We love coming here so much we bought a membership. You can come every 2 to 3 weeks and there are…read moredifferent plants blooming. A nice variety of garden concepts and water features to enjoy. Also, plenty of benches scattered throughout the garden so if you need to take a rest, you can. We love coming here so much we bought a membership. You can come every 2 to 3 weeks and there are different plants blooming. A nice variety of garden concepts and water features to enjoy. Also, plenty of benches scattered throughout the garden so if you need to take a rest, you can.

Boerner is a wonderful garden with beautiful flowers in the spring and summer and gorgeous fall…read morecolors in autumn. I love Boerner so much that I had my engagement photoshoot here. It was so special and the photos turned out beautifully! I recently signed up for the 2-year membership, which was only $90 for two adults and gives me access to over 300 gardens, including Chicago Botanic! Also, easy parking in the lot and never too crowded!

Situated in an upscale neighborhood in suburban Fox Point is a one and one-third lot on the west…read moreshore of Lake Michigan. On this lot is a modest home that belonged to Mary Nohl. What makes it unique is Ms. Nohl's collection of sculptures, silhouettes and paintings that surround the cottage and are part of it. Technically it is named the Mary Nohl Art Environment but in popular lore it is also known as "The Witch's House". Mary L. Nohl was born in 1914, the youngest of three children. Her father, Leo Nohl was a noted attorney in Milwaukee. In 1924, he purchased this parcel of land on the shore of Lake Michigan to build a summer home for his family. Mary graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1938 and started a career as an art teacher in Baltimore junior high schools. Unhappy as a teacher, she gave up teaching and returned home to pursue her art. She ran her own commercial pottery studio for 10 years. When the studio was in the path of what is today I-43, she closed it and returned here, where she stayed. (Her oldest sibling died as an infant and her famous brother, marine engineer Max Nohl, died in a tragic head-on collision in 1960.) Her mother passed away in 1968, leaving her the home on the shore of Lake Michigan and enough of a fortune to live out her life and pursue her artwork. She created sculptures with concrete, stone and tree trunks. Her whimsical subjects were mystical creatures, fish, children, mythical structures, couples and a miniature Easter Island display comprised of four sculpted Moai-like heads. If you were fortunate enough to visit this home, you would also have seen groups of stylized figures and architectural structures. Ms. Nohl's reclusive nature and unusual artworks were the subject of numerous urban myths. She was rumored to be a witch ("The Witch of Fox Point") and her home became known as "The Witch's House." Mary took it in stride, even creating a mosaic on her front porch that spells, "BOO!" Her property was the target of many youthful visits, most by the curious, but some visits were from malicious vandals. No matter how many more reasonable explanations were made, the popular culture persisted. The vandalism forced her to put up a chain link fence with barbed wire topping it. Ms. Nohl passed away in 2001. She left her estate to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, her property, and all her artwork to the Kohler Foundation. The Kohler Foundation is a friend of the arts and restores art sites in Wisconsin and around the country. Several of the sculptures were removed to the Kohler Foundation facilities for restoration. Local zoning prohibits the property from being opened as a museum, but the Kohler Foundation maintains the site, it is restoring artwork that needs attention and keeps someone at the property at all times. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation used her gift to fund the Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists program administered by the Bradley Family Foundation. At one time, the Kohler Foundation planned to dismantle Ms. Nohl's home and carefully move it to Sheboygan County. The sculptures were also to be moved and the site recreated in a safe and viewable place. However, the sculptures are too fragile to move and will remain onsite and for now, inaccessible. Parking is virtually impossible and you are not allowed on the property. You can only view the artwork through the fence, but there are coffee table books published about Ms. Nohl and her delightful artworks. Despite the rumors and legends, despite what her neighbors might (or might not) think about her and her home, Mary L. Nohl was a friend of the arts, and dedicated to her work as an artist. She was more than just an artist. Her life was art, and she lived her art, right here on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Right on the Lake and behind some vined fences, you can see National Register of Historic Places…read more#05001109, the Mary Nohl Art Environment. This was also designated a Milwaukee County Landmark in 2006. The late Mary Nohl was a sculptor and jeweler, and many of her concrete statues are on display at her former house. There are dinosaurs, moai, and spooky walls of faces. Really cool stuff. You can stop by and take pictures, but the works are on private property, so no touching. There is an illegal parking spot nearby that you can use if you want to risk it. Definitely worth a jaunt to this offbeat attraction.

Beautiful museum…read more The beautiful building is free to access from the outside, and inside (just the lobby area, where it is the most beautiful). The museum exhibits are inside the square building with an entrance past the lobby. Any art lover will be wowed by the beautiful exhibition. There are special exhibits at different times throughout the year, and these are great times to visit. The cafe/restaurant downstairs is also beautiful, with a gorgeous view of the lake. Food and coffee is actually quite lovely as well! It's a small, and overlooked part of the experience. The store also has lots of cool stuff, though as a local Milwaukeean, I'm thinking a bit overpriced to get anything personally.

IG: diamante.lara.milwaukee…read more the art is wack but it's a great place to take photos. Everything in there has zero value.

Awesome experience, and well ran. Lots of art both local and international. Also plenty of…read moreperforming arts to listen to and watch as well.

OFA is a yearly event that takes place at the lovely Fowler Park in Oconomowoc, WI. It features…read morenumerous artists (local and out of towners) selling their arts and crafts. They feature such mediums as : ceramics, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, woodwork, and sculpture. They offer a shuttle for off-site parking, which is a very convienent way to come and walk around, enjoy the fest, and not have to worry about walking 'all the way back to the car.' They also offer entertainment for the kids, like a youth stage, playgrounds, entertainers, and petting zoos. Oconomowoc Festival of the Arts has been around for 40+ years and offers art from more than 130 artists! It's worth your while to check out - spend a day in beautiful Oconomowoc and support a good cause while you're at it. BTW : This year's OFA will be held on August 17th and 18th, 2013 from 10am - 5pm.

If you have kids that are into fire trucks or firefighters, this is a must-visit opportunity for…read morethe family. Heck, if you yourself are interested in some Milwaukee Firefighter history, you'll want to check this out too! It's currently open to the public every first Sunday of the month (April through December) from noon to 3pm. It's free to look around but donations are accepted. While we were there, there were a handful of retired firefighters (with experience from that fire house) on hand to give tours and answer questions. We found it to be very informative and fascinating. Had no idea until recently that that was even there and open. I'm pretty sure you can schedule a visit too, if their current open house hours don't work for you.

An absolutely amazing place to visit. Whether you're a child, teen, young adult, or older... you…read morewill love the history. Plenty of people around to answer questions also and give you greater insight.

Our Guide, Mike, gave an exceptional tour! Saw so many activities, food places, and historical…read moresights in Milwaukee we never knew existed... and we live close by!! Highly recommend this tour, especially if you're looking for the best of what Milwaukee has to offer !!

Mike is really fun and knows his stuff. We had a great time and learned a lot. The tour gives a…read moregood overview of Milwaukee and leaves room for more explodation.

I honestly had no idea what to expect when I signed up to do this... had heard that it was a…read more"haunted" tour. Heard that it was a "Gothic" tour. Also heard that it was an "historical" tour. It was all of those and more! It started raining about an hour before we were supposed to meet, and was considering skipping out. I am SO glad that I made the decision to join the group. Rain or shine, good weather or inclement, I would recommend Gothic Milwaukee tours to anyone and everyone. Anna's love for history and Milwaukee, shine through her as she regales her followers with stories of fame and fortune, ballrooms and back allies. She. Is. A. HOOT!! I got goosebumps more than a few times, listening to her tell stories about what has happened behind Milwaukee's beautiful facade. All said and done it's about 90 minutes, and approximately 3 miles of walking. The terrain is easy, it's all on city sidewalks. And Anna does a fantastic job of attracting your eyes to all the amazing things that downtown Milwaukee has to offer. If you like ghost stories you need to book a tour with Gothic Milwaukee. If your love is history... Anna is your girl. If walking around and learning about architecture and cool "fun facts" about where all the businessman went for their lunch breaks (hint: it wasn't a soda shop), then you need to walk this walk! Just found out that Gothic Milwaukee also has self guided walking tours of Milwaukee in card form!! I am TOTALLY getting these for everyone for Christmas! What a great way to show people how great Milwaukee is AND get props for giving the coolest gift of the year!! I am happy. Thank you, Anna.

I really wasn't sure what to expect with this tour. The website www.gothicmilwaukee.com is pretty…read morebland, there's not a lot of information about the tours online as far as reviews go.....but DAMN this tour was WELL worth the $10! First and foremost, the tour guide Anna is phenomenal. Who knows if the stories are true (although doing some quick google research, all the stories seem to pan out!) She is very friendly, a great story teller, and really...really funny. The walking was light, with plenty of stops along the tour. Great stories about people you've heard about in Milwaukee, and some you haven't. The stories about the Pfister Hotel were really really interesting. This tour is definitely worth $10...and I'm looking forward to the Holiday tour as well.

My little grandson has such a love affair with all things trains, and after our fifth visit there…read moreyesterday, I have to commend the volunteer model train enthusiasts at the Lionel Railroad Club of Milwaukee, located in New Berlin, for making him feel so welcome and encouraging him to really explore. We were the only visitors at the time, so we're greeted by all the people there who had interesting stories to share and told me of several other places we could go for additional "train fixes". While we've been to many, it was so kind of these gentlemen to go out of their way to encourage my grandson's love of trains. Please go and check out this club. The layouts are incredibly detailed! Right now it's only open from 1-9 pm on Fridays, but additional times are added for fall and winter months.

This was a place that I stumbled across that had no yelp presence so I added them and put some of…read morethe web pictures up but I couldn't post any pictures of my visit because of the yearly hours that change and couldn't get in. The hours changed at about this time of the year so the weekends hours are open now. First off the place is hard to find because it's in a strip mall and you can't see the place from the front, drive around to the back side and you will find it. It looks small with one door but it's way bigger on the inside with a huge multi level Lionel O scale layout. The layout is impressive with great detail and interactive scenes/display, just push one of the marked buttons and something comes to life or lights up. Three trains were operating on my visit a steam passenger train, a freight train and a diesel locomotives on the wall display. One of the guys from the club gave me some info and showed me around, this spot is 17 years strong for the club. You can become a member and bring your own trains to run on the layout, no need to have a huge layout in the basement. The layout is very nice but it's a little high for the kids to see but it is a cool place to take the kids. This is a nice different place to spend some time on a rainy day like today or any day if model trains interest you. I'm a train junkie so I like anything train and to have a very cool place like this in the area is neat but don't forget to leave a donation and sign the guest book.