WANDERING MILWAUKEE

Over the past week I have been wandering some of the urban sections of Milwaukee with my camera.  Here is some of what I shot.  For various reasons, I converted many of them to black & whites.  This first is a shot of a portion of Milwaukee's underwhelming skyline.

Like many cities in the Rust Belt, Milwaukee sports a variety of architectural styles, largely due to the fact that many of the buildings date from the 19th century, as in the following examples.  The two buildings featured are the Past Theater and the Milwaukee City Hall.

The date on the above building is (I think) 1889.  Other examples are more contemporary.

The historic base for Milwaukee's economy was industrial.

This last is a closeup of what appears to be a highly rusted free-standing water tower.

The city has its share of street art, and here are a couple of attractive examples, including detail portions of each.

Nice.

In this last image, the clock tower is the (locally) famous Allen-Bradley clock, which until recently was the world's largest four-sided clock--now dwarfed by a clock tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Milwaukee does have some street sculpture, though it is probably relatively deficient in that regard.  Here are a couple of examples.

Then there's the "Bronze Fonz," which unfortunately is even more hideous that this black and white image would indicate.

I also spotted this less substantial "sculpture" above the door of a local drinking establishment. Supposedly, it acts to lure in clientele.

My wanderings included a visit to the Milwaukee Art Museum.  I have photographed this iconic structure so many times that now I'm mostly trying for some new perspectives.  I took the first from inside the double railing that encloses the supporting cables for the mast-like structure that fronts the building's brise soleil.

I shot the second through the building's front doors (this was before the museum opened that morning).

This last I shot from the pavilion on the south side of the Calatrava addition.  I artificially darkened the sky for effect.

Finally are a couple of abstract images I shot from near the Harley Davidson Museum.  The first is of a memorial of "Hog" enthusiasts who are no longer with us.  The second is of the support tower for a bridge on the street that fronts the museum.  I darkened the sky for that shot also.

John