Will the Streets of Old Milwaukee make the move to the new Milwaukee Public Museum?
Sophie Carson
It's the question that sent online commenters into a frenzy over the weekend: what will happen to the Streets of Old Milwaukee?
The future of Milwaukee Public Museum's most-visited permanent exhibit remains unclear as leaders make plans to open a reimagined museum at a new downtown location in 2026.
Fervor over which exhibits would make the move gained steam after the museum posted on Facebook a link to a Milwaukee Magazine article in which museum president Ellen Censky said, "Entire exhibits will not move over, but elements will."
The museum on Monday did not offer concrete answers to the question of how, if at all, the Streets of Old Milwaukee would exist in the new museum.
"While the exhibits will not look exactly as they do today, visitors can expect to see many of their MPM favorites from the current exhibits and collection," a statement read in part. "The goal of the project is to thoughtfully design exhibits that generate the same sense of nostalgia for a new generation."
Streets of Old Milwaukee exhibit built in 1965
The Streets of Old Milwaukee is a near-life-sized diorama of shops, homes and cobblestone streets set at the turn of the 20th century. Visitors can peer through windows at mannequin shopkeepers, pass through a street car, buy sweets from an operational candy shop and greet the renowned "Granny" — who maintains an active Twitter account — in her rocking chair on her front porch.
Built in 1965, it was "one of the first walk-through dioramas in the world," according to the museum's website. It got a refresh in 2015 with some additional buildings and tweaks.
Connected to the Streets of Old Milwaukee is the European Village, a similar walk-through diorama of homes representing 33 European folk cultures.
Online commenters responded emotionally to news that 'entire exhibits won't be moving over'
On Friday, in response to one Facebook commenter asking about the fate of the exhibits, a museum representative replied: "Entire exhibits won’t be moving over, but those who love MPM will have A LOT they love at the Future Museum."
Even as the museum kept exact plans vague, commenters' passion for Streets of Old Milwaukee and the European Village was evident. They argued it what made the museum unique and that it held cherished memories.
"If you don’t have those exhibits I’m not sure we will continue going," one said.
"To not incorporate those is to spit in the face of history itself. Absolute tragedy," another said. "I feel like my childhood is being erased."
One commenter was among the few who expressed a different view: "If Milwaukee is trying to stay up to par, it has to stop holding onto the 'old look' of things."
Construction on new Public Museum could begin in late 2023
The current museum building, which opened in 1963 at 800 W. Wells St., is too large, inefficient and in need of $70 million in deferred maintenance projects, museum officials have said. It would cost $250 million to renovate.
Construction could begin at the end of the year on the new 200,000-square-foot building planned for West McKinley Avenue and North Sixth Street, near Fiserv Forum downtown.
The museum has 4 million objects in its collection, only 6% to 8% of which are on display, according to the Milwaukee Magazine article.
Museum officials have said the new space will better display its collection of historical artifacts and will include more culturally relevant exhibits. In the magazine article, Censky said the new museum is aiming to showcase the intersection of nature and culture and that staff are working to balance familiar elements with new experiences.
Censky named the butterfly exhibit and the planetarium as two displays that will exist in the new building but will look different, according to Milwaukee Magazine.
The museum will announce its official exhibit plan in the spring, it said in a statement Monday.
It said it has sought feedback on the future museum's design from "thousands of conversations, focus groups and survey responses from visitors and non-visitors from across the state and beyond."
It also responded to internet commenters' concerns that the new site would rely too much on technology or screens.
"As we’ve said in the past, museum fans will be happy to know the exhibits will feature dioramas, feel immersive, be object-based, and use technology for enhancements, not as focal points," the statement said.
And as for the popular hidden button that makes a rattlesnake shake its tail at the bison hunt diorama, the museum said it will also be including hidden buttons at the new site.
Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
