Juneau Park is 15.8 acres at the end of Juneau Avenue, or at the end of State Street, or the end of Kilbourn Avenue, or at the end of Wells Street, or at the end of Mason Street depending on which road you're using to head east until it ends at Prospect. Juneau Park is sandwiched between Prospect and Lincoln Memorial Drive, with part of it on top of the bluff and part of it below. The Oak Leaf Trail passes through Juneau Park along the old right-of-way of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway.
On the upper level of the park, along Prospect Avenue, you'll find a kind of a shrine to Solomon Juneau, one of the three founders of Milwaukee. Juneau came here in 1822 as part of a Canadian fur trading mission and opened a trading post. He recognized the potential of the area and bought all the land between the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan.
In his namesake park, on the north end, you'll find a reproduction of Juneau's log home. Is it at the actual location of Juneau's home? No (there's a sky scraper there) but it is at the end of Juneau Avenue, here in Juneau Park. Further down is a statue of Solomon Juneau. Next to the log home? No, that's a statue of Leif the Discoverer. We'll come back to Leif, another block south of Leif is where you'll find the Juneau Monument.
The statue of Solomon Juneau was created by Richard Henry Park, a well-known sculptor who was active in New York and Florence, Italy. (Park also created the statue of General George Washington in the Court of Honor on Wisconsin Avenue.) The bronze statue is 15' tall and is mounted on top of a limestone base. Juneau is looking west, and beneath him, his name is emblazoned in raised letters. On the back of the base is an inscription that reads: "The gift of Charles T. Bradley, and William H. Metcalf to the City of Milwaukee." Bradley and Metcalf were successful shoe manufacturers.
On the north side of the base is a bronze bas-relief sculpture of Juneau with Native Americans. An inscription reads, "Solomon Juneau, First Mayor of Milwaukee, MDCCCXXXXVI." On the south side of the base is a bronze bas-relief sculpture of Juneau in Congress. It also bears the inscription, "Solomon Juneau, First Mayor of Milwaukee, MDCCCXXXXVI."
About a block north, at the foot of State Street, is a statue entitled, "Leif, the Discoverer" that is a bronze sculpture of Leif Ericson. It is a second edition of a statue created by American sculptor Anne Whitney in 1887. The original is on display in Boston on Commonwealth Avenue. The replica was commissioned by Mrs. Joseph Gilbert and, at her request, was unveiled without fanfare. Leif is approximately 8 feet tall, he is bronze, his pedestal is red sandstone. He is young and clean-shaven, wearing mail, breast plates, a studded belt, a tunic and leggings with leather sandals. He carries a powder horn over his shoulder and a knife in a decorative sheath at his side. On the base is an inscription that reads, "Leif, the discoverer, Son of Erik, Who sailed from Iceland and landed on this continent, A.D. 1000." On the back of the pedestal, in runic letters, it reads, "Leif, Son of Erik the Red."
The park is long and narrow and besides the historic structures, there is also a small building that has public restrooms and a bubbler ("water fountain" in the rest of the world) on the east side of the building. If Monsieur Juneau were able to turn around, he would be afforded a beautiful view of the War Memorial, the harbor and Veteran's Park. Juneau Park is a great green spot in an urban setting, and it allows pleasant recreational opportunities and views of the lake for residents of East Town. read more