Do you love architecture and being nosy? This is the dream event for you! Every September Doors Open Milwaukee, sponsored by Historic Milwaukee, lets you wander around dozens of open buildings. Some are businesses who clearly just want more foot traffic, but many of them are incredibly unique and beautiful. Some are only open to the public for this event.
Before visiting, look through the site list carefully. Even with best of intentions and planning, you will likely only be able to visit a dozen or so in a day.
The 2024 list had 140+ locations. A few of the highlights for us were:
- The Tripoli Shrine – An amazing tiled Moorish fever-dream built by the Shriners in the 20s. No secret handshake needed to enter.
- The UW-M Golda Meier Library – The library contains a few amazing collections. The Special Collections contains a vast trove of rare print books, posters and more. Open to the public, they lay out some of the finest items for visitors to view.
The American Geographical Society Library is a mind-blowing collection of globes, maps, and other geographical items. The second largest in the US, the collection also brings out some of their most fascinating treasures for Doors Open. - The Thomas A Greene Geological Collection. This massive collection of minerals and fossils are the life’s work of pharmacist Thomas A. Greene. His family donated the collection and it has been at UW-M for over a hundred years. Be sure to take time to admire the truly atrocious collection of taxidermy in the halls on the way in.
