The Bay View Historical Society recently announced that it will designate Humboldt Park as its historic landmark for 2025.
A ceremony for the landmarking will be held Saturday, June 28 at 1 p.m. at the Humboldt Park pavilion. It is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.
Folks who attend will get a copy of a special full color souvenir booklet featuring vintage photos and a history of the park by Bay View historian Ron Winkler.
The ceremony will include BVHS President Drew Formentini, who will speak, along with Bay View-area Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic and County Supervisor Jack Eckblad. Winkler will also be on hand to give a brief talk about the history of the park and to present the plaque.
Bay View Historical Society has, since 1983, landmarked 30 sites, the first one being the group’s headquarters, the Beulah Brinton House on South Superior Street.
Humboldt Park – which these days is home to the popular Chill on the Hill summer concert series in the bandshell and The Vine beer garden at the pavilion – dates to 1890, when it was created, Winkler says, on land purchased from two landowners.
The eastern 15 acres were purchased from Henry and Mathilda Mann, who house still stands at 2931 S. Logan Ave. and the western 31 acres, from Pine Avenue west to Howell, were bought from Jane Wilcox.
Originally called South Park, it was renamed in 1900 for Prussian scientist and explorer Alexander Von Humboldt.
The lagoon was finished in 1893 and much progress was made in the first decade of the 20th century when, Winkler says, “large numbers of trees and shrubs were planted, the park was illuminated with gas lamps, a new children’s playground was built and clay tennis courts were added.
“In 1909 the wooden boathouse and a tool shed were moved west of the lagoon to the park’s northern border at Idaho Street, site of the current pavilion. It became the service and maintenance building.”
A red granite memorial to Bay View residents who died in World War I was added in 1921.
The following year, 27.5 acres were added to the north side of the park, much of it belonging to members of Jane Wilcox’s family.
In 1932, a bandshell was built. When that one was destroyed by fire in 1975, a new bandshell was constructed. The Swiss chalet-inspired bandshell opened in 1977.
That is where Bay View Neighborhood Association's Chill on the Hill takes place today and this year it celebrates its 20th anniversary.
The Vine opened in 2014.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
