This place was on my list to visit the next time we were in town. We popped in on a Saturday morning and it turned out there was no charge since they only had the beer exhibit on the first floor. Normally $8. You can park free on the street in front on Saturdays. The building itself is stunning and worth it. The vaults are incredible. The beer exhibit is very detailed and very informative. I am not sure what would normally be on the second floor but they said there was a wedding later that day - there are many weddings here on Saturdays. I was hoping for more. read more

Love, love, love this spot! If you want to learn more about Milwaukee County history, this is the place to go. They have thoughtfully curated exhibits that are periodically changed. The main exhibit might be up for a 2-3 years and then there's a new neighborhood exhibit series that is set to change up more frequently. I visited my first time during Milwaukee Museum week so admission was FREE. But I would pay full admission ($8) if you really want a deep dive into Milwaukee. When I dropped in, the beer exhibit was up so everything displayed related to Milwaukees's beer culture and history. It was FASCINATING. There's also an actual bank vault inside the building that was used in the filming of the movie, Public Enemies, with Johnny Deep. You can walk inside the vault. The space is also worth mentioning - lots of marble. It's just a fun place to escape to. I recommend you plan to spend at least two hours here if you want to really read all the information on display and see all the artifacts. Parking might be tricky - street parking is the way to go if you can find a spot. read more

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I noticed this building while staying across the street. I stopped in on a whim. The man at the desk was friendly and informative. The self guided tour was $8 and allowed me to view the upstairs and downstairs. The building, an old bank, is impressive. They had 3 exhibits. The downstairs exhibit, history of brewing, was informative and interesting. While I'm glad to learn more about MKE, I thought $8 was a bit steep for what it is. read more

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The MCHS is an underrated gem for a lot of reasons. First, the building is gorgeous - it's a historic bank building and a perfect place to host an event. Admission is $7 which is pretty reasonable. I'd say I wouldn't make a trip just to see the exhibits, there's really not much to see. So why 5 stars? The research library! It's included with admission (make an appointment though) and you won't believe the cool stuff you can dig into. As an example, our house was built in 1925 by Dick and Bauer (the fine folks who built the Oriental) and my husband wanted to learn more. Our friendly archivist pulled a collection that had all the original receipts for the house - each trade, landscaping, even laying the sewers which was noted as "paid under protest". That was amazing but an extra special bonus was a WW1 soldiers album that belonged to the original owner. It had tons of photos he took while in Europe with carefully written notes on what it all was. Really fascinating! For a very reasonable price we were able to get copies of some of the items and even a photo repro of the original owner in uniform. I can't stress how much interesting stuff is in the archives - and the staff is happy to help you discover it. If you have an interest in local history, want to do some genealogy or just want to see some cool stuff, definitely come and check them out. read more

This is a very neat building that used to house brewers' riches. There are still vaults inside, and some lovely architecture. They have some historical displays and on the upper floor you can look through old photos and order prints of them as well. read more

I was here for a wedding, and we had to laugh that the exhibit going on at the time was on Prohibition. The mother of the bride joked that if she knew there were going to be prohibition banners on the outside, she would have developed a speakeasy theme for the reception where guests had to give a password to get in. Seriously though, we did get to see some of the exhibit around the main floor and it was interesting. The building is an old bank which is just beautiful; the architecture is amazing! The layout worked well for the various phases of the reception with appetizers and cocktails downstairs and dinner on the upstairs balcony. The only downside is that bathrooms were in the basement which was a bit of a challenge for some of the older guests who struggled some with stairs as this involved going down two flights from where dinner was served. The outdoor patio area was wonderful; the back door opens out onto a park which was a great option for kids to run around a bit and for adults to get in some quieter conversation time when the young folks started cranking up the music. read more

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Shut the front door. (... but be careful. The door may be kind of old, and also, it's of historical significance.) Seems as though the MKE County HIstorical Society is going through a sort of renewal, and there are big plans in the works for really, really cool things. Really cool. Did I mention how cool? I'll stop, and go with what's currently tangible and not "in the works:" 1. Multiple venues of historical significance that play host to special events. You can rent them, too. The historical society museum itself, downtown... and also? They have a killer farm (http://www.milwaukeehistory.net/historic-sites-2/trimborn-farm/). 2. There's also: the Jeremiah Curtain House, the Lowell David house, the Kilbourntown House, and various historical other historical landmarks about town. Super cool. Look 'em up. 3. The folks at the historical society are super super nice and did I mention that they're going to be doing some really interesting/unique/awesome stuff this coming year? I did? Okay. Super excited to see where this all heads! read more

The Milwaukee County Historical Society is a gem, hidden in plain sight, in downtown Milwaukee. The society was founded in 1935, set up in an unused, and unfinished, area in the county courthouse. By the 1960s, "Grandma's Attic" was full. This building was constructed between 1911-1913 and opened on February 3, 1913 as the Second Ward Bank. In 1928, the Second Ward Bank merged with the First Wisconsin National Bank and it became the Second Ward Branch of the First Wisconsin. In the mid 1960s, the First Wisconsin National Bank, the largest bank in Wisconsin at that time, had excess real estate in the downtown area it wanted to liquidate. The Second Ward Branch was part of that excess. After turning down several offers on this very valuable piece of real estate, in April 1965 the bank donated the building to Milwaukee County. The Historical Society took possession a few weeks later and the society opened the building in October 1965 as the Milwaukee Country Historical Center. If you are an architectural detail affectionado, this building is loaded with eye candy indoors and out. As a bank, the building was built to convey strength and security. The interior is finished in black and white marble, and it has six vaults that offer perfect conditions for the storage of artifacts. Dentil moldings are detailed in gold leaf. Exterior details include fluted Ionic columns standing on blocks of Bedford limestone. The building underwent a five year, multi-million dollar renovation that wrapped up late in 2010. The archives are open for research (it helps to be a member) and if you are researching something in Milwaukee County's past, city, town or village, records, cemeteries, buildings, what have you, the information you need is likely here in the archives. There is an extensive photograph collection in the archive, as well. Prints may be made for a nominal fee. In 2008, the building returned to its roots as the first floor was returned to the appearance of a bank. The bank was "robbed" by Johnny Depp, as John Dillinger, in the making of the 2009 film "Public Enemies". By the way, the Historical Society operates other museum sites, the Lowell Damon House, the Kilbourntown House (also known as the Benjamin Church House) the Jeremiah Curtin House and Trimborn Farm. Visitor to or a resident of Milwaukee County? You really should pay a visit to the Historical Society. read more

Milwaukee County Historical Society - The building underwent a 5 year, multi-million dollar renovation to restore details like the Corinthian columns and capitals. - Museums Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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I attended an event here for the launch of a new book, "Bottoms Up!" featuring a history of taverns and breweries in Wisconsin. This building very clearly used to be a bank. It was cool to see the old and very large vault doors, as well as the inside of the vaults. It is essentially a small museum and if you're looking for books about the history of Milwaukee neighborhoods, you will find a few here, as well as other great books. I'm happy to say I finally got to visit the Milwaukee County Historical Society. Check it out some time. read more

Milwaukee County Historical Society - Museums Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Located in the old "Brewers" bank building, there really isn't much to see here. We paid the $5 admission just to use the bathroom and then wandered around for about ten minutes checking out the scant items that are on display. read more

Milwaukee County Historical Society - Museums Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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I'm a history nerd and the research library gives me major happy vibes. I've spent a handful of days here researching bits on old Milwaukee, mainly the history of my current condo. With each visit, I've arrived with a specific objective and left hours later having learned something I never expected. During your time at the Historical Society Research Library, you may get to: - look at census records on microfilm using a real microfilm reader! - scour through old and fragile city directories that make you sneeze and leave a layer of dust on your fingers! - use exclusively number 2 pencils to write your notes on topics so detailed you feel isolated in your nerdiness! - peruse the obituaries of Milwaukee's influential citizens past! - chat in depth with the spectacle-wearing, tweed adorned man working amongst the stacks! The research library is located on the second floor and open any time the Historical Society is. For a $5 fee (for non-members) you can sit for as long as you'd like and research to your hearts-content. I've seen folks researching topics from sheriffs to nurse/hospital history to burlesque dancing, so let your creativity flow. The librarian on staff is more than happy to help and even makes personal calls after your visit if he's found additional info you may find interesting. Thanks to the library here, I've been able to identify the original tenant of my condo - with old grainy photographs, obituaries, and newspaper articles featuring him to boot. If you have a PTO day that you need to use, this could be your excuse. read more

I have passed by this building so many times and never gave it a second thought. Never payed attention to what it was and that it was even there. Shame on me! We visited the Milwaukee County Historical Society because we were working on a boy scout merit badge and one of the requirements was to visit a historical location. We were fortunate enough to tour the building and get very detailed information from the wonderfully helpful woman at the front desk. Learned about the history of the building and saw old photos before the renovations and how it was changed for the filming of a movie. So much information and so much history in one location. I took so many pictures, it's crazy. The building is just absolutely beautiful. I could sit and just stare at it for hours. I am a history buff so I was in heaven in the upstairs documents library. To see the old books and old records, it just makes me feel so small in this big old grand scheme of life. All of this from an old bank, blows my mind. If you love history and you love beautiful architecture, you MUST visit the Milwaukee County Historical Society. read more

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Being a proud Milwaukeean I really, really want to love this place. But the exhibits are pretty thin, both in depth and breadth. The building is nice, but quite honestly the offerings here don't really get much beyond the kind of run of the mill stuff you'd find at, say, the Ottumwa County Historical Society in Iowa. They recently had an exhibit on the 1957 Milwaukee Braves, a topic of interest for me, but the exhibit was pretty ho-hum. Somebody needs to give this little museum a kick in the pants to properly showcase the fascinating history of our great city. read more

I have mixed feelings after my visit today. The positives: Plenty of on street parking nearby. Extremely friendly staff who took time to talk to me about the museum and its history. The building is absolutely beautiful inside and out, and going into the bank vaults was fun. The negatives: The price. Absolutely not worth $5 when the visit will take 30 minutes max. And the museum itself... there is just so little to see! There are a couple small exhibits on the main floor and then you can see a few things in the archives through a wall downstairs. So overall...if you want to see the inside of the building bad enough, it might be worth it. I have just seen so many better historical society museums in much smaller towns that are free! read more

There is not much to see unless you do research and work,in the archive. The building I'd nice but I am do not feel like I got my $5 worth so. No poster with a history of the city no important citizens no turning points in history. Not much on display. read more

I attended a wedding here recently. It's beautiful inside and the views are great. It's the logistics that suck. The dinner was upstairs; the bathrooms are in the basement. To get to the elevator you have to walk through the catering area. Not easily accessible. Food was delicious! Plenty of it and service was great. The bar is on the main floor with the dance floor. Now, my favorite thing at a wedding is to plop down and watch people dance. No way to do that there. No tables, other than standing tables. When we tried to pull a bench over to sit on; we were rudely told by the staff (3 young women who followed each other everywhere - when one stopped, they all ran into each other) that is was a historical bench and couldn't be moved. Huh? It was across from the only area to sit, which was a small couch and 2 chairs -- from Ikea. I found out later the groom had to pay $200 extra for the couch. Finally...the "staff" brought out dining room chairs. There was still no place to put your drinks. For the amount that I'm sure this venue cost -- it needs to make a few tweaks for the comfort of the guests. read more

I was so excited to visit this place because of my love for History, but I was very disappointed that all of the beautiful artifacts were locked away only to be viewed awkwardly behind glass, it's just a shame to hide these amazing pieces of history from people like me that would love to view them and help keep that part of History alive, it seems very selfish of them, the building it's self is amazingly breathtaking but you almost leave not having closure for leaving just a glympse of what they really have hidden away behind. read more

A super helpful staff in a gorgeous building. Great for research or a visit to the museum. Be sure to put it on your visit list.

Being born and raised in Milwaukee, I can't get enough about the rich, diverse history that our city has to offer. While the displays may seem thin when you walk in, a plethora of smaller educational vignettes are offered on all floors of this historic, former bank. You can take a behind the scenes tour of almost all of the old bank vaults, which house much of the Society's artifact and archival collections. Civil War items, brewery memorabilia, and even art are all on display for your consumption. In one of their vaults on the first floor, they even have a authentic Prohibition-era moonshine still that was used by a family in Milwaukee. How cool is that? While on the surface it may seem like the content is sparse, but if you take time to dig a little deeper, you'll discover that the Milwaukee County Historical Society is quite a community treasure. read more