Bubbler Talk

Lifelong Milwaukeean and Bubbler Talk listener Reginald Jones wondered who shaped the built environment in our city's early history. We find there's not a straightforward answer.

Several Bubbler Talk listeners are curious about cemeteries in their neighborhoods, like St. Adalbert Cemetery and Union Cemetery.

Kilbourn Reservoir Park was once the main storage for Milwaukee's drinking water.

A Bubbler Talk question-asker wondered what kinds of fish are seen leaping in the Milwaukee River. We set out to learn the answer.

A Bubbler Talk listener wanted to know how much harm Jeffrey Dahmer’s crimes caused Milwaukee’s gay community. But to understand Dahmer’s impact, we first need to look at what life was like for LGBTQ Milwaukeeans in the 1980s.

Bubbler Talk digs into a question about how the Great Depression impacted Milwaukee by taking a look at a 'Hooverville' that existed near Lincoln Park.

A Bubbler Talk question asker was curious about Black historical sites in Milwaukee. There are many, so WUWM's Teran Powell chose to look at one that’s had many lives: the Jones-Hill House in the Harambee neighborhood.

If you’ve driven northbound on Interstate 43 toward Milwaukee’s downtown, chances are you’ve noticed a gigantic mural. Bubbler Talk digs into the story behind the colorful painting of an eagle and a dove with cascading flag stripes.

Bubbler Talk question asker Michelle Mullen started teaching in Fox Point, Wisconsin 10 years ago. And for just as long, she's wondered how the village was named and who created the fox-inspired street signs.

Milwaukeeans are able to check out books from 27 countywide library branches. And if the book isn't at your local branch, the library system will get it there... fast.

Everyday we use ZIP files — to download apps, create documents and send vital information over the internet. But did you know ZIP was created right here in Milwaukee as the final chapter in a battle for format supremacy.

Bubbler Talk question asker Adrienne LaRosa has fond family memories of Lake Park's Ravine Road. Closed since 2014, she wonders when it will open again.

Who were the first known Black people to settle in Milwaukee? That’s the question that piqued the curiosity of one of our Bubbler Talk question askers, and led to an interesting conversation with Wisconsin Black Historical Society's Clayborn Benson.

When walking up to the Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building, two lion statues greet you. Bubbler Talk question asker Nicole Reid of Racine wondered what the story behind them was.

Bubbler Talk takes up a listener's request to drive back in time and look into the history of the former vehicle production site on Clement Avenue in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood.

A Bubbler Talk listener sent us a question asking why Wisconsin's only urban state forest, Havenwoods, was created.

The Pfister Hotel is one of Milwaukee’s most historic and luxurious places to stay. It’s been around for nearly 130 years and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s also supposedly haunted. For Bubbler Talk WUWM's Becky Mortensen explores the history, lore, and legend behind the Pfister Hotel ghost.

Once located on the corner of Farwell and North on Milwaukee's East Side, Oriental Drugs' hodgepodge of offerings served customers for nearly 30 years. Since closing in 1995, the place became etched in the city's lore.

What was the Eagles Ballroom before it became The Rave? That’s a question we’ve heard a lot at Bubbler Talk and it turns out there are a lot of answers.

Butter burgers! Think Kopp's, Culver's and, of course, Solly's Grille — which was recently recognized by the James Beard Awards as an American classic.

Bubbler Talk question asker Tom Roberts has been wondering about the circular, metal structure in Bay View's Cupertino Park — what is it and why is it near Lake Michigan.

Water towers are a routine part of the scenery in Wauwatosa. Bubbler Talk question asker and Tosa resident Brice Smith wants to know why there are so many of them.

In 1938, the heir of the Blatz Brewing Company wanted to bring his love of classical music to Milwaukee. Emil Blatz provided $100,000 for the construction of a bandshell that would soon become a temple of music.

The waves of Lake Michigan bring in an unknown number of things onto the shore — trash, trinkets and sometimes treasures, as Erin Christie learned while beach combing. Erin and her husband regularly comb the beach together, which inspired her to ask Bubbler Talk to explore some of the cool and unique things people have found on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Bubbler Talk question asker Dan Currier of Whitewater wants to know about a past iconic figure of Milwaukee: Where did the totem pole that stood in front of the old and the new Milwaukee Public Museum come from?