What is believed to be Milwaukee’s first Downtown dog park officially opened on Thursday morning under the I-794 freeway at 103 W. Clybourn St. after a Wednesday afternoon ceremony and “Yappy Hour” attended by local dignitaries.
But when I stopped by early Friday morning, some of the real stars – Downtown Milwaukee pooches – were enjoying the space.
The fenced dog run on the west bank of the Milwaukee River includes a new section of RiverWalk – which will be further extended when the Foxtown Landing taproom, distillery and restaurant facility opens next door. That project is currently under construction.
The 23,000-square-foot dog park is the result of a collaboration between BID #21 and BID #2 with support from numerous entities, including Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Milwaukee County, the City of Milwaukee, Fromm Family Foods, the Milwaukee Admirals, Berghammer Construction, WE Energies, BMO, Veolia, Off Leash K9 Training, LLC, and other businesses, as well as thousands of individuals who contributed.
There are a few smaller fenced fenced-in exercise areas for small and large dogs, a large open space with turf and a central planter feature, as well as water and waste stations, and benches for bipeds.
With its many plantings, new turf and fencing, the park is a great use of some of the copious dead space beneath the freeway that cuts through Downtown.
The Downtown Milwaukee Dog Park will be open seven days a week from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. and requires a County dog park pass that can be purchased online at MKE.DOG or at pay stations at the County’s dog parks.
Annual passes are $19 but rise to $35 on Jan. 1, 2026.
“(The) opening is a testament to what can be achieved when the community, local government, and private partners come together for a shared vision,” said Milwaukee County Parks Executive Director Guy Smith on Wednesday.
“This new park not only provides a safe, fun environment for dogs to play, but also creates a gathering place that strengthens our Downtown community.”
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. A fifth collects Urban Spelunking articles about breweries and maltsters.
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 been heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
