There is more shining on the skyline of Walker’s Point these days than just the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower. A new commission for the Coakley Brothers Co. building, just off the roundabout at Fifth and Virginia streets, echoes the changes occurring throughout the neighborhood.
Walker’s Point had its roots as a fur trading post established in 1835 by George H. Walker. Its character and history have been shaped by its industrial buildings and warehouses, as a place for LGBTQ bars and clubs, and as a home of Latino culture in Milwaukee. It also has a long-standing presence of artists and galleries, like Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, which is celebrating its third decade in the neighborhood.
Coakley Brothers’ building is undergoing a $6 million renovation and as part of this process, Brooklyn-based artist Tom Fruin has created a multicolored, multifaceted water tower to cap the building. This is not the first time Fruin has made one of these pieces, but this example is the largest. A smaller version decorates his studio building, and it was there that Coakley Brothers President and CEO Peggy Coakley learned of his work; her interest immediate piqued when she saw his water tower while driving by.
As a choice for the area, it speaks to the past and present when water towers were more common features on rooftops. Here, the base has been reclaimed for a project that is luminous, and even fragile in its appearance, like stained glass. Actually, it is quite durable, as it is fabricated of Plexiglass and welded steel. The 20-foot tall water tower now resting atop the seven-story building is visible from the freeway on the west and Hoan Bridge to the east, especially at night when it is illuminated from within.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Public art pieces can be tricky in terms of how they fit into a certain place or for their aesthetic and iconographical references. What is particularly special about this new example is how well it works, fitting seamlessly as an echo of Walker’s Point’s past, but with a refreshing and even uplifting sense of the present.
Tom Fruin’s Coakley Brothers Watertower is located at 400 S. Fifth St.
