kind of neat that MKE has two viewing areas :-) kinda of a drag that they aren't elevated :-( but…read morethey're paved :-) and lit :-) and closed overnight :-( the 6th Street observation area is not quite in line with the runway but if the wind is blowing from exactly the right direction it really wouldn't matter because this viewing spot abuts the remotest section of the airport . I'm pretty sure this is area is more of a facilities facility for freight than anything fun so planes coming in from the east turn toward the terminal before they get anywhere near here; not sure if any big planes land from the west because of the bridge... so there isn't much going on except the aviation equivalent of submarine races which is less funner when it's light out. on the plus side it's still totally free! but unlike the Layton Avenue spot you can't eavesdrop on radio traffic from the tower which makes me sad... :-( anyway, there's room to park and unfold a chair or two to idle away the hours on a warm afternoon but not much else. please keep your activities low key and low altitude because, well, you know... low flying planes in the area ;-)

I love everything about this event…read more For an entire weekend in September, nearly 175 buildings are free to enter and open to the public. There's everything from guided tours to pamphlet assisted self-guided tours to spots where you simply stop in and have a look around. We got to see inside places that we would never have otherwise had the opportunity to see. It's an amazing opportunity to get to know Milwaukee a little bit better (even if you're native to Milwaukee!) and the stories behind some of the beautiful buildings and architecture in our fair city. The stops we made this year were: +All Saints' Episcopal Cathedral +Ambassador Hotel +Basilica of St. Josaphat +Calvary Cemetery Chapel +Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist +The Fire Station on Broadway (the oldest fire company in Milwaukee, founded in 1839) +Frank Lloyd Wright's Burnham Block--American System-Built Homes +Summerfield United Methodist Church All the stops were extraordinary in their own way. My favorite was the Basilica. I had never been inside and it's breathtaking. Frank Lloyd Wright's Burnham Block was also fascinating and probably the most heavily guided of all the places we explored. My son enjoyed the Calvary Cemetery Chapel the most for the creep factor (a small chapel on the top of a hill surrounded by graves and containing crumbling tombs? He was delighted). Pro tip: They have a website which details all the stops. Our plan was to utilize that throughout the day to figure out where to go. However, (due to high volume traffic, I'm sure) the website was super slow on Sunday when we went. So, we used it to figure out our first stop (Ambassador Hotel) and then picked up the Doors Open paper guide there (which has all the same info as the website and each stop had a stack of them). I am seriously already looking forward to next year. Get to it!

Review 2400!! Doors…read moreOpen is one of my favorite MKE events, mostly because I am a huge nerd who loves architecture and our beautiful city! Fortunately I managed to marry a man who loves MKE history too, so we try to never miss this weekend. If you have not gone here are some of the stops I've really enjoyed: *Masonic temple on 30th and Wisconsin *Frank Lloyd Wright homes on Burnham *The Federal Courthouse *The model RR club in an old train station - this is the first year they've participated an it's truly a hidden gem! *Tge Joan of Arc chapel on MU's campus It's free, it's fun - be a tourist in your own town! Historic Milwaukee does a great job pulling this together every year - it just gets bigger and better. Many thanks to all the volunteers and docents who help make this event what it is. Also, they now have a mini block party on Michigan Ave - don't miss having a tasty drink from Swinging Door and a delicious empanadas from the Olano's cart!

Since I'm a train fan I stumbled upon this little Milwaukee transit museum in Cudahy while surfing…read moreYelp for some obscure museum type places to check out. The place is on a main drag with a Main Street feel because of the diversity of the business and I got parking one door down. The place is in the lower space for now with the upper opening in the future with plans for a big layout I was told so the place is a work in progress and about a year old now. The lower level Is a treasure trove of local transit artifacts from the past with a model railroad layout, signs, street car items, models etc etc. The museum is free but please leave a donation in the old fare box as you walk in to show your support and to keep them going. You can buy pictures of the past transit cars and VHS tapes, who has a VCR anymore. It's cool looking at all the old local transit history items and pictures of a time long gone that I never experienced and just imagine how different times were back then.

Great place to visit to discover the mass transit history of Southeastern Wisconsin. Exhibits,…read morearchives, streetcar and interurban layouts, artifacts, photographs and more. Free admission.

A bit overpriced for what you get , as expensive as State Fair to get in with parking. Good amount…read moreof toilet facilities and lines weren't too bad. I love all the food so it's a good thing it's only here once a year. Enough security with county sheriffs and all felt safe. The rides are expensive so if you got kids do the wristband thing. Petting the animals and other fun stuff for kids. The vendor area is lacking with very few, would love to see more local artists and merchandise. All in all worth going for kids.

super fun roller coaster but it's pretty pricey and lines are big sometimes but In the end you have…read morea good time to remember

I love the Racine Heritage Museum. It's an adorable little museum with great exhibits about…read moreRacine's amazing past. It really shows you what an important town Racine was. I also enjoy how the exhibits change regularly. It seems whenever I pop in there is something new to check out. The only part of the museum that I haven't been in yet is the archives. It seems like when every I visit it is closed. I'd really like to make it in there to look up some history on my house!

This is a small, freemuseum. It has some interesting exhibits. It is laid out in a fairly confusing…read moreway and the quality of the exhibits varies widely. However it is free and right across from the parking garage!

This place was on my list to visit the next time we were in town. We popped in on a Saturday…read moremorning 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.

Love, love, love this spot! If you want to learn more about Milwaukee County history, this is the…read moreplace 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.

If you have kids that are into fire trucks or firefighters, this is a must-visit opportunity for…read morethe family. Heck, if you yourself are interested in some Milwaukee Firefighter history, you'll want to check this out too! It's currently open to the public every first Sunday of the month (April through December) from noon to 3pm. It's free to look around but donations are accepted. While we were there, there were a handful of retired firefighters (with experience from that fire house) on hand to give tours and answer questions. We found it to be very informative and fascinating. Had no idea until recently that that was even there and open. I'm pretty sure you can schedule a visit too, if their current open house hours don't work for you.

An absolutely amazing place to visit. Whether you're a child, teen, young adult, or older... you…read morewill love the history. Plenty of people around to answer questions also and give you greater insight.

Kids had a random day off, and that means museums! But it's a pandemic and in winter and this was…read moreseriously the only museum I could find that was open. But we like small museums too, so off we go. There is free street parking, but it's hard to figure out where the entrance is. It's off Main Street on the little drop-off loop, up a few stairs and under the "WAUKESHA COUNTY" sign. Inside there's a desk with a volunteer selling admission, except we were lucky and it was a free day! We still donated some money though. Part of the museum was closed for renovations. They're planning a big birthday exhibition soon. Most of the museum is the typical stuff you'd get at a historical society (including a research library), but the standout here is the Les Paul room. I thought it was very well done; the kids and I all liked it and learned a lot about out local guitar engineer. Definitely worth a trip out here atleast once. Plus it's a cute little town and even an after-museum walk along the Fox in winter is enjoyable.

Somewhere there's music How faint the tune…read moreSomewhere there's heaven How high the moon At the Waukesha County Museum, the music can be found high up on the 3rd floor, for this is the permanent home and exhibit of Waukesha's most famous son: Les Paul, aka, The Wizard of Waukesha. It's hard for me to put in words how much I respect Les Paul. He was a genius on so many fronts: guitarist extraordinaire, singer, songwriter, comedian, inventor, innovator and all around good guy. Not a day goes by in our lives where something we see or hear was not influenced by his technical advancements. Did you hear recorded music today? Les pioneered multi-track recording. How about Led Zeppelin? Jimmy Page's preferred electric guitar was a Gibson Les Paul. For that matter, if you heard rock and roll today, somewhere, somehow, Les's influence was there. So to be able to fork over only $7 to see some of Les's personal artifacts and mementos is a great deal to me. The museum has some other interesting artifacts too. In the Winter of 2014, the first floor exhibited items from the American Civil War. A few of the items were downright harrowing: whips, ball and chain, shackles--how could humans have done this to one another? And while it's not a huge museum--you can see the entire thing, thoroughly, in about 3 hours--it's a great way to while away a Saturday or Sunday winter afternoon. It's also in a building which is an interesting artifact itself--the former Waukesha County Courthouse built in 1893. My suggestion: start at the bottom and work your way up. You'll be saving the best part--the Les Paul exhibit--for last. The Waukesha County Museum. The best reason to visit Waukesha since spring water. Note: Waukesha was known as Spring City. People traveled from around the world to sip its water with "miraculous healing powers." Today that water has, for the most part, been replaced by Miller Lite.