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On a busy street in Milwaukee’s
Riverwest neighborhood, a garden greets you. In 1995
a group of neighbors met at Klinger’s bar, hoping
to put together a garden to celebrate the community.
A vacant lot on the corner of Locust Street and Bremen
Street provided the opportunity. The blighted lot
would be turned into beautiful green space. The vision
- create an ornamental garden to be cared for by neighbors,
becoming a source of neighborhood pride.
 The
Pulaski Building, once a movie theater serving the
then mostly Polish neighborhood occupied the space.
The building had housed several businesses including
two food co-operatives. Eventually, it became abandoned
and, as a result, became a neighborhood blight. The
city condemned and tore the building down. What remained
was an ugly clay filled litter trap on a highly visible
corner. Neighbors were also left with sadness over
the loss of Gordon Park Co-op and the center of community
activity it represented.
Out of the business failures
sprang the dream for the garden. Once the garden was
underway, the community responded with enthusiasm.
People donated plants from their yards. The city put
in benches. Milwaukee Community Service Corps laid
out wood chip paths across the lot and planted six
locust trees. A local artist donated a sculpture titled
“Pulling Together”. The City forestry department
planted Oaks and Chinese Elms along the street. The
Urban Ecology Center across the Milwaukee River planted
and maintained a demonstration prairie garden. Builders
Square donated trees and shrubs. Neighbors held fundraisers
to raise money for the base of the sculpture and to
buy a celebratory evergreen.
 Most
important, to attract people to the garden and build
commerce and community, a local group brought their
fledgling farmers’ market to Garden Park (led
by the support of Will Allen’s Growing Power).
A local artist painted a brightly colored sign on
the wall of the neighboring bar promoting Gardener’s
Market. The market in its sixth year now draws a regular
crowd of shoppers on Sundays from June through October.
Local musicians entertain shoppers. There is also
a demonstration Square Foot Garden plot and, thanks
to anonymous neighbors - a Free Box l of donated clothes.
I could go on, but you get the picture.
Recently, Milwaukee Urban Gardens
(MUG), a land trust, has shown interest in helping
make the garden a permanent neighborhood feature.
The Riverwest Neighborhood Association’s Guardians
of Greenspace Committee hopes to develop a management
body for Garden Park and Market, when - and if - ownership
is transferred to MUG and the community.
Contact: Vince Bushell, Riverwest
Gardener, 414.263.1380 (email:Bremen@prodigy.net)
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