Photo by Julia Watt
Jenny Gropp and Laura Solomon - Woodland Pattern
Jenny Gropp (L) and Laura Solomon (R) survey the plans for the new Woodland Pattern space (August 2026).
In January 2026, beloved poetry book center and experimental music venue Woodland Pattern announced its plan to move to 347 E. Ward Street in Bay View. Community reaction was initially mixed, many grieving while also excited for the potential of the new space. By now, co-executive directors Laura Solomon and Jenny Gropp feel they’ve earned the blessing of the overwhelming majority of the Woodland Pattern community.
The couple moved from Athens, GA in 2018 to take up the reins from Anne Kingsbury and Karl Gartung, co-founders and owners for more than 40 years. Solomon and Gropp brought important changes to the book center during their Riverwest tenure. They initiated a complete tech overhaul, developing a new website, digitizing their entire book collection and incorporating hybrid event programming—the latter sparked due to the confluence of the 2020 and ‘21 Poetry Marathons with the Covid pandemic.
Photo courtesy of Woodland Pattern
Marla Sanvick - Woodland Pattern
Art Director Marla Sanvick packs up at Locust Street for Woodland Pattern's move to Bay View (2026).
Wrapping up at the Locust Street location was both a homecoming and farewell. Woodland Pattern still ran their usual summer events, such as Poetry in the Park and Poetry Camp. They ran special programming in the building, including celebratory events looking back on the organization’s history. Kingsbury, an accomplished visual artist, displayed her work as the final exhibition in the Riverwest space.
Perhaps unexpectedly, Woodland Pattern has definitively placed Milwaukee on the poetry map. Uniquely poised to offer ample space, niche focus and a passionate community to invest in poetry and book arts, the city has been a more hospitable and sustainable setting for the non-profit book center than a denser or more costly city. Solomon and Gropp say that poetry nerds from far and wide travel to browse their collection. “We have people coming from New York all the time...[saying] ‘‘we have nothing like this in New York.’”
That said, moving the largest physical collection of poetry available for purchase in the U.S. is no small task, and certainly wasn’t a decision made lightly. So why is the wise old tree of Riverwest uprooting and moving south?
Accessibility concerns, rising costs
Photo courtesy of Woodland Pattern
Woodland Pattern move team (2026)
L-R: Summer Stetzik (Project Manager, HGA); Kevin Allebach (Arts/Community/Education Principal Architect, HGA); James Phelps (President, JCP Construction); Tracy Carson (Project Manager, JCP Construction); Laura Solomon (Woodland Pattern Executive Director); Todd Nelson (Project Superintendent, JCP Construction); Jenny Gropp (Woodland Pattern Executive Director)
Those familiar with Woodland Pattern remember its cozy layout—put bluntly by Solomon, “it’s tiny!” While intimate, the space proved increasingly inaccessible, especially as larger groups flocked to the Locust Street location for in-person events. With more patrons to accommodate in such a small space, as well as non-ADA bathrooms on a lower level, Solomon, Gropp and the board determined it necessary to adapt the space to better serve their community.
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The Woodland Pattern board purchased the Locust Street building from Kingsbury and Gartung shortly before Solomon and Gropp arrived. Together, the full crew planned on renovating and expanding the building to meet the needs of its growing community—until the pandemic hit, indefinitely pausing their renovation efforts. By the time they reconvened, costs had skyrocketed. “We were kind of displaced in that,” expresses Solomon. “[It was] gonna be 5 or 6 million dollars to renovate...we knew we couldn’t raise that kind of money.”
Their efforts to stay in Riverwest were fraught as they encountered the same financial constraints and large-scale renovation needs at other buildings they considered. The timing was just right when Zach Lifton, founder of The Bindery, announced they’d be closing and selling in 2025.
Thanks to their existing relationship with The Bindery through Milwaukee Zine Fest and multiple community events hosted at each other’s locations, it was an easy sell to the Woodland Pattern community. Raising $650,000 in six weeks, the poetry center was able to close the gap they needed to purchase the building from Lifton.
Bringing over the patina
Photo by Julia Watt
Antique print guillotine - Woodland Pattern (2026)
An antique paper guillotine lies dormant in the soon-to-be Woodland Pattern space in Bay View (August 2026).
Many involved in Woodland Pattern’s transition feel the Bay View location has a bookish magic to it. It’s a natural fit due to the building’s history, while it also affords new opportunities for the poetry center. With two dedicated classrooms and a broadly larger footprint, Solomon says “we could probably host five or six [events]” simultaneously. Gropp is excited about their wet/dry space and recently acquired letterpress, allowing them to run papermaking and book arts workshops with ease. The physical collection will now tout a Rare Books room and permanent not-for-sale collection of works from every poet who has read at Woodland Pattern from 1979 to present—all available for study.
“So much about this transition is about bringing over...the patina of the Locust Street space, so the experience is gonna keep living,” says Gropp. Jay Mollerskov, curator of Woodland Pattern’s “Formations” music series, has been working to replicate the timbre of the Locust Street gallery in the smaller of two performance spaces. “[The gallery] has this really special sound that musicians love,” explains Solomon. Siamak Mostoufi (Design SMAK) has also been guiding sound design in both spaces. Above the gallery is a small loft, currently dubbed “The Art Altar,” where they plan to display rotating art exhibitions.
Bay View seems an appropriate spot for Woodland Pattern, as the organization is already in collaboration with many arts groups and non-profits in the neighborhood, such as Cactus Plus. The poetry center’s mission meshes well with the artsy, experimental and collaborative vibe of the neighborhood; they are optimistic that this location may even be easier to get to, more centralized in Milwaukee than boho enclave Riverwest.
Opening the Doors
Construction will continue into the winter. Artisan woodworkers Matthew Gramling and Ben Husnick are chipping away at new bookshelves, made from locally sourced cherry and ash. Solomon and Gropp are grateful to the designers, funders and financers who are making this transition possible.
They are chomping at the bit to host events in the new space, including their “Alternating Current Live” music series. Doors will open in January 2027, just in time for their annual Poetry Marathon. They can’t wait to activate the space with fellow artists, especially groups and events that don’t have a permanent space. “We’re gonna have space to tell our history, but also to really enable new things across the region to happen in book arts, publishing, and poetry,” says Solomon.
The duo acknowledges the hole their transition will leave in Riverwest, and expresses that it’s emotionally hard for them, too. “We’ve been here the whole time we’ve been in Milwaukee,” Solomon says, with Gropp adding that their home is just down the street. They plan to remain involved in the neighborhood through educational events and collaborations. They also hope for a younger, up-and-coming arts organization to make the Locust Street building home. Gropp winks wistfully—“It’s ready. It’s got great shelves.”
