|
|
Bronzeville: History
The project is
located in what was Milwaukee’s first Bronzeville neighborhood, a
business, economic and cultural center to many of Milwaukee’s
African-American residents between the early 1900s and the 1960s.
The heart of Bronzeville was along Walnut Street between King Drive and 12th
Street.
By the 1930s, the number of African American-owned businesses
in this area exceeded all other areas of the city with the highest
concentration between 6th and 9th Streets.
|
|
 |
In the late 1960’s a
portion of Walnut Street, the physical heart of Bronzeville, was
demolished to make room for a freeway. Despite this loss, the memory
of Bronzeville remains strong in Milwaukee.
 |
|
The new Bronzeville
cannot replicate the past but it can empower economic
development in a way that recaptures the enthusiasm and
reverence for a cultural center of the African-American
community. |
The area chosen will
build upon the success of America’s Black Holocaust Museum at 4th and
North Streets and the redevelopment of Historic King Drive.
|
|
|
|
