“Seeing the old machinery made it so much more real. You could really feel the past here.”

During the 2024 Doors Open Milwaukee event, Rae Jungwrith and Dia Savard, two students from Door County attending school in Milwaukee, had their first experience exploring the city and the historic 217 North Broadway building. This venue, originally a coffee roasting mill built in 1912, is now a beautifully preserved industrial relic in Milwaukee’s Historic […]

“We would go to thrift stores and find cameras that still had a few shots left.”

Kori Fuerst is a co-owner of Retrospekt, a Wisconsin-based company that restores and sells vintage technology. Fuerst and her husband, Adam, started the business in 2015 due to their love for Polaroid cameras. The company’s mission is to preserve and share the magic of retro technology. Retrospekt specializes in vintage cameras, portable cassette players, and […]

“It’s their first time coming to this museum, and they didn’t even know this gem existed.”

While art and engineering are rarely associated with each other, the Milwaukee School of Engineering seamlessly blends the two at the on-campus Grohmann museum. The museum dedicated to the “evolution of human work”, according to their website, features an impressive collection of paintings, drawings and sculptures all celebrating human progress. Kathleen Miezio, a regular volunteer […]

“I know we have over 800 bus operators and we have 203 maintenance employees.”

The Milwaukee County Transit System Fleet Maintenance Building houses all Milwaukee County city buses that need repair. The body shop, tire repair and paint hangar are in the Fleet Maintenance Department. Dwyane Reese is the director of maintenance. He has been at Milwaukee County Transit System for 26 years. Briceon Monk: How long has Milwaukee Transit […]

“We are the only home close to the lake that is actually publicly accessible.”

Rheta Matsumoto is the Membership and Visitor Services Manager at the Villa Terrace Museum. The museum, which offers a hilltop view of Lake Michigan, is nestled in what was historically known as the “Gold Coast” neighborhood in Milwaukee. In addition to participating in Doors Open Milwaukee, Villa Terrace was also celebrating the building’s 100th year […]

“I learned right alongside the kids that we’ve worked with.”

Bill Nimke is the founder and executive director of All Hands Boatworks, a Milwaukee nonprofit dedicated to inspiring children through the art of boat building. Nimke, a former middle and high school English teacher, continued his passion for helping children learn by creating the nonprofit 11 years ago. So far, he estimates that the organization […]

“I think looking at pictures of stars and stuff blows my mind every time.”

At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Manfred Olson Planetarium stands with various astronomy shows open to the public. The planetarium offers a variety of shows throughout the year ranging from creepy adventures through space, star significance for indigenous cultures, and even colorful Northern Lights displays. As the engagement team for the planetarium Ashley Harrison, Britain […]

“Everything is gonna be retro at some point.”

Retrospekt is Riverwest’s resident retro-tech refurbisher and manufacturer, founded by Adam and Kori Fuerst. For the past decade, Retrospekt has been repairing and reselling vintage Polaroid cameras to a global market. The couple got their start thrifting vintage cameras for the film left in them and selling the actual cameras back to Polaroid. Now they’re […]