The Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, an organization dedicated to presenting and promoting LGBT-relevant art, is located in the Walker’s Point neighborhood. – Photo: Courtesy Paul Masterson
Point of Change
Walker's Point is 'ready to boom'
Thursday, 17 December 2009 19:45
It’s home to gay bars, arts organizations, antique stores and ethnic restaurants. It draws struggling artists, ballet dancers, budding entrepreneurs, gay men and lesbians.
In a neighborhood dominated by drab and often gritty industrial buildings, the four-faced Allen Bradley Clock Tower (listed in the “Guinness Book of World Records” as the largest four-faced clock in the world) is not only a standout, it’s an apt symbol for a community on the brink of change.
Just a few blocks south of the hot Third Ward and north of the popular Bayview community, Walker’s Point is well-positioned for development.
“Realtors and brokers in the city have already renamed the area ‘the Fifth Ward’ because it will encompass a little more than Walker’s Point,” says Jim Dieter, owner of Blackhawk Antique Market, a 36,000-square-foot warehouse space. “The economy has slowed the growth down a little, but a lot of people are acquiring properties here right now. There are some things in the pipeline that haven’t taken off yet. Walker’s Point is ready to boom.”
Chris Allen, marketing manager for the Milwaukee Ballet, agrees. “What you’re seeing is the Third Ward is starting to move south and Bayview is expanding north,” Allen says. “That’s part of the reason why things are starting to pick up here in the neighborhood.”
Once a thriving manufacturing area, Walker’s Point offers an abundance of turn-of-the-century warehouses. That’s one reason the Milwaukee Ballet decided to make Walker’s Point its headquarters back in the early 1980s. “We needed a big building with lots of open space, and we’ve taken advantage of every square inch here,” Allen says.
The building, located at Fifth and National, used to be the Tivoli Schlitz Beer Garden. “You can still see the logo above our doorway,” Allen says.
Old warehouses aren’t all that draws artists to Walker’s Point. Cheap rents help, and so does the neighborhood’s location. “I think because the neighborhood is so close to MIAD (Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design) and nearby galleries, a lot of artists and entrepreneurs just end up here,” Dieter says.
Many of the local business owners in Walker’s Point are part of the gay community. “This has been Milwaukee’s gay entertainment district for many years,” says Paul Masterson, executive director for the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, an organization dedicated to presenting and promoting LGBT-relevant art. “But unlike places like Halsted Street in Boystown, it’s not concentrated in just one area.” The fact that the bars in Walker’s Point are spread out in small clusters creates a lack of cohesiveness, but the biggest complaint among patrons and owners alike is the grungy, uninviting feel of the commercial district, especially along Second Street.
“It’s a tough area to develop, because the neighborhood is largely warehouses and factories, which might not necessarily lend themselves to places like coffee shops, boutiques and restaurants,” Masterson says. “There’s some new development here, but it is primarily evening entertainment. As the neighborhood develops, hopefully we’ll see some daytime venues that create more daytime traffic.”
A city streetscape project, scheduled to begin this spring on Second Street, could prove to be the catalyst. According to Ghassan Korban, coordination manager for the Milwaukee Department of Public Works, the project will effectively narrow Second Street to create needed green space between the curb and the walk, roughly five feet on each side. Plans include trees, greenery, bike paths, a parking lane and new harp lights.
While there are currently no plans in place to make Walker’s Point a designated gay neighborhood — similar to Halsted Street in Chicago or the Castro in San Francisco — it’s not out of the question in the near future. Many developers and business owners think the streetscape project is the first step towards making the neighborhood a true destination.
“Right now, Walker’s Point is very industrial-looking and desolate, because there’s no greenery,” Korban says. “We hope that the improvements will enhance economic development by making the area more inviting, encouraging people to bike and walk more. We think this neighborhood is on the verge of becoming more vital.”
The available housing stock in Walker’s Point consists mostly of Victorian single-family homes and rehabbed historic lofts. According to Coldwell Banker real estate agent William Urban, a studio loft in the S2 building on Second Street, featuring 12-14 foot ceilings, costs about $65,000. A single-family home in the neighborhood can cost anywhere from $20,000 (for a foreclosed as-is home) up to about $350,000.
While the residential sector in Walker’s Point lags behind its commercial district, there’s plenty of potential for growth, Urban says. “There are a couple of city blocks that are practically wide open down there,” he says. “There’s a big void in the Fifth Ward just waiting to be filled.”
Many people think it’s just a matter of time before Walker’s Point — or the Fifth Ward — takes off. Appropriately, the Milwaukee Ballet plans to stage “Peter Pan” this spring. The world premiere production will feature original costumes, choreography and score — not to mention Peter Pan flying through the air. “Peter Pan has been done before, but as a ballet, not very often,” Allen says. “This is an interesting, exciting time for us. We’re on the cusp of change.”
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