Bay View's Puddlers' Cottages Need You!
Your voice can make a difference to protect history and affordable housing in Bay View!
A row of 7 Puddlers' Cottages on S. Superior St. at E Russell Ave. has been nominated as a local historic district in the City of Milwaukee. These small cottages were originally built in the 1860s as worker housing for the nearby Bay View Rolling Mill, which developed the original Bay View community as Milwaukee's first company town. With the factory itself demolished in 1939 and most other physical remnants of the founding of the city also gone, this row of unassuming mid-19th century workers’ cottages is arguably the strongest remaining connection to the community’s industrial genesis.
The proposed district was unanimously recommended for historic designation by the Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission (details including an in-depth history of the cottages are available at https://milwaukee.legistar.com/Legislation by searching for File 201378), but it must next go before the City’s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee (ZND), on Tuesday, June 29 at 9am. This group of five alders will then make a recommendation to Common Council for final approval.
Your voice is needed to advocate for the district! Members of the committee and your alders want to hear from you!
Designation would protect the value of these important buildings to the community by requiring that certain exterior changes, including demolition, be approved by the Historic Preservation Commission as part of a public hearing. This would ensure that the entire community has a voice in the future of these significant community landmarks.
There are 4 easy ways you can help preserve these treasures :
You can put your comments in your own words and let our decisionmakers know why preserving the Puddlers' Cottages with a historic district is important to you, but here are a few key points that can have a strong impact:
Together we can ensure Bay View’s important historic places continue to make the community we love so special, while maintaining affordable housing, and protecting our planet for years to come!
A row of 7 Puddlers' Cottages on S. Superior St. at E Russell Ave. has been nominated as a local historic district in the City of Milwaukee. These small cottages were originally built in the 1860s as worker housing for the nearby Bay View Rolling Mill, which developed the original Bay View community as Milwaukee's first company town. With the factory itself demolished in 1939 and most other physical remnants of the founding of the city also gone, this row of unassuming mid-19th century workers’ cottages is arguably the strongest remaining connection to the community’s industrial genesis.
The proposed district was unanimously recommended for historic designation by the Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission (details including an in-depth history of the cottages are available at https://milwaukee.legistar.com/Legislation by searching for File 201378), but it must next go before the City’s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee (ZND), on Tuesday, June 29 at 9am. This group of five alders will then make a recommendation to Common Council for final approval.
Your voice is needed to advocate for the district! Members of the committee and your alders want to hear from you!
Designation would protect the value of these important buildings to the community by requiring that certain exterior changes, including demolition, be approved by the Historic Preservation Commission as part of a public hearing. This would ensure that the entire community has a voice in the future of these significant community landmarks.
There are 4 easy ways you can help preserve these treasures :
- Reach out to your alder to let them know you support the Puddlers' Cottages historic district. This is especially important if you live in Bay View or one of the districts served by members of the ZND (Dimitrijevic, Perez, Bauman, Hamilton, Coggs) but can make a difference no matter where in Milwaukee you live. Alders serve their constituents and want to hear your views on issues coming before them so they can represent you well! You can find your alder and their contact info at https://city.milwaukee.gov/CommonCouncil.
- Submit an official written comment to ZND in support of the district by emailing clee@milwaukee.gov and referencing File 201378. CC members of the ZND (Marina@milwaukee.gov, rjbauma@milwaukee.gov, mcoggs@milwaukee.gov, ahamil@milwaukee.gov, and jperez@milwaukee.gov) and your alder for maximum impact.
- Register to speak at the ZND meeting in support of the district, also by emailing clee@milwaukee.gov. No need to be nervous! ZND wants to hear from residents, and your voice matters! Providing public testimony is one of the most powerful and influential ways to get involved with the local democratic process. Public testimony is generally limited to 2 minutes.
- Spread the word to your friends and neighbors! We need our decisionmakers to know that the community cares about these important buildings and supports the historic district.
You can put your comments in your own words and let our decisionmakers know why preserving the Puddlers' Cottages with a historic district is important to you, but here are a few key points that can have a strong impact:
- Community Voice - Designation does not stop future changes to the properties. Instead, recognizing that the properties have value to the entire community, it allows for a public process before certain changes (including demolition) are approved.
- Proactive - ZND has expressed an interest in proactive designation. This nomination does exactly that by identifying properties that have historic significance before there is a direct threat to them.
- Affordable Housing - Older, smaller homes like these play a critical role in providing Bay View with Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH), a keenly felt need in the community that is only expected to increase. Economic realities dictate that new homes that might be built on these properties were they to be demolished would be more expensive.
- Environment - In providing for a public process before demolition would be permitted, designation also protects the environment by keeping valuable and useful building materials out of landfills, which require large amounts of land and taxpayer resources and are damaging to the environment.
- Jobs - Designation would encourage rehabilitation over demolition. Rehabilitation puts more of its resources into labor costs as opposed to the predominantly material costs associated with new construction.
- Economic Benefits - A home’s location in a historic district does not depress the property value but helps the home hold and even increase its value while still maintaining affordability relative to new construction. Local designation protects an owner's investment.
Together we can ensure Bay View’s important historic places continue to make the community we love so special, while maintaining affordable housing, and protecting our planet for years to come!
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
We need you to impact Milwaukee. Make your voice heard in these simple, yet effective, ways:
More information about your Milwaukee County Supervisor here.
We need you to impact Milwaukee. Make your voice heard in these simple, yet effective, ways:
- Write a letter, email, or call your local representative or officials
- Show up to public meetings and share your story and provide evidence
- Recruit others in your community and educate them about your reasons for being passionate
- SIGN THE "SAVE OUR DOMES" PETITION!
More information about your Milwaukee County Supervisor here.
Past opportunities to make your voice heard:
11/4/2019: Annual Public Hearing on the 2020 Recommended County Budget
We still need your help to make sure that funding for the Domes is part of Milwaukee County’s capital budget for this year. Please continue to contact your County Supervisor to tell them how important the Domes are to you, and come out to the County Board Budget Hearing to show your support!
What: Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors Annual Public Hearing on the 2020 Recommended Budget
When: Monday, November 4, 6 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30pm)
Where: Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N Water St, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Free parking will be provided.
Details: Please bring a prepared comment if you wish to vocalize your support - each commenter will have two minutes to tell their story about why they support funding for the Domes revitalization in the 2020 Milwaukee County budget.
Save Our Domes will continue to keep you updated as Milwaukee leadership considers the future of these landmarks. If you haven’t already, please sign our petition calling for a preservation solution for the Domes, and share it with your friends.
Thank you for your ongoing support of these Milwaukee landmarks! For more information on the Save Our Domes coalition, visit our website, or like our page on Facebook.
The founding members of the Save Our Domes coalition are Milwaukee Preservation Alliance and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
A huge thank you from Save Our Domes to all those who attended the Domes Public Hearing on Wednesday, September 18. We asked you to take action and you did! Over 100 people attended the meeting, overwhelmingly in support of the Domes Task Force’s proposed plan which would rehabilitate this Milwaukee landmark and revitalize Mitchell Park. Your voices are making a difference!
But for as close as we are, we still need your help. During the month of October, Milwaukee County Board members will consider the budget and will likely vote on the Domes proposal.
Please keep up the emails and phone calls to your local elected officials, and mark your calendar for upcoming public hearings:
Save Our Domes will continue to keep you updated as these critical votes proceed. If you haven’t already, please sign our petition calling for a preservation solution for the Domes, and share it with your friends.
For more information on the Save Our Domes coalition, visit our website, or like our page on Facebook. Thank you for your ongoing support of these Milwaukee landmarks!
But for as close as we are, we still need your help. During the month of October, Milwaukee County Board members will consider the budget and will likely vote on the Domes proposal.
Please keep up the emails and phone calls to your local elected officials, and mark your calendar for upcoming public hearings:
- November 12, 9:30 am – Annual Meeting/Budget Adoption by the Milwaukee County Board (Milwaukee County Courthouse, Room 200)
Save Our Domes will continue to keep you updated as these critical votes proceed. If you haven’t already, please sign our petition calling for a preservation solution for the Domes, and share it with your friends.
For more information on the Save Our Domes coalition, visit our website, or like our page on Facebook. Thank you for your ongoing support of these Milwaukee landmarks!
