Milwaukee Paid $85 Million for a Museum Half the Size

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Milwaukee Paid $85 Million for a Museum Half the Size

Milwaukee County residents are learning that the new Milwaukee Public Museum—funded with $85 million in public money from the County and the State—will be dramatically smaller than the current facility.

Internal museum documents and testimony to the County Board in March 2022 confirmed that the new building will be about half the size of the current Wells Street museum. Yet, taxpayers have been asked to contribute $45 million from Milwaukee County and $40 million from the State of Wisconsin.

This means the public is footing an $85 million bill for a facility that cannot match the scale of the world-class museum Milwaukee already owns. The current museum holds four million objects and features beloved environments like the Streets of Old Milwaukee, the European Village, WPA murals, and world-renowned dioramas. It remains unclear which of these will survive the move.

The public has never been given clear, complete answers about what will be lost, what will be stored, and what will be sold off. Despite repeated calls for transparency, major funding decisions were made in minutes, without debate, and without the public’s voice at the table.

“This isn’t just about a smaller building,” said one preservation advocate. “It’s about shrinking our history, our culture, and our children’s future—all while spending more public money than ever before.”

Milwaukee deserves accountability. Milwaukee deserves transparency. And Milwaukee deserves better than paying $85 million for a museum half the size.

PreserveMKE.org