Bastille Days, July 8 to 11, features a landmark 43-foot lighted replica of the Eiffel Tower that recognizes East Town's French heritage. – Photo: Courtesy East Town Association
Summer events add to the allure of East Town living
Can’t make it to Paris for Bastille Day? No problem – head over to Cathedral Square in Milwaukee’s East Town. You won’t find all that je ne sais quoi Parisian attitude, but you will find an abundance of champagne, crepes, croissants, pommes frites – and even a replica of the Eiffel Tower. The 43-foot lighted tower, constructed by a crew of volunteer students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, is one of the highlights of the annual July celebration, which is the largest French-themed outdoor festival in North America and one of Milwaukee’s most popular events with LGBT people.
People who associate Milwaukee with beer and brats – as opposed to champagne and crepes – may be surprised to learn that Milwaukee’s French roots go back much further than its German heritage. According to Anne Herisson-Leplae, executive director of the Alliance Francaise Milwaukee, they go back even farther than the city itself.
“If you look at the very first maps of Wisconsin, they were all written in French, because the first explorers were French,” Herrison-Leplae says. “Wisconsin was actually spelled ‘Ouisconsin’”
Many of Milwaukee’s French roots can be traced directly to East Town, a neighborhood once called Juneau Town in honor of the city’s first mayor, Frenchman Solomon Juneau. Located east of the Milwaukee River and bordered by Brady Street, the Third Ward and Lake Michigan, East Town became the site for Bastille Days after a local French chef and an art gallery owner decided to celebrate the neighborhood’s French roots with an event that would attract more people downtown.
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Buying a home together presents unique legal challenges for same-sex couples. – Photo: Jason Smith
‘I now pronounce you … homeowners’
Paul Masterson, director of Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, has been a homeowner for more than 14 years. While he’s spent more than half of those years in relationships, he says he’s never considered owning a home with a partner. “There’s a risk involved,” Masterson says. “If you trust your partner it’s one thing, but you also have to trust his family. You have to ask yourself how it would play out legally if your partner passed away.”
That fear – that a partner’s passing could result in the loss of one’s home – is at the very core of the marriage argument, Masterson says. “It is one thing to have a document that states your partner will inherit your properties, but it doesn’t safeguard against lawsuits,” he says.
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Graphic: Jason Smith
The Romantic Home
Put romance in your house for Valentine’s Day – and beyond
Looking for a little romance this Valentine’s Day? Look no further than your own home. Stepping up the romance factor at home is not only easier than you think, it lasts a lot longer than flowers or chocolate.
According to Chicago-based interior designer Alison Pickart, it’s all about adding sensual elements and subtle details that awaken the senses. Here are some simple and inexpensive ways to fall in love with your home all over again:
Fragrance. Believe it or not, fragrance plays an important role in the overall feel of your home. “It sets the tone for a home,” Pickart says. Candles are the most obvious way to bring subtle fragrance to a home. From fresh to fruity, floral to exotic, the scent you choose for your home is as personal as the perfume or cologne you choose to wear.
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Lighting sources made of natural materials add drama to any room. – Photo: Courtesy
Branch out your lighting scheme
Unique twig chandeliers, lighting fixtures and branch chandeliers are hand-crafted using natural hickory branches and real twigs. Also known as brancheliers, these award- winning and custom-designed chandeliers and rustic lighting fixtures are a refreshing alternative to antler, wagon wheel and other rustic chandeliers.
“And it doesn’t stop with hickory twigs,” according to Deanna Wish, a designer who specializes in non-traditional chandeliers and brancheliers. “The adventurous spirit some home owners want to reflect doesn’t have to stop with elements of wall-covering, flooring and furnishing. You can enjoy natural illuminations in new circumstances every time you ‘light’ the Branchelier.”
Wish has captured the essence of nature in popular lines of lighting that includes not only full-size brancheliers, but also twig sconces and combination twig and branch lamps. Faux grasses and berries with silk accents create a holiday atmosphere on ordinary days and certainly provide a jumping-off place for lively dinner conversation.
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The Capitol Building – Photo: Devery Cash
Mad about Madison
Where is the gay neighborhood in Madison? It’s a question that Keller Williams real estate agent Devery Cash is used to hearing — and one that he’s grown used to answering.
“It just doesn’t exist,” Cash says. “There is one neighborhood outside of town, the Jennifer Street area, that tends to be a little more lesbian, but frankly, we don’t have any area in Madison that’s considered a gay neighborhood. We’re all interspersed here.”
At a time when gay men and lesbians in large cities across the country are choosing to live outside traditional gay neighborhoods, leaving many gay enclaves struggling to remain relevant, Madison seems like a model city for the future.
“This is a very open and accepting community. We just don’t have to have separate bars or separate neighborhoods. I guess we’ve always been a little ahead of the curve here,” Cash says.
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