Placemaking

Experience a brand new holiday tradition on Wisconsin Avenue. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival, 15 larger-than-life, hand-painted ornaments from local artists are now on display through January 6, 2024. 

Downtown Milwaukee radiates with good vibes all year round, but never more so than during the summer! From returning crowd favorites that rock your lunch break to a new seasonal spin on Red Arrow Park's ice rink, Downtown is the place for endless summer fun. So, grab your favorite pair of sunglasses and head back to where lasting memories are made! 

The Reimagine Red Arrow Park initiative seeks to foster civic life in the heart of the city, with year-round events, programming, and amenities. 

Fall into autumn with the return of our free yoga sessions held in Red Arrow Park featuring Cathy Stadler of Outdoor Yoga MKE. Bring your mat and friend for this peaceful way to welcome a new season every Thursday in September starting at 7 AM. Experienced yogis and new beginners alike are welcome. 

During the 2022 playoffs, Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21 teamed up with the Milwaukee Bucks to commission a new mural of Giannis Antetokounmpo by artist Mauricio Ramirez at 600 E. Wisconsin Avenue. 

As part of Reimagine Red Arrow Park and in celebration of National Public Works Week, the City of Milwaukee's Department of Public Works and Milwaukee Fire Department hosted a fleet of vehicles around the park, allowing kids an up-close look at various City equipment and occupations. 

Grab your favorite pair of sunglasses for a lunchbreak in Red Arrow Park! Featuring a dozen local and national bands, this year's concert lineup has something for everyone. In its second season, Heart(beats) of the City powered by MGIC will once again rock your lunchbreak with get-up-and-dance music each week. Plus, we've rounded up the area's best street eats from 11:30 AM - 1 PM. Concerts start at noon. So gather up your coworkers and MKE It Back to where the beats are bumping! 

Let Milwaukee's best talent sing, strum, and drum over your lunch break! Grab your sunglasses and lunch to-go and catch live local performances in the courtyard of 411 East Wisconsin Center every Thursday in June, July, and August. 

In a unique cold-climate twist on Mardi Gras festivities, Milwaukee Downtown's Public Service Ambassadors led a Mardi Gras Skywalk Parade on Fat Tuesday, March 1, 2022, featuring the Extra Crispy Brass Band.

To keep downtown's thriving street art scene alive during the winter, Milwaukee Downtown partnered with The Avenue and ASQ Center for two new murals in the downtown skywalk system, which were completed in January 2022. 

As part of Reimagine Red Arrow Park, superheroes of all ages laced up their skates to battle the winter blues on Valentine's Day weekend.

Learn about plans to build a new dog park amenity on a centrally located site under I-794, between the Milwaukee River and Plankinton Avenue, along Clybourn Street.

In the summer of 2021, Milwaukee Downtown launched a new arts and culture initiative to spread joy in our community during the pandemic. New murals, temporary art installations, and performances emerged in unexpected places, offering safe and exciting ways to experience everything downtown has to offer. 

In the summer of 2021, Milwaukee Downtown partnered with the Wisconsin Center District to commission internationally-acclaimed street art Kelsey Montague to bring her "What Lifts You" mural project to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. 

Massimals MKE, by artist Jason Scroggin of Scroggin Studio, transformed Cathedral Square Park into a magical winter wonderland with roaming polar bears in early 2021. Then, just in time to celebrate Pride Month, Massimals returned to Cathedral Square Park in a new colorful sequence for the summer. 

Adding color to enliven the pedestrian experience underneath the freeway, four artists, each with a Milwaukee connection, transformed the Broadway freeway piers into Milwaukee's newest outdoor art gallery.

To commemorate the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Milwaukee Downtown commissioned three local artists for the "Road of Democracy," a public art installation near City Hall featuring two Milwaukee "Artists of the Year" recipients, Della Wells and Dasha Kelly Hamilton, and award-winning filmmaker Brad Pruitt. 

In the summer of 2020, artists Jaime Brown and Karim Jabbari completed a new mural above 2nd Street, as part of The Avenue's redevelopment and a new focal point for a reinvigorated public realm. 

In the summer of 2020, Milwaukee artist Ken Brown completed "The Hero in You," to celebrate the essential workers and frontline heroes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about this community mural, and the people who inspired his artistic masterpiece. 

In the summer of 2019, Milwaukee Downtown partnered with neighboring businesses to prototype a summer pop-up, complete with moveable tables and chairs, a book cart, and concert series. Learn more about our continued improvements to this neighborhood gem, in partnership with the City of Milwaukee. 

"Heart & Sol" by artist Mauricio Ramirez portrays the optimism for the city's future through its illustration of youth. Featuring a colorful background and symbols, this site-specific mural reflects the work of Community Advocates, Inc.

In the summer of 2019, local artist Emma Daisy Gertel illustrated the revitalization taking place along West Wisconsin Avenue with an 80-foot by 50-foot mural at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and James Lovell Street. Titled "Westown in Bloom," the high-impact  mural is positioned at Downtown's gateway where more than 11,000 vehicles pass each day. 

"Migration" is a floor-to-ceiling mural by CERA Street Art and Katie Batten in the Jefferson Street pedestrian tunnel. Spanning 50 feet in length, the mural strengthens pedestrian connectivity between the central business district and Historic Third Ward neighborhoods. 

In celebration of the Year of Wisconsin Avenue in 2017, Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21, with support from the Downtown Placemaking Task Force and Wisconsin Avenue stakeholders, commissioned Mauricio Ramirez to transform ten utility boxes into artistic masterpieces. 

In partnership with Milwaukee County Housing Division, Milwaukee Police Department, and the District Attorney's Office, Key to Change assists chronically homeless individuals within our community. Key-shaped meters build awareness of our community's quality of life programs and collect donations for both short and long-term assistance. 

In 2020, Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21 partnered with VISIT Milwaukee and the City of Milwaukee to update downtown's aging wayfinding system. in addition, 40 pedestrian signs with walk times were added to the public realm. 

In partnership with the Grand Avenue Club and the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee Downtown commissioned local artist Tia Richardson for a 16' x 28' mural depicting the nonprofit's services for adults experiencing a mental illness, titled "Building Community with Compassion." 

"Lightfield" by HYBYCOZO presented by Johnson Financial Group transformed Cathedral Square Park into an immersive public art installation featuring the work of the Ukrainian and Canadian artist duo, HYBYCOZO. "Lightfield" by HYBYCOZO was a free and accessible public art installation displayed between January 19 - May 5, 2023.