Snaphsots: A Walk Through Downtown Milwaukee

Saturday, I had an appointment to donate blood at the Blood Center of Wisconsin.  I thought I would try walking it, which I'd never done before.  I am thoroughly depressed by the experience I had.  I've been a Downtown Milwaukee lover all my life--when I was 11 and 12 years old, I would sneak on the bus without my parents' permission.  Before that (and occassionally afterwards), my Grandmother would take me from her home near 42nd and Hampton.  It was the highlight of my life back then.  Saturday, I stopped at the Grand Avenue--it's amazing that on a Saturday afternoon like back then, the mall was always hopping, 25 years ago (it's depressing that that was 25 years ago, but that's another story!).   The food court had just a scattering of diners.  It looked a bit like a corporate cafeteria at some random off hour.  Even 15 years ago, I remember going there on a weekday evening to console myself being dumped by a girlfriend, who shall (ahem) remain nameless, and seeing it more lively than it was today.  A decade or so ago, I'd often stop for a burger and malt at the Saz's location in the food court (the food was pretty unforgettable, but not as much as the poor woman behind the counter, who had come kind of neck muscle tic).

My overwhelming impression was that considering that Milwaukee has roughly the same population as Frankfurt, Germany, almost everything that conceivably could have gone wrong must have gone wrong in order to bring our city to this point.  This includes policy, demographics and factors such as crime.  It's amazing to think that when the Grand Avenue opened in 1982, the economy was in the tank and had more or less been there for a decade (I'm too young to remember that, but that's what I gather from reading comparisons of the current recession).  If it had only attracted the scraps and leftovers of the 25-year boom that followed, it presumably could have survived and thrived.

Comments

[Suzanne]

There are a lot of other things thriving downtown- try the Westown Farmer's Market, or Water Street...the Third Ward is thriving.
So who was the girlfriend?

[Michael Miller]

The Last Temptation one ;-)

[Suzanne]

It's nice to give blood, isn't it!