| Additional Information: | USED AS A PARK SINCE 1861. THE LANDSCAPING WAS DESIGNED BY CLEVELAND IN 1870. PARK INCLUDES A STATUE OF SOLOMON JUNEAU AND ONE OF LEIF ERICKSON AND A LOG CABIN BUILT IN 1946 WHICH DUPLICATES JUNEAU'S FIRST CABIN.
Spirit of Service monument, dated 1926. Statue of Solomon, Juneau done by Richard Hamilton Park, 1887. The Leif Ericsson statue was done by Anne Whitney of Massachusetts, 1887. Juneau cabin replica designed by Leigh Hunt and built in 1946. Original c. 1820-22 log house stood near present day E. Wisconsin Ave. & N. Water St.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Before the City Park Commission was established in 1889, the residents of each of the City's Wards were responsible for establishing and maintaining their own parks, if so desired. On the eastern edge of the 7th Ward a strip of land which ran along the bluffs and overlooked the lake served at the 7th Ward Park. An editorial to the Milwaukee Sentinel in 1861 described it as an enjoyable place for the relaxation of its residents but were bothered by the meandering of the stray cows.
State enabling legislation of 1868 allowed cities to establish public park departments and to assess residents for their construction. In 1870 a plan was accepted by the City Commissioners for a new 7th Ward Park of which (at a total cost of $250,000) 7th Ward residents were assessed $2000.00 per annum. Designed by eminent landscape architect H.W.S. Cleveland of Chicago, it was to run between Division St. (Juneau) on the north and Oneida St. (Wells) on the south. The attached engraving gives an excellent birdseye view of this lower eastside locale. Cleveland's plan appears in detail in a letter written to the Milwaukee Sentinel, October 19, 1870, p. 4, col. 3.
Named in honor of Solomon Juneau, Juneau Park now encompasses a total of 49 acres. This expansion was a result of usurping residential areas along the northwest edge, donations by the N.W. Railroad, and reclamation from the lake bottom. Statues erected in the park are Lief Erickson, sculpted by Anne Whitney, dedicated in 1887, donated by Mrs. Joseph Gilbert; Solomon Juneau, dedicated in 1887, sculpted by Richard Henry Park, donated by Charles T. Bradley and William H. Metcalf; and Abraham Lincoln, sculpted by Gaetano Cercere, dedicated in 1934, donated by a Memorial Committee. It was moved in 1955 in front of the Elks Club and now stands in the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Plaza. A replica of Juneau's cabin was erected in 1947.
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| Bibliographic References: | MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: YANKEE HILL, CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994.
Milwaukee Sentinel 8.8.1870, 1/5.
Milwaukee Sentinel 10.19.1870, 4/1.
Milwaukee County Parks Commission.
Statues & Monuments in Milw. County Parks.
Souvenir of Milwaukee Sangerfest, 7-1886, p. 43. |
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