Bubbler Talk

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?

On this Bubbler Talk, WUWM's Teran Powell looks into this question: Did Marian Anderson ever visit and sing in Milwaukee? If so, where did she stay, as individuals who were Black were not allowed to stay in hotels in the past.

On this week’s Bubbler Talk, question asker Craig Steitz wanted to know about the history of music stores in Milwaukee.

Imagine you’re rushing to catch a flight at Milwaukee County's General Mitchell International Airport — maybe for business or a long-anticipated vacation. What's on your mind? If you’re Dan Schley, you’re wondering: What’s the story behind the floor mosaics?

For this week's Bubbler Talk, we look at how the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps expanded the Milwaukee County Park system in the 1930s.

A WUWM listener, Erin Christie, enjoys the company of friends at her basement bar, so she requested an appreciation segment on the prevalence of basement bars in Milwaukee.

For this week’s Bubbler Talk, listener Connor Bowman asked us — “What’s the story with the reindeer I’ve been seeing at COVID testing and vaccination sites around Milwaukee?”

When you look at a map of Wisconsin, it’s covered in names that remind us of this country’s original inhabitants. Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, Waukesha, Kinnickinnic — all words derived from Native American languages.

At the corner of North Shepard Avenue and East Locust Street, there are standalone brick pillars. Listener Eric Kowalik wondered where the structures came from and what they were for.

People have a lot of questions when they come to the Milwaukee County Zoo. But the most the important one may be this: how did all of these animals even get here?

With the help of former Milwaukee Braves and a local historian, we look back at the celebrations after the Braves became World Series Champions in 1957.

On May 4, 1989, two Milwaukee celebrities — Bob Reitman and Gene Mueller, hosts of the popular WKTI morning show Reitman and Mueller — were featured as barflies on the popular sitcom Cheers. Bubbler Talk looks into how this came about.

Eileen Hosmanek was walking her dogs with her daughter on Milwaukee's Lower East Side and came across something quite strange: the Near Here plaque.

Riverwest resident Lindsey Goding came upon a mystery bridge above the Milwaukee River when she moved to the Milwaukee neighborhood. Together, for Bubbler Talk, we uncover its purpose.

Baseball great Hank Aaron passed away this year and will be honored at the Major League All Star Game on Tuesday. So, we thought we'd finally bring to the plate a Bubbler Talk question from 2017 that asks about Aaron statues in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee is known as a city of breweries. But Bubbler Talk question asker Tom Targos has noticed another alcohol industry growing in Wisconsin — craft distilleries.

For this week's Bubbler Talk, WUWM's Audrey Nowakowski looks into why Milwaukeeans love their pizza topped with cheese, sausage, mushroom and onions.

On this week’s Bubbler Talk, WUWM's Marti Mikkelson gives an update on the shuttering of iconic Up And Under Pub on Milwaukee's Brady Street last September.