Last weekend, over 160 local Milwaukee establishments and historical buildings welcomed community members for the 12th Annual Doors Open Milwaukee event, spreading awareness of neighborhoods in the city that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Doors Open was started by Historic Milwaukee in 2011 as a part of the organization’s mission to offer a free behind-the-scenes look into the art, architecture and historic communities within the city. Today, thousands of Milwaukeeans flock to explore what Milwaukee has to offer in this two-day event.
Although there are over 160 stops, here’s some insight on four participating locations:
House of Rad
The first stop on our trip is a collective artist space nestled between Williamsburg Heights and Riverwest called House of Rad, located in an inconspicuous warehouse. Turn the corner, and you’re greeted with an abundance of color, creative displays and works-in-progress. The walls are lined with intricate murals and artworks; you can see the efforts to curate a collective space.
Owner Brandon Minga describes House of Rad as an iteration of Burning Man, one that allows artists to cooperate through trust in each other. In fact, the concept of House of Rad began after a question was posed to Minga: why don’t artists collaborate more often? Since then, Minga has built a community through this collective space, one that provides artists with the tools to do things they never thought they would be doing.
“We have barbecues and dinners on Friday nights together and talk about ideas,” said Minga. “We talk about dreams and what we want to be making, and it’s that time where we’re building that trust in each other to then share it.”
House of Rad is for artists, by artists; everything you see is managed and run by the artists themselves, and commission goes 100% to them. This is House of Rad’s first public event since moving in six months ago, and Doors Open is giving artists an opportunity to show off what they’re doing in a big way.
Throughout the halls, artists stand outside of studio spaces with their doors open, ready to talk to passing Milwaukee residents.
Mike McGuinness, an artist at House of Rad and owner of Cohere Collective, a t-shirt company that advocates for kindness and a connection to others. Photo: Lauren Krueger 
Shanna, an artist at House of Rad, works on projects for their Arrowhead Lake Tower Lodge. Photo: Lauren Krueger 
Drew, House of Rad artist. Photo: Lauren Krueger
In the print room, Brandon Pierce, a UW-Milwaukee senior majoring in design studies and House of Rad screen-printing artist, is making t-shirts. His time at the collective space began at a mock-interview turned real with Minga that he set up for a design class. Since then, Pierce has been managing the screen-printing lab.
Brandon Pierce, UWM student and House of Rad artist. Photo: Lauren Krueger
“It wasn’t supposed to be real, and now I’m here,” Pierce said. “It’s been an interesting summer spent setting all this up. We run events like this and do live printing, where everything’s in here.”
Brandon Pierce will be displaying his work at House of Rad’s next event, called ‘Feed Your Soul’, a fundraising event for Feeding America featuring an art auction and live entertainment in Riverwest. Last year, House of Rad raised over $120,000 for Feeding America, and owner Brandon Minga says it’s a great party. November 5th– don’t miss it!
North Point Water Tower
Many Milwaukeeans drive past the grand, fairytale-style tower off of Lake Drive every day, but does anyone really know why it’s there? As it turns out, the North Point Water Tower used to be a functioning standpipe that housed up to 12,000 gallons of water for the City of Milwaukee back when the Water Works department began.
According to Milwaukee Water Works Quality Manager Michelle Natarajan, the tower would absorb energy in the city’s water system to prevent breaks in water mains. Now, the building stands as a beautiful but obsolete historic landmark. The walls are made from cream city brick and limestone from a quarry that is now the baseball stadium.
Although city-goers could not climb the tower this year due to safety reasons, Milwaukee Water Treatment Plant Operator Adrian Wencka says the site racked up about 1300 visitors by 3p.m. on their first day.
“It’s nice to open up a historic site for the City of Milwaukee and let people kind of see inside,” said Wencka.
MARN ART + CULTURE HUB
As you enter MARN ART, which stands for the Milwaukee Artist Resource Network, you’re met with a brightly lit space with shelves filled with a variety of local art for sale and the scent of local, freshly brewed Interval coffee wafting through the air. Walk a little further and you’ll see the entrance to their public gallery space; right now, it features works from local Muslim artists in an exhibition called Reflecting My Muslim Americanism, which will be available until October 23, 2022.
MARN works with local artists to help sell their work and build their careers. The nonprofit organization cycles through members so everyone gets a chance to display their art, and Doors Open has been a great opportunity to for MARN to get the word out, according to Marketplace Curator and MARN artist member Isabel Recalde.
“Doors Open is really just showing people that we’re here,” said Recalde. “We’ve only been in this space for two years, even though MARN has been in existence for 20 years. It’s nice to have people discover us.”
MARN ART+CULTURE HUB is currently looking for new artist members and encourages any UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts graduates to apply for their program!
Dead Bird Brewing Co.
Walking up to the entrance of Dead Bird Brewing Company, you can hear the smooth tones of Raf & Company serenading the beer-drinkers. Once inside, the space is filled with laughter and conversation as adults and kids alike play on the collection of arcade games.
Dead Bird Brewing Co. brew master and owner, Nick. Photo: Lauren Krueger 
Dead Bird Crewing Co. beer sample. Photo: Lauren Krueger 
Dead Bird Brewing Co. Entrance. Photo: Lauren Krueger
Dead Bird Brewing Company is Wisconsin’s only all-vegan brewery and winery, and the space speaks to their sustainability. The parking lot is made of permeable pavement to reduce runoff, the roof is lined with solar panels and their beer flights are made of reused plastic. Nick, owner and Brew Master at Dead Bird, says Doors Open Milwaukee has been a great way to engage with the Milwaukee community and bring people in. Last year, the brewery had almost 400 people visit in the two days of Doors Open.
“We got our doors blown off,” said Nick. “I knew I wanted to be a part of it. It’s been great for us, last year and this year.”
Historic Milwaukee Volunteers
Doors Open Milwaukee doesn’t just inspire visitors to explore the city; the volunteers at Historic Milwaukee enjoy learning about the sites they work at and meeting the people who stop in.
It’s Historic Milwaukee volunteer John Leitzmann’s fifth year working for Doors Open, and his second year at Dead Bird Brewing Company. He likes the brewery because of the fun atmosphere, and says owner Nick is clearly passionate about it.
“It’s just so much fun,” Leitzmann said. “I get to see people that I haven’t seen in a while.”
For Historic Milwaukee volunteer tour guide Sean Regan, Doors Open is a simple, easy and inexpensive way to immerse yourself in a place or neighborhood that you’ve never been before. After over 15 years at the nonprofit organization, Regan says Doors Open continues to provide him with new places to explore.
“Over the last 12 years, I have never run out of things to see and do,” Regan said. “They’re constantly coming up with new places and different tours and experiences.”
If you missed Doors Open Milwaukee this year, don’t worry! It will come again next fall with even more opportunities to explore the rich culture and history of Milwaukee.