Cream City Think Tank
Where Milwaukee’s history meets its future.
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The Mitchell Park Domes Are a Test of Whether Milwaukee Can Maintain What It Loves
The Mitchell Park Domes Are Not Collapsing. Milwaukee’s Maintenance System Is Being Tested. The Mitchell Park Domes are often described as a structural risk. That framing is common, emotional, and largely incorrect. According to Milwaukee Domes Alliance CEO Christa Beall Diefenbach, the Domes are not facing structural failure. The core issue is deferred maintenance. “We…
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Built Like the Lapham Peak Loppet
The Lapham Lodge Was Built the Same Way the Lapham Loppet Happens At Lapham Peak, nothing that feels effortless actually is. The Lapham Loppet appears, on the surface, like a simple winter ritual: skis clicking into bindings, bibs pinned, volunteers moving quietly between tasks, racers lining up at a familiar start. The course looks ready…
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When the Work Stopped: Remembering Milwaukee’s Coke Plant
This article documents a place that no longer exists. Trespassing on abandoned or restricted property is illegal. Entering sites like this can result in citations, significant fines, and criminal charges. Destruction or defacement of property is also illegal and prosecutable. What follows is not an invitation or a guide, but a historical record written after…
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Black Friday Beers
Black Friday at the Lincoln Warehouse Moves as One By midmorning on Black Friday, the Lincoln Warehouse settles into its own rhythm. Open signs flip on early, hallway lights warm up, and the first visitors start moving between floors without much direction. With three breweries stacked inside the building, the day feels less like a…
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Annual Book Sale Sends Hundreds of Historical Items Back Into the Community
The Milwaukee County Historical Society uses its historic bank lobby to release duplicate and nonlocal materials, making room for the growing collection behind the scenes. The Milwaukee County Historical Society held its annual book sale this weekend inside its headquarters at 910 North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The former 1913 bank lobby now…
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Continuing the Mission: A Night That Brought Milwaukee’s Veterans Together
Third Space Brewing hosts a gathering that connects veterans, community partners, and the Center for Veterans Issues. On Friday night at Third Space Brewing, the room took on a different energy. What is normally a place for casual conversation and craft beer became a setting where veterans, community partners, and supporters of the Center for…