In part thanks to residents who raised $126,000, a waterfall that once flowed through a ravine in Lake Park has been restored and will be dedicated and opened at 3 p.m. on Sat., June 26.  

With a vertical fall of more than 30 feet, the waterfall is the highest in Southeastern Wisconsin.

"With restoration of this unique waterfall, one of America's greatest urban parks will again offer this soothing natural feature to residents across the city," said Phil Schultz, Board President of Lake Park Friends. "The waterfall will be one more attraction in a unique city park that attracts school children and families from all over Milwaukee."

Lake Park was designed in the early 1900s by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, creator of New York City's Central Park. The original Lake Park Waterfall was built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in a wooded ravine in the park. Over time, the waterfall disappeared but was fondly remembered by many.

A path to the Lake Park Waterfall begins at an overlook near the golf course's starter shack just south of the Lake Park Pavilion parking lot. The path and waterfall run through a wooded ravine that leads to Lincoln Memorial Drive.

Schultz said the construction of the masonry structure for the restored Lake Park Waterfall and related work was made possible by more than 200 individual donations totaling $126,000.  This  included a major gift by Camille Burke and her family in memory of her husband, Richard A. Burke. Burke, founder of Trek Bicycle Corp., lived nearby and spent much time in the park biking, jogging and golfing.  

The dedication ceremony, which is open to the public, takes place at the overlook.