Cheesy Beacons - Part 8

[Tannerman]

Milwaukee Pierhead
Milwaukee, WI - Lighthouse 6 of 12

After viewing North Point and Milwaukee Breakwater, Amy and I continued walking south along the lakefront to arrive at the final beacon in town, the Milwaukee Pierhead lighthouse.

Milwaukee Pierhead, with the Breakwater lighthouse in the distance

There's nothing too out of the ordinary about the Pierhead lighthouse. Like so many other beacons on the Great Lakes, this was a metal structure, built in a tubular style and painted red. It's pretty much a clone of South Haven (which we saw last summer, though that light had a catwalk) and Sheboygan (though that light is missing the cabin).

Cabin railing has a V-shape

Probably the only way to tell these lights apart is via the style of railing used around the lantern housing and maybe some other distinguishing marks on the pier itself. This light was constructed in 1926 and was actually maintained by the permanent crew that lived out on the Milwaukee Breakwater light. It's still active and shines out 12 miles into the lake.

Big, red, and metal!

The biggest challenge in seeing this light was a lot of walking. In fact, by the time Amy and I had walked from our parking spot to the light and back, we had covered 4.5 miles! As was mentioned during our visit to the Breakwater light, there was a large Italian festival taking place on the Summerfest grounds. To get to the Pierhead light, we had to walk alongside the waterfront, and then take a detour inland around the festival area, as the Pierhead beacon was located just south of all this activity.

We saw a lot of the Summerfest logo
(I still have no clue what it's supposed to represent)

I must give Milwaukee credit here... it's a great idea to have festival grounds located right on the lakeshore. They are a permanent location with solid infrastructure that can be used for multiple events. In Chicago, we often have to shut down large portions of roads near Grant Park for such events as Taste of Chicago, so it seems like Milwaukee's solution makes more sense.

Pier Wisconsin under construction

During our long walk to get to the light, we passed the construction area for Pier Wisconsin, an educational/entertainment area that the city is renovating just north of Summerfest Park. From the looks of it, this is no Navy Pier. When this project is completed, it will house the Great Lakes Aquatarium (who came up with the word "aquatarium"?) -- basically an aquarium on the lake. It will also be home to Discovery World - The James Lovell Museum of Science, Economics and Technology (that just rolls off your tongue). Finally, it will provide a docking area for the historical S/V Denis Sullivan ship, along with various cafes, public access points to the water, and an amphitheater. Apparently the project has been a point of debate because the original design was hated by many, as it obscured the lakefront view. A new design was recently approved with a lower profile.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... whatever

One thing that Chicagoans are very proud of is our lakefront. Not just the water, but how it's protected from large buildings, developments, and traffic. Much of this can be attributed to the designs of city planner Daniel Burnham, who created the layout for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and later prepared what was known as "The Plan for Chicago," considered by many to be the nation's first example of a comprehensive planning document for urban areas. A lot of this planning would not have been possible if it weren't for a little event in 1871 known as the Great Chicago Fire wiping out pretty much the whole city. All the ruins were pushed into the lake, creating new real estate that was quickly protected.

"Look ma, an ugly bridge on the waterfront!"

I mention all this because Milwaukee's lakefront feels like it doesn't have a plan. The most obvious example of this is how they handle expressways that travel near the waterfront, in most cases creating tall bridges to keep cars away from the precious real estate below. It's loud, not very cozy, and feels rather crappy. There is also a large number of parking lots located right on the border of the Summerfest area, giving the impression of all concrete, no nature.

Steve & Amy and the Milwaukee Pierhead lighthouse
(Note the shadow from the camera tripod!)

Eventually we made it to our destination at the lighthouse, very tired and hot from all the walking. The best part of being at this beacon was the view you had of the Milwaukee Breakwater lighthouse across the harbor. This perspective is the closest you can get to the inaccessible light, and we took full advantage of it.

Very cool museum architecture!

During our walk back, we stopped at the park in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum. In 2001, the museum received a major expansion designed by noted Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The building features a 90-foot high glass-walled reception hall enclosed by a sunscreen. This can be raised or lowered creating a unique moving sculpture. It kinda looks like a yacht parked on land, and I must admit, it's pretty cool looking. In fact, I remember this building being featured on the back of the Wisconsin map a couple years ago. It's probably the nicest looking thing on Milwaukee's waterfront.

Relaxing water displays

The parkland around the museum is fully integrated into the waterfront, and is very inviting. The part we liked best was the nice series of fountains that ran on the south end of the building. They consisted of small blasts of water all lined up in a row for about a block or two in length, with open grassy areas flanking both sides, increasing and decreasing in elevation. Very cool photo spot, or just a nice place to sit, relax, and read a book.

We headed back to the car and wrapped up our lighthouse visiting for the day. It was getting dark quickly. We just had to find our hotel and get something to eat!

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