Support Us

Soldiers Home Walking Tours 

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We are pleased to now offer free regularly scheduled walking tours of the Soldiers Home campus. 
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​Each tour is 90 minutes long, approximately 1 mile, and will cover a variety of fascinating information including the history, architecture, and preservation stories of these historic buildings. Tours run rain or shine. 

Come see this award-winning National Historic Landmark for yourself! Register today! 

Join us for Happy Hour! 

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June 1, 2022 5-7pm at Indeed Brewing 
Meet and network with people who care about Milwaukee's special places just as much as you do!

This is a casual event to meet with friends, colleagues, and neighbors. We will have a table at Indeed, but that's as far as the formalities go! Please come for a few minutes, an hour, or the entire evening; it's up to you! We just want to mingle with our friends (you!) and celebrate the end of a successful Preservation Month.

Own a Piece of Milwaukee History! 

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​To celebrate Preservation Month, we are selling marquee letters from the Warner Theater! We are so lucky to have received these letters after the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra found them during their renovations and are excited to offer them to you! All proceeds from the sale of these unique letters go to further the mission of MPA to advocate for Milwaukee’s historic buildings. 

Quantities are limited, and once they are gone, they’re gone! Act fast!

Event: Celebrate Olmsted!

Join us for a virtual conversation with Hugh Howard, Author of Architects of an American Landscape: Henry Hobson Richardson, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Reimagining of America's Public and Private Spaces

Wednesday, June 15, 7:00pm

​Hosted by Boswell Books, we’re excited to team up with MSOE and the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum as part of the national Olmsted 200 celebration to bring this conversation on America’s preeminent landscape architect and one of the nation’s most influential architects to Milwaukee. 

Historic Columbia Hospital question headed to court

Sign on door indicating demolition
After being granted local historic designation recently by the City of Milwaukee, the future of the historic 1919 Columbia Hospital is now likely to be determined in court. The building's current owners - UWM - have questioned whether the local preservation ordinance applies to state entities, resulting in a temporary restraining order granted by the courts to prevent demolition. The question is scheduled to come before the court next on Thursday, June 30. Keep reading to learn more, and stay tuned for updates as they're available! 
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Soldiers Home Chapel t-shirts for sale!

​Our friend Laura Rinaldi is selling Save the Milwaukee Soldiers Home t-shirts highlighting the Chapel, with proceeds going directly to MPA! Grab a great looking shirt and help support our efforts to preserve this endangered treasure today!

Milwaukee Preservation Alliance

Milwaukee Preservation Alliance, Inc. is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting stewardship and awareness of the historic, cultural, and economic value of Milwaukee’s built heritage. MPA aims to strengthen Milwaukee’s neighborhoods by advocating for and promoting their unique cultural spaces and architectural assets in order to foster a strong and vibrant community as well as demonstrating the link between historic preservation and viable economic development.
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​Historic preservation is essential to a strong local economy. A large and growing body of research is documenting the positive impact that historic preservation has on the economy in six broad areas: local job growth, property values, increased heritage tourism, smaller environmental impact, greater quality of life, and downtown revitalization. One of MPA’s primary goals is to continue to promote historic preservation as a valuable economic tool to those in a position to make decisions concerning our historic resources: elected officials, property owners, developers, and investors. A number of Milwaukee neighborhoods and buildings have been revitalized by the conservation and restoration of their historic fabric including the Third Ward, Brady Street, and Brewer’s Hill as well as the Iron Horse Hotel, the Pabst Theater, and the Riverside Theater. Milwaukee’s character and charm lie within these areas and would be greatly diminished without them. MPA’s advocacy work makes a difference in Milwaukee but the continued loss of historic buildings demonstrates the urgent need for our organization and our work. Presently, Milwaukee Preservation Alliance is an active participant in a coalition to preserve the National Soldiers Home. In 2011, MPA orchestrated the campaign to have the National Soldiers Home recognized as one of the Nation’s 11 Most Endangered Places. In addition, MPA assisted with the Soldiers’ Home National Historic Landmark status, and is a founding member of the Soldiers Home Community Advisory Council. As Milwaukee’s only organization devoted solely to advocating for historic preservation, MPA’s task is not simply to protect the past; it is also to build public awareness, appreciation and support for the distinctive historic character of the city of Milwaukee in order to foster more livable communities.