Why is downtown so lame? (Milwaukee, Madison: live, restaurant, shop)

[EastSideMKE]

Can we please get rid of these horrendous eyesores from the downtown skyline?

The ridiculously huge antenna on top of the Hilton City Center (http://www.flickr.com/photos/evilzombie/4073526431/ - broken link).

The über tacky rotating Miller sign at 7th & Wisconsin (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mspdude/3469343779/ - broken link).

The somehow even tackier rotating sign for "The Brewery (http://www.flickr.com/photos/davereid/3241647557/ - broken link)."
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/davereid/3241647557/ - broken link)

[MilkaueeWisconsin]

Downtoun Milwakuee rocks.

[EastSideMKE]

Originally Posted by MilkaueeWisconsin

Downtoun Milwakuee rocks.

So duz spelchek.

[just1paul]

Originally Posted by jjacobeclark

Can we please get rid of these horrendous eyesores from the downtown skyline?

The ridiculously huge antenna on top of the Hilton City Center (http://www.flickr.com/photos/evilzombie/4073526431/ - broken link).

The über tacky rotating Miller sign at 7th & Wisconsin (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mspdude/3469343779/ - broken link).

The somehow even tackier rotating sign for "The Brewery (http://www.flickr.com/photos/davereid/3241647557/ - broken link)."
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/davereid/3241647557/ - broken link)

I agree with get rid the sign #3

The antenna has been there since it was the Schroeder Hotel, it is a piece of history and was the antenna for a radio station and what would also become channel 18.

The Miller sign was originally I believe a Clark (gas stations) sign, but I recall it being a totally neon tube Cities Services (later CITGO) sign and I say either restore or dump it.

The other sign I say should be restored is the Miller "soft cross" sign on top of Stockhouse I. Back to the neon tubing soft cross sign of the late 50's early 60s or better yet -remove it and put back the Home of Miller High Life 1940s-1950s sign that was moved from stockhouse F.

Originally Posted by MilkaueeWisconsin

Downtoun Milwakuee rocks.

Originally Posted by jjacobeclark

So duz spelchek.

[Solas]

Originally Posted by jjacobeclark

We already have tons of local restaurants and boutique stores in Downtown Milwaukee and the surrounding neighborhoods. People who are in Milwaukee on business don't want unique, they want familiar. How is somebody from out-of-town supposed to know what restaurants are good, if he's never heard of any of them before?

If we want to see what a successful downtown looks like, then we needn't look any further than our neighbors Chicago and Minneapolis. Those cities have chains galore in their downtown areas. Places like Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang's, Ted's Montana Grill, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Target, Apple Store, Jamba Juice, Chipotle, etc. are what business travelers and suburbanites want to see in Downtown Milwaukee.

I'm sorry, but where do you get this idea that Milwaukee should have to cater to the suburbs? Especially when the suburbs have shown time and again they don't give a s**t about the city or its viability? Besides, the largest pool of young professionals (the demo businesses love the most) in the entire state already lives within walking distance of downtown (if not actually in downtown), so what sense would it make to cater to outsiders?

Not to mention half the things you listed are already at Mayfair where they belong, and one of them (Chipotle) is already downtown. I actually think one of the few things Downtown Milwaukee has going for it is that it's not chock full of the same s**t you see in every big city downtown. Why would a business traveler go back home and rave about a eating at the same Hard Rock Cafe in Milwaukee they could've eaten at in any city?

[just1paul]

I thought we had a target downtown that was taken over by Linen N Things in the Plankinton Arcade section of the Grand Ave? If it wasn't Target, what was it? I personally think we should dismantle the Grand Avenue and restore downtown to freestanding shops and stores and regain the early days.

[EastSideMKE]

Originally Posted by Solas

I'm sorry, but where do you get this idea that Milwaukee should have to cater to the suburbs? Especially when the suburbs have shown time and again they don't give a s**t about the city or its viability? Besides, the largest pool of young professionals (the demo businesses love the most) in the entire state already lives within walking distance of downtown (if not actually in downtown), so what sense would it make to cater to outsiders?

Sorry, but you can't ***** about how Downtown Milwaukee sucks in one post and then say the best thing going for it is a lack of chains in another. The lack of chains is a big part of why it sucks IMO. The reason Denver and Minneapolis have huge downtowns is because they do cater to the suburbs. Downtowns should be soulless wastelands like Times Square or the Mag Mile. Americans love malls. Let the tourists eat at Cheesecake Factory and McCormick & Schmick's, save places like Sanford and Roots for us locals. Look at Chicago, nearly all of the best restaurants in the city are located in Lincoln Park, not the Loop. Suburbanites won't feel safe spending their money in Downtown Milwaukee unless it starts to resemble the suburban shopping malls they're so used to. Obviously things aren't going so well the way they are, and perhaps we do need to imitate our peers a little bit and build something like the Power & Light District in Kansas City.

Originally Posted by Solas

Not to mention half the things you listed are already at Mayfair where they belong, and one of them (Chipotle) is already downtown. I actually think one of the few things Downtown Milwaukee has going for it is that it's not chock full of the same s**t you see in every big city downtown. Why would a business traveler go back home and rave about a eating at the same Hard Rock Cafe in Milwaukee they could've eaten at in any city?

I wonder that myself, yet people keep coming back for more garbage. In April, I met a friend in Vegas who lives in CA. She was there with a bunch of her friends from CA. I would have loved to have eaten at Bobby Flay's MESA Grill or Ming Tsai's restaurant, but was overruled each time in favor of such culinary delights as Toby Keith's Roadhouse and Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. Americans love crap.

[Solas]

Originally Posted by just1paul

I thought we had a target downtown that was taken over by Linen N Things in the Plankinton Arcade section of the Grand Ave? If it wasn't Target, what was it? I personally think we should dismantle the Grand Avenue and restore downtown to freestanding shops and stores and regain the early days.

I could've sworn that was a Hooters

I would hope there'd be a way to keep the indoor shopping aspect of the Grand Avenue because of the winter months, but not have it feel so much like a mall. Of course, that would require some innovative thinking and I wouldn't hold my breath expecting it to come from Milwaukee's current "leadership."

[Solas]

Originally Posted by jjacobeclark

Sorry, but you can't ***** about how Downtown Milwaukee sucks in one post and then say the best thing going for it is a lack of chains in another. The lack of chains is a big part of why it sucks IMO. The reason Denver and Minneapolis have huge downtowns is because they do cater to the suburbs. Downtowns should be soulless wastelands like Times Square or the Mag Mile. Americans love malls. Let the tourists eat at Cheesecake Factory and McCormick & Schmick's, save places like Sanford and Roots for us locals. Look at Chicago, nearly all of the best restaurants in the city are located in Lincoln Park, not the Loop. Suburbanites won't feel safe spending their money in Downtown Milwaukee unless it starts to resemble the suburban shopping malls they're so used to. Obviously things aren't going so well the way they are, and perhaps we do need to imitate our peers a little bit and build something like the Power & Light District in Kansas City.

You forget that people in the suburbs of Denver and the Twin Cities don't share the ridiculous anti-city bias that Milwaukee's suburbs have. If a steakhouse with Brett Favre's name on it couldn't make it in downtown during the Super Bowl era, what hope would a Johnny Rockets or Hard Rock Cafe or Kincaid's (oops!) have?

Although I'm a little surprised that Harley Davidson hasn't tried to open up a restaurant downtown seeing as how they can't ***** their brand out quick enough these days. And somehow I could see a Bob Uecker's Steakhouse faring much better than Brett Favre's.

Anyway, the downtowns of Portland and Austin aren't chock full of chains and they seem to to all right. If anything, those are cities Milwaukee should be pulling ideas from since the midwest still doesn't have an equivalent to them and we already have the legions of college students and post-collegiates who are fond of PBR.

[EastSideMKE]

Originally Posted by Solas

You forget that people in the suburbs of Denver and the Twin Cities don't share the ridiculous anti-city bias that Milwaukee's suburbs have. If a steakhouse with Brett Favre's name on it couldn't make it in downtown during the Super Bowl era, what hope would a Johnny Rockets or Hard Rock Cafe or Kincaid's (oops!) have?

Although I'm a little surprised that Harley Davidson hasn't tried to open up a restaurant downtown seeing as how they can't ***** their brand out quick enough these days. And somehow I could see a Bob Uecker's Steakhouse faring much better than Brett Favre's.

Anyway, the downtowns of Portland and Austin aren't chock full of chains and they seem to to all right. If anything, those are cities Milwaukee should be pulling ideas from since the midwest still doesn't have an equivalent to them and we already have the legions of college students and post-collegiates who are fond of PBR.

Brett Favre Steakhouse is just one restaurant, that by itself wasn't enough of a draw for suburbanites to come downtown. If it were located in a development like the Catalyst that was proposed a few years ago, then perhaps it would have fared better? In case you don't remember, the Catalyst was a development that was to be built across the street from the Midwest Airlines Center and next to the Hilton Milwaukee City Center. It was to include two towers, one a hotel and offices, the other condos. It was to have ground floor retail, a movie theater, and an upscale bowling alley similar to a Lucky Strike.

Chain stores and restaurants are only one aspect of downtown that needs to be addressed. Aesthetically, Downtown Milwaukee looks like crap compared to most other cities in the Midwest. The roads are full of potholes, the pavement is cracked, the landscaping looks really half-assed, the signage on most of the buildings is dated and tacky, and the facades of many building could use a thorough sandblasting.

As for us becoming more like Portland and Austin, I'm all for it, I just don't see it happening. Milwaukee is more of a Top 40, club music, Hip-Hop kinda city, while Austin and Portland are all about indie bands and the hipster scene. Milwaukee is also a lot more diverse than any of the trendy mid-size cities like Portland, Austin, Denver, Minneapolis, or Seattle. It's easy to enact broad sweeping social changes like urban growth boundaries and public transit initiatives when a city is as homogeneous as those places are. As for Portland and Austin not being chock full of chains, here's some links that say other wise.

Downtown Austin | Directory: Retail/Clothing and Accessories

Pioneer Place Mall - Upscale Shopping, Dining, Entertainment in Portland, Oregon

Milwaukee needs to strike a balance between quirky local businesses and familiar retail and restaurant chains. IMO, Minneapolis seems like a happy medium. Denver had too many chains for my liking, while Milwaukee has too few.