Germans in Milwaukee: A Neighborhood History

Germans dominated Milwaukee like no other large American city. Their presence inhabits the city’s neighborhoods, from its buildings and place names to its parklands and statuary. Their influence also lives in the memories shared by local residents. A small Milwaukee neighborhood south of Miller Valley was christened after a farmer’s pigs, and a busboy turned beer baron built the famous Pabst Brewery in West Town. A ghost is said to haunt the old Blatz Brewing compound. And the remains of the early tanning industry can still be seen in Walker’s Point. Compiling more than 1,200 interviews, authors Jill Florence Lackey and Richard Petrie share these ground-level perspectives of the lasting German influence on the Cream City.