Milwaukee Public Museum: A Tale of Two Visions

The future of the Milwaukee Public Museum is being defined by two starkly different visions — and we are being told that we cannot have both. To “save” our museum, we are told it must first be dismantled to make way for a version of the future defined by others.
On one side is the vision laid out by MPM leadership, led by Dr. Ellen Censky. In her own words, the museum must be “transformed,” exhibits redefined as “components,” and “nostalgia won’t carry us forward.” This top-down approach positions MPM, a private nonprofit, as the authority over collections and environments that generations of Milwaukeeans have always understood as public treasures.

On the other side is the community’s vision: to protect the environments, exhibits, and cultural memory that make the museum a living part of Milwaukee’s story. From the Streets of Old Milwaukee to the European Village and dioramas, the community insists these are not “components” to be discarded — they are heritage entrusted to public care.

And today, the community is heartbroken. This is about more than the loss of the Streets of Old Milwaukee. It is about the wonder and imagination of treasured exhibits — and about decisions being made without the voices of the very people who love them most.

This section of the site lays out these competing visions side by side. We invite you to read each carefully and ask yourself: Who should decide the future of our museum?

Explore the Visions:

MPM & Dr. Ellen Censky’s Vision