The Milwaukee Art Museum on the Lakefront

The Milwaukee Art Museum is a notable structure on the lake front in Milwaukee. The pavilion, which was a part of a dynamic expansion program is a Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion. Santiago Calatrava is a Spanish architect. The building is the first Calatrava designed building to be completed in the United States. Santiago Calatrava was chosen to design the new building because the MAM's goal was to build an exciting, yet functional building. The building design was indeed dynamic and exceeded the community's expectations.

The Milwaukee Art Museum history has origins in two different institutions. The Layton Art Gallery, was established in 188. The Milwaukee Art Institute was founded in the early 1900s. These two institutions joined in 1957 to form the Milwaukee Art Center, now the Milwaukee Art Museum.

In the 1880's, Milwaukee was a thriving port city, with a large German speaking populations. Immigrants from Northern European countries, may Irish, German, Scandinavian, Polish, Czech and Italian were arriving daily. The immigrants brought their culture, languages, traditions and craftsmanship with them. The craftspeople included a large group of talented German artists who specialized in panorama painting. It was this group of panorama artists that formed the Milwaukee Art Association in 1888.

Large scale panoramas were hugely popular entertainment at the time, a precursor to going to the movies. The panoramas were displayed in the round. The scenes were typically Biblical or historical and surrounded the viewer. the panorama experience included narration and music. Especially popular were the Civil War battles. At that time in history Civil War veterans were still around, and they reportedly commented upon the accuracy of the scenes. These gigantic canvases were rolled up and sent out on tour to other cities.

In the 1950's a building was designed by Finnish Architect Eero Saarinen, famous for his St. Louis arch. The unique building was a floating cruciform with cantilevered portions jutting gout. The building is now considered a classic in the development of modern architecture.