I’m always interested in how others perceive South Milwaukee, as outsiders’ opinions are critical if we’re going to attract new residents, businesses and visitors to our fair city.
So I took note when The Onion’s A.V. Club — the only straight-laced part of the popular, and hilarious, satirical newspaper — stopped by recently for a “Summer Road Trip.” The results? Not too flattering, especially around our downtown area.
Take a look … and post your comments below.
Part of my goal as an elected official: Work to improve perceptions of our city. Tell our story. And, this piece aside, we do have a good story to tell in South Milwaukee. We can make it even better.
South Milwaukee Blog 
Too bad the city/chamber didn’t take Studio 915 art gallery owner Joe Mader up on his idea of making his and wife Dawn’s eclectic “bar flies” figures and placing them in empty storefront windows. Joe and Dawn would have made them — they have a few in their gallery for viewing — but asked the city/chamber to chip in on the cost of supplies, to no avail. Just think what a different The Onion’s AV Club’s story would have been.
Though the Onion’s take on So Milw appears more whimsical than harsh, it certainly misses much of what South Milwaukee has to offer by limiting its focus to a few blocks of Milwaukee Avenue. Here’s my response to their take on our fair hamlet:
Come back on a Friday night in Fall for a Rocket football game and stay for a SM Football Boosters social, you’ll likely win a raffle prize and have fun even if you don’t. In fact, come to just about any South Milwaukee High School athletic or theater arts event and you’ll likely find community members out in droves, many whose kids have long since graduated.
This time of year, come by the South Milwaukee Little League Park almost any weeknight and many weekends for action- packed baseball and softball on its three diamonds. Catch one of the fantastic events at the state-of-the art South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center which boasts nationally-known and world-renown acts (with ticket prices a fraction of venues in Milwaukee) or any number of the student concerts and productions staged there. After you’re finished at the SM PAC, stop by the equally-well-equipped Fitness Center and its indoor track.
Come to the family events in Grant Park on July 4th…if you hang out until dusk, you’ll see a great fireworks display. Come again near the end of July for the Evening on the Avenue, when the strip of Milwaukee Avenue you visited is closed to traffic and full of bands, performers, and activities for kids. Then come back for the Firehouse Spaghetti Dinner to see the community turn out to support the firefighters who come to their aid…if you miss that, try to make the Community Night Out, when South Milwaukee turns out again in partnership with the Police Department. If you miss both of these events, perhaps you can catch one of the tours of the fire house or police department the public library offers as part of its community outreach…you might also want to check out the many literacy- and community-building programs and events the public library hosts.
If you’re looking for things to perk up the winter, come to Ye Olde Christmas Feaste a multi-course affair served by high school students in medieval garb amid serenades by similarly-clad musicians.
And the charm and attentiveness of small-town establishments are alive and well in South Milwaukee..stop by South Milwaukee’s Ace Hardware for a great representation of the kind of personal service you’ll likely get at the small businesses throughout South Milwaukee.
Yeah, South Milwaukee’s “downtown” might be a far cry from its namesake on the other side of the Hoan Bridge…glad you found some of the gems there. And I’m guessing South Milwaukee might not make a list of hot destination for 20-somethings looking for something cool to do in the middle of the day. However, South Milwaukee is a GREAT place to raise a family, with FANTASTIC schools, an equally FANTASTIC recreation department, with 20% of its land devoted to parks, playgrounds and a community pool, and a wealth of community events any time of the year. And if folks in South Milwaukee ever get tired of the electic charm of their little burg and long for a “big city” experience, it’s only a short 15-minute drive across the Hoan for all the adventure Milwaukee has to offer.
Hope you’ll visit again soon.
I’m guessing that their visit may have been on a Monday as most of the stores seem to be closed on Mondays. Anyways, I think that their approach was from an ‘outsiders’ view (as they are just visiting the city like someone who would just be passing through or just happen upon the area). To me the assessment if the ‘main drag’ is spot on. It’s true that many of the windows are empty and the shops are quaint (in the sarcastic or negative way). The city is utterly forgettable, unappealing, and dismal to someone that would be ‘just passing through’.
All that said, SM does, most definitely, have its strong points including the PAC, farmers market, and more, but to an ‘outsider’, the city is especially boring and unappealing.
I love SM, but the empty shops, fair schools, and lack of appeal of much of the city (especially to the uninitiated), leave it very forgettable.
The long and short of this story is that SM has virtually nothing to attract people that are young, upwardly mobile, and have some disposable income.
Somewhat regrettably, my family is leaving SM. The main reason is better schools for our young children, but basically, we can afford to get into a nicer, larger house in a very highly rated school district and the difference is worth it to us.
Unfortunately, all of the school districts in the greater SM area aren’t that highly rated (SM is rated 6/10; Cudahy – rated 5/10, St. Francis – rated 5/10, OC – rated 6/10, etc. [according to greatschools.org]). The best school district in the area is the Franklin Public district, rated 9/10.
This is one of the main things that young people, with or without children, look for when choosing a suburban place to live.
As noted in the milwaukeemag article that you (Erik) have linked to in previous posts, there are definitely good things about the South Milwaukee School District, mainly the extracurricular activities and ‘doing the most with what they have’ of the SMSD, but SM is behind ‘more attractive’ school districts where schools are really measured, mainly in test results. I am a huge believer in the fact that tests don’t measure everything, but it is the first thing used to compare between schools/districts.
Solutions for the problems are not easy or easy to come by, but if the people of SM want the city to be better and grow in a positive direction. Solid solutions to these difficult issues need to be figured out and acted upon. I don’t know the solutions, but have ideas, as do many others and they should be listed to and considered.
I wish the best for the city of SM. I hope that things continue to improve and that the city once again becomes an even more excellent place to live and raise a family.
We’re a younger family, and we’re here because it’s affordable, we like our neighborhood, and we are– for now– happy with our school.
But. It’s hard to take issue with the article, although I do think Barbiere’s should have been mentioned, as we know many people from other parts of town who will come here just for that. Betsy points out a lot of good events, but they are just that– one-day events. On an average day, it’s quiet around here and more likely than not we’re heading to other cities for something to do.
I do feel I should mention my two favorite spots– Ace, which I hope stays around for a long time, and the children’s room at the library, which is my favorite of the local children’s libraries because it’s not a glorified playroom and my kids actually spend time looking through the books. These, however, are obviously never going to make the AV Club.
If that is an example of the “Observation” capabilities of future journalists, we may be in big trouble. It appears that he saw what he wanted to see and was blind to all else. Nor did he bother to check his facts. South Milwaukee has not been trying to tether itself to Milwaukee. Quite the opposite. It has had to fight for its independence every day for years.
I moved to South Milwaukee 10 years ago. Before that, I lived in Bayview, St. Francis, and the east side of Milwaukee, and I owned a home in Riverwest in the mid 90s (before it was “cool” to do so). I’m the kind of person who you’d see in a café in Riverwest or strolling down KK in Bayview looking for a vintage dress or some artist made jewelry. I’m relatively at home in those neighborhoods, but I CHOSE to live in South Milwaukee.
I live by the high school, but I don’t have kids, so that didn’t influence my decision to move here one way or the other. It’s a nice community with a small town feel that’s positioned very close to the city, and that’s what I enjoy. Whenever I’m missing my favorite parts of Milwaukee, they’re a very short drive away. I currently work in a “hip” neighborhood in Milwaukee full of condos and nightlife, and guess what? I’m not sure I’d trade it for what I have here. We have green space and peace and quiet, and for me, that’s priceless. I can walk a few short blocks, walk my dogs, see some deer, some ducks and the lake. What’s not to like?
I think that the writer’s critique of Milwaukee Ave. is fair. The vacant storefronts are disappointing to me as well, but I’m not sure what can be done about that. There have been a few cool businesses here over the years, but one by one, they close (or in the case of Horseshoe Tattoo, move to Bayview. Ouch!). I think South Milwaukee has a lot of potential on that front myself, but we need a couple of businesses that people will come into town to visit specifically. South Milwaukee’s downtown has always reminded me of a small town, and that is both in a good and bad way.
South Milwaukee could use an indoor shooting range, which would attract people to the area from the surrounding communities.
Muskies holds alot of sportsman club meetings – it would be a good start for a base of customers. Also, there are frequent concealed carry classes at Papa Luigis.
Not sure any buildings on Milwaukee ave could handle one, but it would be a boom for the community.