‘This gives us a chance, not only to observe the exterior, but also go in and show off the interior.’

Gabe Sonsalla is an architecture student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and volunteered for the Doors Open Milwaukee event. Sonsalla is not a Wisconsin native; he was born and raised in Minnesota. He sat in the lobby of the hotel greeting guests as they walked in. His experience at the Saint Kate Arts Hotel allowed him to explore an area of Milwaukee outside the UWM bubble.

Stephanie Serrano: Have you gotten any weird questions today?

I’ve gotten a few questions about the building, mostly. I’ve got a lot of questions about City Hall. Otherwise, it’s been fairly standard. A lot of people just really want to see what is in these buildings and learn more about them.

Is there anything about this building that stands out to you?

I would say having art as a central focus of this hotel, I feel like not a lot of hotels have that aspect. I know a lot of these galleries are usually not open to the public. So, having that for free is something that is special that not many other buildings do, let alone hotels.

Based on your experience so far, would you come back?

I’m just working the event today but had I known what the experience would have been like earlier, I might have come back for another day. I found it’s a really good time.

What is the goal for your volunteer assignment this weekend?

It’s about observing interior design, but mostly about having a community outreach. It gets the students to acknowledge where they are because we do have a lot of great architecture downtown. So, this gives us a chance, not only to observe the exterior, but also go in and show off the interior to other people too.

Although your time here is required for class, would you say you have benefitted from this experience?

I definitely do. I enjoy giving my somewhat limited knowledge of this building to the people coming in to visit, but I think it’s also great, just another chance to get downtown and look at buildings. I definitely want to take another look at the art galleries and maybe see who the artist in residence is. The building is not only a great hotel, but also a great space to just view art.

Have you learned anything about this hotel that you didn’t know about it before?

I didn’t know that they had an artist in residence. Apparently, that is a thing they’ve always had. So I find that really interesting. I’ve also heard some things about music taking place here at night. I think there’s a concert hall somewhere, which I would love to check out when there is live music.