Milwaukee is the Baltimore of the American midwest. Full of architectural gems, bursting with great food, home to fantastic museums, and riddled with understated beauty, this city of 600,000 is well worth the 90 minute rail ride from Chicago.

My time in Milwaukee was too brief, but searching for architectural surprises made for a great treasure hunt.  Dotted across the city in neighborhoods like the Historic Third Ward were ghost signs, reminders of when Milwaukee was a manufacturing giant.  Some of the ghost signes are faded and almost gone, others are ornate, and all are reminders of Milwaukee’s blue-collar past while staring down at the city’s current revitalization.

Hoffco Shoe Polish, Historic Third Ward

Hoffco Shoe Polish, Historic Third Ward

Very faded ghost sign, Historic Third Ward, Milwaukee

Very faded ghost sign, Historic Third Ward, Milwaukee

Lo Duca Brothers, Milwaukee

Lo Duca Brothers, Milwaukee

Old cough drop ghost sign, Third Ward, Milwaukee

Old cough drop ghost sign, Third Ward, Milwaukee

Old cough drop ghost sign, Third Ward, Milwaukee

Old cough drop ghost sign, Third Ward, Milwaukee

St. Paul Street, Milwaukee

St. Paul Street, Milwaukee

About The Author

Leon Kaye

Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division, GGP Media. Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event. His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). He writes for San Francisco-based Triple Pundit, Inhabitat and now The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's Architect Magazine. Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.