DOORS OPEN MILWAUKEE 2014: FEDERAL COURTHOUSE

Architecturally, Milwaukee's federal courthouse is a study in contrasts.  The exterior has almost a castle-like feel to it and is clad in dour and drab gray stone and concrete.  The interior, by contrast, includes a bright atrium faced in colorful earth-tone brick and plasterwork.  Although I had regularly been in the Milwaukee County Courthouse on business before my retirement, I don't recall ever visiting the federal courthouse.  The courthouse is a secured site and most likely cameras would not be welcome during other times when it is open, so I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to do some photography inside during the Doors Open Milwaukee event last weekend.

Because of security requirements, there was a long wait to get into the courthouse.  I occupied my time by getting a few shots of the exterior, including the following.

The exterior facade includes a good amount of detail, including the following faces in a shot that I converted to a black & white.

This is actually a sharp image, but because of the porousness of the stone/concrete, the image appears very grainy.  A nice effect, I thought.

Once I got through security, the foyer area was consistent with the drab exterior.  Here is a shot that I kept for its semi-abstract lines.

But the transformation occurred when I got to the central atrium, which I understand had been redone some years ago.  Unfortunately, by the time I had gotten through security, I had run short of time and could only spend a few minutes in the atrium area.  Here are a couple of the shots that I took.

I am guessing that there were a lot more opportunities had I been able to spend more time exploring.  Hopefully, next year.

John