Author: Lee Matz

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...

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...

“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...

The Danceworks Performance Company kicks off its 2018-19 season with a collaboration between theatre, film, and dance in the original production of “Against the Grain: The Life & Times of Levi Fisher Ames,” from October 20 to 21 and 25 to 28. Levi Fisher Ames was a self-taught woodcarver, and a Civil War veteran who carved a menagerie of real and mythical animals and took his show on the road. This interdisciplinary piece imagines Levi on his final day, his memories, family, showmanship, and his fantastical relationship with the creatures he created. “Against the Grain is a dance and...