Author: Lee Matz

Rainbow crosswalks installed downtown to honor Milwaukee’s LGBT community

The city’s first rainbow crosswalks were installed at the intersection of Jefferson and Wells streets at the southwest corner of Cathedral Square on November 3, recognizing the LGBT heritage of the location. Milwaukee joins dozens of communities worldwide who have established permanent and visible tribute to their local LGBT communities. Milwaukee Pride, in partnership with the East Town Association and with the support of 13 LGBT organizations, began negotiations with the City of Milwaukee in August 2018. “We are a community that accepts people, and embraces people that we want to be together,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “I think...

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First weekend of Streetcar operations did not end Western Civilization

The long-awaited streetcar launched its initial 2.1-mile loop along the streets of Milwaukee on November 2. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, rides on The Hop will be free for its inaugural year. On November 3, during the installation of two rainbow crosswalks by Cathedral Square Park at the intersection of Jefferson and Wells Streets – to pay homage to the city’s LGBT heritage – Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett began his speech with a mention of The Hop, Milwaukee’s new Streetcar system. “We have now had one full day of Streetcar service in Milwaukee,” said...

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From construction to testing: An 18-month look at Milwaukee’s Streetcar

The Milwaukee Streetcar will formally begin public operations on November 2, bringing the city’s lost the transit system back to life after a couple decades of effort and the 18-months of construction. After months of testing to meet Federal regulations, the weekend celebration will kick off at Cathedral Square Park in the East Town neighborhood of Milwaukee. From April 2017, the Milwaukee Independent has reported about the Streetcar’s construction and testing, and documented the process in images. This collection of photos is a visual timeline of that work, from rail welding, to street installation, to vehicle arrivals, to route...

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360° Inside Old Main: A special VR walkthrough as the Soldiers Home prepares for revitalization

Fundraising efforts are still underway to “Save the Soldiers Home,” but the project is in the final stretch and anticipates reaching its financial goal in December 2018. More than 150 years after the women of the West Side Soldiers Aid Society raised funds give Civil War veterans a safe place to heal, local citizens and area organizations have been working together to preserve the result of that effort, the historic Solders Home. “An updated construction timeline has been set where all buildings are condensed into one phase, with construction commencing in the first quarter of 2019, and anticipated completion...

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A conversation between John Ridley and Felicity Huffman about “Working with Actors”

“Which is why Huffman’s gut-wrenching performance is so startling. A bundle of barely concealed fury, Huffman forces us to invest in a woman who thinks her bigotry makes her not just right, but noble.” – Robert Bianco, USA TODAY / March 4, 2015 Nō Studios hosted a conversation with longtime collaborators John Ridley and Felicity Huffman on October 20, as a special Milwaukee Film Festival event that shared stories about the creative process of Hollywood. Ridley and Huffman worked together on three seasons of “American Crime,” the Emmy Award winning show he created and directed. For her role in...

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Opening night of film festival celebrates a decade of Milwaukee reaching for cinema

“We got to where we are because we never once negotiated down with ourselves about what we were aiming at. And we were united in one common belief that in Milwaukee, we are world-class whenever we want to be.” – Chris Abele Milwaukee County Executive and co-founder of the Milwaukee Film Festival Chris Abele welcomed the opening night audience for the 2018 Festival on October 18, with a recap of the past decade that saw an impossible idea transform into one of the nation’s largest cinematic events. Running from October 18 to November 1, the annual two-week celebration of...

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