John D. Buenker

Some descriptions of contemporary affairs over time become historical snapshots. “Milwaukee In The 1930s”, adapted from the Federal Writers Project’s (a Depression era program to employ writers) unpublished ”A Guide Top Milwaukee”, is such a work. Retrieved from the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives by editor John D. Duenker, it provides readers with a view of Depression Era Milwaukee.

The Preface provides an excellent History of the FWP, a WPA program, its City Guide Series and the history of Milwaukee up to that time. Milwaukee’s status as the only American city led by socialist mayors for decades seized my interest from the start.

The content drawn from “Guide To Milwaukee” consists of 13 chapters, each focusing on a region of Milwaukee, followed by three chapters highlighting suburbs to the south, west and north.

Each chapter commences with an introduction to the region followed by descriptions of notable buildings, monuments and landmarks with their histories, significance, addresses, whether it is private or public and, if public, the times and terms under which it is open, all supplemented by black and white photographs.

I have minimal familiarity with the Milwaukee area. I imaging that this book would be even more fascinating to one connected to the city than me. While the ethnic composition of the neighborhoods has undoubtedly changed since 1940 I am sure that the frequent references to the German, Polish and Eastern European populations is still reflected in the Greater Milwaukee of today. Facts reported in the present tense in the 1930s have become history in the 21st Century. The explanation of the activities of the Turner Halls (German athletic associations) aids my understanding of the old buildings I have seen in St. Louis. References to the “World War” reveal what World War I was called before there was a II. Enumeration of the numbers of “men” employed in factories provides an unintended insight into the gender makeup of the work forces in the late 1930s.The entry about St. Francis Seminary reveals that resistance to the Civil War draft was not limited to New York. I have read elsewhere about Abraham Lincoln speaking to the 1859 Wisconsin State Fair but this is the first time I have learned that the $100 honorarium paid to him was controversial.

Although “Milwaukee In The 1930s” is an easy read, moderate in length interspersed with paragraphs that do not demand total attention, I learned much about sights I want to see in Milwaukee and topics about which I want to read further. Read it to whet your own appetite to explore and follow the paths it opens for you.

I did receive a free copy of this book without the obligation to post a review.… (mere)

This publication is a valued addition to many histories published in the 1930's and 40's under the aegis of the WPA (Works Project Administration) which gave employment to many writer in the latter part of the Depression. The plethora of local histories that had been published in the late 19th and early 20th century had ceased by the 1930's (and actually since then in smaller cities). Most entries on invidual buildings are rather short and are described in a tour like way. It is nice to see that the entries for St. John's Roman Catholic Cathedral are longer and St. James Episcopal Church are somewhat longer. The railroads and their stations are covered pretty well, but the local public transport not as thorough. People who want to track Midwestern history should like this volume, nonetheless.… (mere)

When I requested and received this book through the Early Reviewers program, I had every expectation of being able to use and review it in Milwaukee. Real life intervened. Reading about Milwaukee many miles from the city was very interesting nonetheless. Many excellent photos contemporary with the text are included, which does satisfy some of the desire to see the place about which one is reading. I would, however, have liked to see occasional annotations of the original text, along the lines of "demolished in 19xx", "presently in use as --". To annotate every landmark would obviously make the book unwieldy, but notes on significant sites such as the "Roman Catholic Archepiscopal Residence (private)" having become the Captain Frederick Pabst Museum, or the actual addresses of the "several [residences on West Burnham Street] designed by Frank Lloyd Wright" would have added to the usefulness and interest of the guide.

Overall, this was an absolute delight to read. Scenes of the past, like the brightly dressed immigrant women at work in the celery fields that lay in the Layton Park area until 1925, or the steam streetcar which as late as 1877 "concealed its identity behind ... a stuffed mule" so as not to frighten draught animals, are vividly described.

I gave the book to a friend who has lived in Milwaukee for many years. She was beyond delighted and couldn't wait to get home and begin reading it and sharing it with visitors. I'm looking forward to my next trip to Milwaukee, enhanced by what Milwaukee in the 1930s has to offer.… (mere)

In the general stacks of the Central branch of the Milwaukee Public Library, available for anyone to check out, is a bound typewritten manuscript: a history of Milwaukee written during the Depression and supported by government grant. It's idiosyncratic, vivid, opinionated, and informative. It was never published. Certain members of the City Council objected to what they considered its leftist slant and refused to contribute to the costs of publication. I thought perhaps this was that book, but as the preface explains, only the ten-page essay that starts this collection was taken from that history. Most of this book reprints a guide to the city, as it was then, that (I gather) was written in close association with the history—probably at the same time, by the same authors.

Despite my disappointment, "Milwaukee in the 1930s" is a fine book, with a smart and comprehensive preface that puts the guide in its historical and cultural context, while providing an excellent political history of Milwaukee from 1900 to 1938, with special emphasis on the long reign of Socialist mayor Daniel Hoan. The chapters that make up the remainder, taken directly from the old guide, are full of maps and photos and detailed information about seemingly every notable building, park, and private home then in existence. How I would have loved to have had this book in hand during the two years that I lived in the city! It would make a fine companion to a modern-day architecture walk and give new life to mysterious and dilapidated structures.

There are many neat things to discover here. One of my favorites is the text of an 1875 newspaper notice posting the job of rector for St. James Episcopal Church. "Must have such tact and disposition as will enable him to side with all parties in the parish on all points...must be willing to preach first-class sermons and do first-class work at second-class compensation...should be able to convince all that they are miserable sinners without giving offense."… (mere)