Take a look inside The Avenue, a sprawling multi-level complex defined by its soaring glass skylight roof, sturdy yellow cylindrical pillars, and a towering square column featuring a large clock face. You are standing in front of a space that spans three entire city blocks, a place that has been tearing itself down and building itself back up for over a century.
Back in 1982, this opened as the Grand Avenue Mall, trying to save downtown retail by combining local flavor with a massive food court. It actually swallowed up the old Plankinton Arcade, which had itself replaced the historic Plankinton House Hotel. If you look closely at the older stonework and railings, you will find a hidden architectural detail called a quatrefoil, which is basically a fancy four-leaf clover design. The original developers loved this detail so much they made it the mall's logo, and today, the new apartment complex inside pays homage to it with the name Plankinton Clover Apartments.
But let me tell you, even shopping centers have their fair share of hidden drama. Right in the center of the arcade's circular atrium sits a life-size bronze statue of meat-packing titan John Plankinton, and the story behind it is pure soap opera. The sculptor, a guy named Richard Henry Park, had actually betrayed Plankinton's daughter, Elizabeth, abandoning her to marry another woman and leaving her completely heartbroken. Despite this devastating personal insult to the family, Plankinton's son William actually hired Park to create this memorial honoring their father. It is wild to think they handed a massive commission to the man who ruined their sister's life, but that is exactly what happened.
This space has seen its share of darker, heavier moments too. In September of 1990, the notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was walking through this very mall when he encountered a twenty-two-year-old father named David Thomas. Dahmer used false pretenses to lure Thomas away from the bustling crowds to his apartment, where Thomas was tragically murdered. It is a chilling footnote, showing how true darkness can slip right through a crowded public space.
Decades later, the mall faced totally different challenges. During the holiday season in 2014, protests over a fatal police shooting spilled right into the corridors, prompting panicked staff to shut down stores and causing significant financial hits for a space that was already struggling.
But true to form, this block is morphing once again. The Avenue is currently under renovation, swapping out vacant retail spaces for a new food hall, office spaces, and apartments. It is the ultimate cycle of reinvention, tearing up the script to write a brand new one. Speaking of scripts, we are heading toward the theater district next, where the behind-the-scenes stories are just as dramatic as the ones on stage. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater is just a seven minute walk away. By the way, the public areas here are generally open from eleven in the morning to seven in the evening most days, with slightly shorter hours on the weekend.
