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The Milwaukee Art Museum has announced that it will double the size of its museum store and the larger space will allow the museum to bring back some of the striking Santiago Calatrava-designed display cases that were put in storage when the shop moved to a smaller location in May 2021.
Beginning Nov. 20, the shop, located at the “prow” of Calatrava’s Quadracci Pavilion, will expand into a small meeting room just above, allowing it to not only offer a wider selection of merchandise, but also to bring back Calatrava’s beautiful display cases.
As we noted in this February article, the two long and curving cantilevered pearwood cases, with glass tops and steel legs, were designed by the architect especially for the museum, as was a wooden oval cabinet.
The cases were made by Swiss company Hobel, in Zurich, with the final assembly taking place on-site in Milwaukee by a pair of craftsmen from Switzerland.
In February, a museum spokesperson told us the cases were expected to be back.
“The museum still has the display cases from the gift shop,” Communications Manager Lindsey Wurz said. “While the displays are currently off view, the museum plans to incorporate them again.”
When the enlarged store – designed by Kahler Slater – opens, the oval cabinet will be installed on the first floor and (judging from the renderings) one of the pearwood display cases will be upstairs, in the space where I interviewed the Spanish architect in 2022.
"This project has been in the works for some time, and we’re thrilled it’s becoming a reality,” said MAM Director of Retail Operations Karen Brandolino. “The store’s refreshed direction was designed with our fabulous patrons in mind, solidifying the Museum Store’s position as the most artful shopping destination in Milwaukee.”
MAM says that its online store has also been refreshed. It can be found at MAMstore.org.
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.
