Six Degrees (or less) of Seperation from Buffalo; Milwaukee; and the Waterfront Rebirth

Buffalo St. in Milwaukee's historic Third Ward. 

There’s always a Buffalo connection. In four years attending college in Virginia, it seemed nine out of 10 people I met had some sort of connection to the Queen City.

“You’re from the 716?” “Oh my gosh, I have relatives in North Tonawanda!”—Typical responses when I shared my hometown. Of course, “The (insert team here; Sabres, Bills) suck!,” and, “Doesn’t it snow there like all the time?” were also commonplace.

Now fast forward to October, 2010. During Columbus Day week I spent three days in Milwaukee. While part of my trip was for business, I took a few days for sight seeing. What I didn’t expect was how much I would enjoy vacationing in the Brew City. Heck, I actually want to go back sometime.

I stayed within two blocks of Milwaukee’s Lake Michigan waterfront—definitely in the nicest end of downtown. It’s a business district where skyscrapers blend with residental, art, dining, and cultural attractions.  Milwaukee is linked by a fantastic grid of pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. And the second waterfront—nearly three miles of mezzanine along the Milwaukee River—is aptly named the Riverwalk.

While the Riverwalk takes you through historic neighborhoods, past old breweries, and through much of the shopping and nightlife downtown has to offer, Milwaukee has also capitalized on its first waterfront: Lake Michigan. A beautiful system of state and county parkland occupies the bluffs, and the impressive Milwaukee Art Museum, whose architecture is not unlike a ship about to set sail, has become a defining icon of downtown and the waterfront.

On the skyline are several modern office towers including the Wisconsin Center. Conceived in the late 1980s when the city was experiencing boom times, Wisconsin Center is testament to what I found myself thinking as I wore out my shoes exploring downtown Milwaukee: This is what Buffalo could be if only the Queen City didn’t squander her waterfront assets.

So inspired was I that, on the way home, I spent all of a three-hour layover and then some writing a travel article not only from the perspective of “Mil-walk-ee,” but also from how Buffalo should model its post-industrial reniassance after the Brew City.  Check out my travel column here.  I'd love some feedback.

Then today’s Buffalo News hit the stands. "City and Region" columnist Donn Esmonde chronicled his meeting earlier this week with John Norquist. Norquist is president and CEO of Congress for the New Urbanism. CNU’s mission is, “…promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.” Norquist was mayor of Milwaukee from 1988 – 2004 (some of its prime boom years), and was also instrumental in getting a blighted highway demolished for the sake of greener urban development. Additionally, Norquist championed for seeing the award-winning Riverwalk through to completion and he has authored a book on the ills of urban sprawl. Now here he is in Buffalo.

Norquist is consulting with city planners on what can be done to capitalize on Buffalo’s waterfront and take it from urban decay to user friendly, from brownfield to bustling. With a history of fiscal conservativism and a track record for getting things done as mayor, Norquist could be a much needed breath of life to Buffalo. Among his ideas:  take the Skyway down. It’ll be interesting to see if such redevelopment ever comes to fruition.

And through all these ironies yet one more remains: Norquist’s wife is from my suburban hometown of East Aurora. Perhaps I should re-phrase what I said at the beginning: There’s always a Western New York connection.

LINKS OF INTEREST

The Esmonde Files—A video tour of the Buffalo wasteland waterfront

My Flickr stream of Milwaukee photos