“People don’t know what treasure we have in Milwaukee.”

Ernee Kender is a Germantown resident and visitor to the Grain Exchange and other local buildings during the Doors Open event in Milwaukee. The Grain Exchange invented the very first trading pit in the 1860s, and for some time Milwaukee exported more wheat than any port in the world. It can be difficult to take […]

“Milwaukee PBS produces six original shows about our community.”

Julie Hill Lehr is the manager for marketing and community engagement at MIlwaukee PBS, located in Milwaukee Area Technical College downtown. Her work includes reaching out to members of the Milwaukee community, giving a spotlight to local issues and highlighting local programming. She is proud of Milwaukee’s original programming and believes that these shows can […]

“We like to partner with community organizations and welcome people in.”

Chuck Stebelton is the Book Center Manager at the Woodland Pattern Book Center. He has participated in Doors Open Milwaukee by giving people tours of the building and showing the gallery where local artists have their work on display. He has visited other Doors Open Milwaukee events and gained great experiences in the community. Kourtni […]

“It’s sort of weird — it’s like a legacy. It’s going to last way beyond me.”

Eugene Orlandini has worked in his family’s plaster-making business for over 40 years. Their beautiful plasterwork decorates many notable structures around Milwaukee including the Pabst Theater, Eagles Ballroom and The Plaza Hotel. Orlandini takes immense pride in his family’s business, displaying their work during Doors Open Milwaukee. Q: What got you started here? A: Well, […]

“When you’re in Best Place, you sort of forget what’s going on in the rest of the world.”

Jim Haertel is the owner of Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, and the Best Place tour guide for Doors Open Milwaukee 2023. Jim entertains his tour participants with enlightening stories of Pabst history, insight on renovation complications and a guided tour through the old Pabst corporate offices and the Blue Ribbon Hall. Restoring […]

“When you cross into Schlitz, you just feel your shoulders come down.”

Schlitz Audubon Nature Center aims to conserve its 185 acres of land to provide improved habitats for the wildlife found along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Located in Bayside, Schlitz Audubon also offers year-round environmental education programs for people of all ages. Lesley Houchin-Miller has worked at the center since September 2019, and her children […]

“I’m digging into the parts of my practice that create opportunities for collaboration with the public.”

Artist. Curator. Educator. Puppeteer. His Instagram is flooded with images of faces: colorful, deconstructed and reimagined. Bright colors with geometric shapes and patterns continue to catch the eyes of visitors both in the studio and on-screen. Anwar Floyd-Pruitt is the St. Kate Art Hotel’s newest artist in residence whose interdisciplinary work reveals a passion for […]

“Are you listening to this crazy station? They’re playing whatever they want, and people are listening.”

Tom Crawford is the station manager at WMSE, the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s campus radio station. He started as a community volunteer at the station in 1984, eventually working his way up to the position that he holds today. Passionate about the music and development of the station, Crawford joined other employees of the station […]

“They all have personalities, and they’re 80 to 100 years old, but they’re pretty good at doing their job.”

Bay View Printing Company is a local letterpress printing company that has been around for 106 years.Their building was originally a church, and they started out as a newspaper printing company. Nowadays, they do design and letterpress printing for many local companies. All of their printing is done on antique, century-old printing presses and that’s […]