Walking on the Wild Side of 'The Milwaukee River Greenway’

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Photo by Barry Houlehen

Milwaukee River Greenway

The Milwaukee River Greenway south of Silver Spring Drive.

Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.  

The Milwaukee River Greenway: A Wealth of Nature in the Heart of the City (published by River Revitalization Foundation), written and collected by Eddee Daniel (with a foreword by historian John Gurda), tells Milwaukee’s history through the history of one of its great rivers. It reminds us that the Milwaukee River runs through time as well as space. Daniel is a Milwaukee-based photographer, writer, arts educator and environmentalist.

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The Milwaukee River Greenway by Eddee Daniel

Nearly 900 acres of green space make up the Milwaukee River Greenway, in an 8 mile stretch along the Milwaukee River that runs between North Avenue and Silver Spring Drive, spanning Milwaukee, Shorewood and Glendale. The Greenway has 28 miles of interlinked hiking, biking and water trails. More than two thirds of the Greenway consists of Milwaukee County parks.

The Greenway includes long-established Milwaukee parks that were acquired in the early 20th century during Milwaukee’s socialist era, such as Lincoln, Gordon, Kern, Estabrook and Riverside—as well as more recent additions to the County Park System, such as Cambridge Woods and Pleasant Valley. It also includes space that that has more recently been conserved and “rewilded” in the last 25 years or so by the dogged efforts of a coalition of conservationists and activists.

Waterway for Industry

This book chronicles Milwaukee River history from its days as an important home and waterway for Indigenous people to its role as an important waterway for the burgeoning metropolis and industrial behemoth. The Milwaukee River provided transport and access to Great Lakes shipping. The dams built on the river at North Avenue and Capitol Drive in the 19th century generated energy to power flour, paper and sawmills, tanneries, cement mining and manufacturing operations, foundries and a linseed oil plant. The river proved efficient as a natural ice maker (for breweries). It provided ideal sites for resorts and amusement parks, as well as year-round recreational opportunities, including swimming, boating and rowing in summer, and ice skating, ski jumping, hockey and wheel-barrow races in winter. It also became an all-too-convenient conduit for raw sewage and the toxic byproducts of industrialization.

But despite these flourishing early industries, the river’s steep banks to the north of downtown, discouraged extensive urban development. In the 1960s, the Greenway, which hugs the Milwaukee River, narrowly escaped being turned into a four lane “parkway,” during the heyday of the freeway-building mania that gripped the country. Another major infrastructure project—the Deep Tunnel—did become a reality and helped to stem the flow of raw sewage into the river during heavy rains. All these factors loosely conspired through time to make today’s Greenway possible.

Eventually, the North Avenue dam was removed in 1997 (the Capitol Drive dam had long before ceased to exist). PCBs, PAHs and heavy metals were eventually dredged from areas near the dam. In 2017, when the Estabrook Dam was removed, more toxic accumulations also were dredged from the areas around the dam.

Enter the River Rats

In 1994, about a century after the moderate “sewer socialists” had come to power in Milwaukee by promising to improve public sanitation, reduce industrial pollution and build parks for recreation, a River Revitalization Council was formed. Appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson to study and survey the Milwaukee River. The study group members called themselves “River Rats.” They developed a consensus to restore the natural river basin rather than create a hardscape “Riverwalk,” like what had begun to be developed downtown.

In 2005, the River Rats and the community were galvanized by a Shorewood residential property owner who decided to clear-cut a 1,200-foot section of the steep riverbank bluff. In response to this deforestation, the River Rats swiftly became the Milwaukee River Workgroup and began to shape their vision of the Greenway that they initially dubbed “Milwaukee’s Central Park.” By 2010, they had created a master plan for the Milwaukee River Greenway. In 2010, the Milwaukee River Greenway Coalition included the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, the Cambridge Woods Neighborhood Association, Friends of Estabrook Park, Milwaukee Environmental Consortium, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, the River Revitalization Foundation, and the Urban Ecology Center, in partnership with Milwaukee County, the City of Milwaukee and the Village of Shorewood.

Today’s Greenway builds on the success of Milwaukee’s 20th century leaders who created the “emerald necklace” of Milwaukee County parks, while improving sanitation and curbing industrial pollution in the name of public health. The Greenway exists because of the vision and tireless commitment of the 21st century descendants of these 20^th century sewer socialists.

Community Working Together

The book would interest those who wish to learn more about the history of Milwaukee and who might like to explore the lush beauty and serenity of the Greenway. The book has more than 200 (often breathtaking) photographs and provides history for each of the parks and trails, as well as practical information about how to find access points and what to look for once you arrive. The book also includes more than 20 “Community Voice” segments, which are informative and insightful short commentary, often from people who were part of the Milwaukee River Greenway Coalition.

The book shows how individuals, non-profit organizations and governmental entities can successfully work together to make local spaces more valuable and accessible, correct past environmental mistakes and leave our world a better place for future generations.

We are now poised to witness the reawakening and rebirth of Greenway vegetation and the return of migratory birds. It would seem an ideal time to read Daniel’s book and perhaps visit the Greenway. It is well documented that spending time in green environments provides measurable health benefits. For those recovering from PTSD (Post-Trump Stress Disorder) and/or those seeking pandemic-safe spaces to explore, the Milwaukee River Greenway could provide both cure and sanctuary.

Eddee Daniel’s fine book is an interesting and inspirational read, as well as an informative guidebook for the uninitiated. My only criticism is that it lacks an index. I hope one can be added to it, if the book goes into a second edition. It is available for purchase at Bookbaby.com.

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Photo by Barry Houlehen

Milwaukee River Greenway

The Milwaukee River Greenway in May