a few afterthoughts on my brief visit to milwaukee over the weekend

milwaukee is my home away from home, especially when i really want to wander around aimlessly, photodocumenting architectural details that capture my attention across the urban landscape. don't get me wrong, there is a substantial amount of terrain for me to document here in chicago, but for some reason or another, milwaukee speaks to me differently - through my camera lens.

so this weekend was spent doing just that. photodocumenting. i rarely have "destinations" in mind. i just drive around until i stumble upon something that i feel the need to photograph. plain and simple. it could be something as small as a weathered strap hinge on a factory door or perhaps an old gargantuan vertical neon sign that is gracefully falling apart, little by little.

i found inspiration from the get-go, when i checked into the newish "brewhouse" hotel, located in the heart of the old pabst blue ribbon brewery complex that had been largely abandoned since 1996. over the past few years however, the complex has gradually underwent a transformation, with the opening of the hotel i stayed at, along with the former keg house being converted into apartments an so on. i spent a great deal of time pouring over historic photographs and nonphotographic  bird's-eye views of the complex when it was operating at peak capacity while staying in my room.

interestingly, as i set out to shoot in the early afternoon saturday, i noticed an excavation site where one of the pabst buildings once stood. i got out of my car and walked down into the pit strewn with brick and other rubble. to my delight, i discovered these partially uncovered subterranean brick-lined tunnels, which immediately took me back to the days when i was full-time  graduate student at the univ. of minnesota and part-time urban "explorer." when i was not toying around with mouse colony upkeep and quantifying gene expression, i would leave the lab and gravitate towards what is now called "mill ruins park" not far from campus.

long before it became the tourist attraction it is today, urban explorers such as myself would wander around deep underground in a maze of sluiceways that once were nestled in the bowels of these massive grain elevators overlooking st. anthony falls.

i really wanted to buy some rubber overalls and go explore these tunnels, but my travel companion would not have been happy. plus, i really didn't have permission to be there, so i just snapped a few shots and left the site. i will, however, begin to research what the tunnels are all about and what (if anything) will become of them.

before i left milwaukee on sunday, i discovered a completely intact polychrome enameled composite pendant light that i suspected was fabricated by decorators' supply company of chicago. the fixture was found in one of the many fine antique shops found in and around the historic third ward district.

later in the day, only hours after i purchased the fixture, i brought the lamp into my studio and photographed it inside and out. when i returned to my place, i immediately went to my library of old product catalogs. i was so delighted when i discovered the fixture in a decorators' supply company catalog that focused on lighting - they were known for fabricating composite or "plastic" ornament for use in residential and commercial applications. in fact, the majority of the decorative plaster work found in some of chicago's finest historic theaters was fabricated by decorators' supply.

the original "antique gold" finish was in excellent condition. the art glass insets are original and free from damage. i was so very pleased to have discovered such a wonderfully intact specimen fabricated by this company - which still operates to this day!