by Peter Schmidtke
The wind gusts stronger along Bremen Street, past the Riverwest Tavern on Auer Avenue. That’s because it knows it has three acres to gather steam. It’s not a UFO landing field, but it might as well be. A chain-linked fence with prickly barbed wire rings the perimeter, and a dozen or more padlocked monitoring wells protrude from stubbly yellow grass like rusty periscopes from stalled submarines.
by Tom Tolan – Part 3 of 6 in a series
In the early 1960s, St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church — now St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church, at 128 W. Burleigh — was a relatively thriving parish, with a school attended by more than 1,000 children. Most parishioners were of German ancestry — many descended from “St. E’s” founders — or Polish families who had migrated from the east side of Holton. African-Americans were a definite presence, but they were less numerous in the parish than in the neighborhood. Fewer than 10 percent of the 1,056 pupils at St. Elizabeth’s in 1963 were black, and most of their families could be classified as middle-class.
by Jeff Johnson – en espanol
On almost any evening at Club Caribe, or Club 99, or the Barceloneta Lounge, groups of four quiet men hunker over tables dedicated to dominoes. This ancient game of Chinese origin has a passionate following among the Hispanic residents of Riverwest. And not unlike the bowling leagues that grew up at the Polish Falcon from Polish interest in ten pins, a domino league meets on Sundays to play the “bones.” Twenty taverns, ten from the Milwaukee area and ten from the Chicago area, send teams with as many as 150 people participating.
by Janice Christensen
“This means war!” shouts the all-powerful and slightly incoherent King of the Free and Secure Citizens of the Kingdom of THIS. “…and That is That!” shouts the equally all-powerful King of the Free and Secure Citizens of the Kingdom of THAT. The fact that the Kings are only 18 inches tall and performing on a stage made of cardboard boxes and duct tape does not prevent them from exhibiting the sophisticated thinking of contemporary world leaders.
by Eryn Moris
More than 200 connoisseurs of culture from ages six to 60 crowded one of Riverwest’s more unique converted living spaces for Barnstorm 2003, on Friday, Feb. 15. The event was organized by former MIAD students Anne Bisone and Gina Kelly in conjunction with Nick Frisby, a resident of “The Barn,” a renovated rental property at 2630 N. Humboldt Blvd. The historic building is a remnant from a time when Riverwest was just farmland west of the river.
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