Urban Spelunking

After 100 years, the Milwaukee Athletic Club is getting a major upgrade. The 1916 building now has everything from multiple apartments to a fitness center and gym and, of course, a beautiful ballroom. Nate and Bobby discuss the new renovations and Milwaukee's love for rooftops. Read more: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/urban-spelunking-mac-finished

The former Journal Sentinel offices on 4th and State in Milwaukee have been completely transformed, with the third and final phase now complete. The 1924, three-building complex now offers 141 apartments, plus a charter school and student housing for MATC students. Nate and Bobby discuss the renovation, and Bobby shares his insider take as a former Milwaukee Sentinel employee. Read more: https://o...

When you think of Milwaukee's architecture, chances are your mind goes to the Milwaukee Art Museum expansion designed by world-famous architect Santiago Calatrava. But did you know Milwaukee almost green-lit four more Calatrava-designed buildings, skywalks and bridges? On this episode, Bobby and Nate talk through each plan, and they share as much as they know about why they didn't materialize.

Whether you remember one building as RC's Bar and the other as Clutch, La Piazza, Glass Nickel Pizza, Buddha Lounge, Node Coffee Shop or the original home of OnMilwaukee.com, this pair is packed with memories. Take one last "look" this week at these North Side buildings as demolition is underway. Read more at OnMilwaukee: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/1504-e-north-avenue-spelunking https://onmi...

Milwaukee historian John Gurda and director Claudia Looze are debuting a documentary highlighting the colorful history of Jones Island. "People of the Port: A Jones Island Documentary" premieres Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. on Milwaukee channel 10.1. On this week's Urban Spelunking, Nate and Bobby chat with the filmmakers and learn about the five distinct chapters of the island's documented history. Listen t...

Built in 1903 and renovated in 1995, the pavilion at Lake Park has been welcoming locals to the lakefront for more than 100 years. If you've been there in the last 27, you've only known it as Lake Park Bistro, but its history goes much farther back and offers a rich glimpse into Milwaukee life in the early 1900s. (Hint: we still loved outdoor summer concerts.) Listen to this week's episode for an...

Nate and Bobby are back at the former downtown Boston Store, this time with an update on its new tenant. Fiserv is moving its corporate headquarters from Brookfield to the former retail space, the company announced last week. Nate and Bobby discuss the move with the backdrop of the Westown neighborhood and its surge of recent developments. Read Bobby's complete story: https://onmilwaukee.com/artic...

Mitchell Street State bank has always been a community bank serving an immigrant population at near 10th and Mitchell on Milwaukee's South Side. Now as First Federal, it remains committed to maintaining that same local feel and as has opened its offices to various community groups, as well. Listen to this week's episode to learn how. Read Bobby's complete story at OnMilwaukee: https://onmilwaukee....

How did Milwaukee build the massive peninsula now home to Harbor House and Discovery World? It's earliest roots date back to the mid 1800s and its current footprint was completed in 1960. On this episode we look into the past of Pier Wisconsin and its impact on the lakefront landscape. Read Bobby Tanzilo's full story at OnMilwaukee: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/harbor-house-spelunking

This October, the Milwaukee Art Museum marked the 20th anniversary (one year belated due to covid) of the completion of architect Santiago Calatrava's iconic design. Calatrava himself was in town for the occasion and spoke to co-host Bobby Tanzilo. In this episode, Bobby shares his experience meeting the world-famous architect, and we discuss the lasting impact of the Calatrava design. More at OnM...

The big ones get all the attention, but what about the lil baby streets? In this episode, with the help of City of Milwaukee Central Drafting & Records Manager Yance Marti, we definitely reveal Milwaukee's 10 shortest streets. Can you name any on the list? Find Bobby's full story here: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/shortest-streets-in-milwaukee

Historic Milwaukee "Doors Open Milwaukee" is back to it's full scale this year, offering behind-the-scenes tours of 100+ buildings and places normally closed to the public, free of charge. On this week's podcast, we've got a list of our must-see destinations, featuring many places we've visited on Urban Spelunking. Find the full list here: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/doors-open-picks

Doors Open Milwaukee returns to the city Sept. 24-25 and will offer a behind-the-scenes tour of a stunning Frank Lloyd Wright-designed church on the city's northwest side, among hundreds of other spaces. Learn about Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on this week's Urban Spelunking, and stick around to the end to hear why the KGB was seen on site at the church's consecration. Read more: https://on...

Bobby and Nate spelunk the Skinner Organ Co.’s Opus 849, a 38-rank organ that was built into the fabric of the 1921 Van Ryn & DeGelleke-designed building on 6th and State streets. Check out the full article and amazing pictures of this glorious old organ here: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/matc-skinner-organ

We both attended UWM, but one of us entirely missed this campus building hiding in plain sight. We go inside the Greene Museum & Stahl Center for Jewish Studies this week on Urban Spelunking to learn more about its past and present. More history and photos here: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/uwm-greene-museum

After years of slow to no movement in the construction, Bobby went inside for a look at the former McKinley School soon-to-be veterans housing on 20th & Vliet. Here is the article complete with some awesome pictures, https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/progress-report-mckinley

Full article and images from Bobby Tanzilo at https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/wgema-gym-pool

Picture and full article here: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/villa-terrace-hermes-mercury

Nate and Bobby chat with Jeremy Ebersole, executive director of Milwaukee Preservation Alliance snouts it’s work to protect historic architecture. Full article and pictures here: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/milwaukee-talks-jeremy-ebersole

Link to full article and pictures: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/fitzgerald-house-spelunking

For full article and awesome photos: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/schusters-coggs-vliet-street

Take a last look at the old Ma Baensch building before it is sold. Full article and picture here: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/ma-baensch-last-look

Bobby headed back to Wheatly School apartments to give us an update. Pictures and full article here. https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/wheatley-update

https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/select-sound-spelunking

Bobby and Nate revisited the newly renovated 1855 Leister home that is going on sale. Updated pictures and article here: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/leister-house-update