the largest in the state and houses a collection of more than 30,000 works of art and holds one of the largest collections of works by Wisconsin native Georgia O’Keeffe.
Along the voyage we got a close-up of a bronze statue of Gertie the Duck who became a city icon back in 1945 when she was discovered nesting on wood pilings under the Wisconsin Avenue bridge. The story of her heroic efforts to hatch her ducklings became an inspiration for many war-weary Americans near the end of World War II.
Her story captivated the city, the country and soon became an international story. She was featured in Life Magazine. Children’s books about Gertie were published and a Gertie toy was created. Finally in 1997, the sculpture was installed on the side of the bridge as a memorial to the plucky duck.
Nearby is another popular bronze statue along the river. It pays homage to Arthur Fonzarelli aka “Fonzie,” the king of cool from Happy Days, the popular sitcom set in 1950s Milwaukee. Standing five foot six inches just like Henry Winkler, who portrayed the Fonz, this statue attracts many visitors who want to wrap their arms around him or mimic his thumbs-up pose. Everyone wants to take a photo. During the summer there is patio furniture set out so you can lounge with the Fonz by the water.
Kayaks are available for rent if you want to paddle yourselves down the river. Fishing is big on Lake Michigan and there are many charter options if you want to get out on the lake. This is a big lake and that means big fish such as steelhead, trout, coho and chinook salmon.
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The Historic Third Ward area is adjacent to downtown and is bound by the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan. It was originally settled by Irish immigrants and today is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the city’s oldest center of commerce. The Ward developed a reputation for colorful fistfights and became known as the “Bloody Third.”
Its history was shaped by the 1892 Great Third Ward Fire that devastated 16 square blocks of vital riverfront commerce area. When it was over, nearly 2,000 people, mostly Irish immigrant laborers, were left homeless. Reconstruction began almost immediately and within 30 years the district was rebuilt into the bustling district that it had been.
The area has experienced a renaissance as a revitalized mixed-use neighborhood. It is home to the city’s highest concentration of art galleries, award-winning restaurants, specialty stores, the Milwaukee Public Market, as well as condos, office buildings, and industrial space.
The city’s airport boasts the world’s only “Recombobulation Area” signs located just beyond the security checkpoints. Actually, recombobulation is not even a word but that did not matter to Barry Bateman, the now retired airport director. He made up the word and suggested the signage to add some comic relief to what can be a tense aspect of air travel.
“He understood that traveling can be stressful and the signs are intended to put a smile on people’s faces,” explained Harold Mester, the airport’s public relations manager.
“Whether it’s a word or not, I think we can all agree we all feel discombobulated after going through a security checkpoint and need a minute to recombobulate, whether that means tying our shoes or putting our laptop away,” Mester added.
Travel Tip of the Month: For more information go to visitmilwaukee.org or call 800-554-1448.