While most college students were enjoying a post-holiday break early this month from the intense academics and socializing of freshman year, Eva Lam and Sarah Hinkfuss were already back at Harvard University, writing papers and studying for exams. The two students, academic standouts at Milwaukee's Rufus King High School, have grown so accustomed to exceptionally hard work that the rigor of college seems nothing special. Although they performed well in the classroom - both were among a roster of seven co-valedictorians at King - they were, perhaps, best known for their talent in forensics.   Read the whole article here

Some holiday parties you look forward to. Some you sort of dread. But in either case, they are seldom truly memorable affairs unless someone has tumbled into the punchbowl.

Then again, there are a few holiday parties that manage to become legendary before they have even begun, and, by the time they end, prove undeniably epic.

When Grace and Mark (Chef Kyle) Jung decide to throw a party, they do not fool around. On Monday night, they opened their Victorian home on N. 28th St. to all comers, including an estimated 110 chefs invited from all over southeast Wisconsin. And such is the reputation of Chef Kyle that the guest register shows that most of them came.

"Chef Kyle is a wonder," one exuberant attendee gushed. "There is nothing he does not know about food."   Read the whole article here

Acanthus Inn Bed and Breakfast Profiled in the Journal Sentinel

"We scraped up every cent we could," says Walter Backlund. "Judy sold her wedding ring, and I sold some pieces from my collection of antique lighting and I worked a lot of overtime. It was the first house we ever bought."

Today, they're still going to great lengths for their home, but now they're spending their time making improvements instead of scraping together money.

When they bought the 10,000-square-foot, three-story building, it was being used as a bed and breakfast. Although its integrity had been preserved, they thought changes were in order. Today the number of guestrooms has increased from two to seven, the interior has gone from blah to elegant and the landscape has been turned from bare to stunning.

But they say they're far from done.  Read the whole article here

MKE Magazine Takes a Look at the Renovation of 2932 W State Street

They needed a bigger house for their four children, and they picked the house next door, with 4,000 square feet just waiting to be renovated. They can't imagine living anywhere else. "We lived in the suburbs and it wasn't for us," Melissa said. "The city is just an interesting place to live . . . the houses are just so beautiful."

Read the story

On Highland Ave. west of 32nd St. is a building that - just from driving by - appears to be made of Cream City brick with what looks like a small cupola on top. The front door is framed by four white pillars and two of the best stone lions you'll ever see in Milwaukee. It sits there under the green canopy created by the trees that line the broad, boulevarded street, a testament to someone's vision of, well, something.

A couple of blocks east is the Gettelman Mansion, a reminder of Milwaukee's storied past in the brewery industry that has survived the death of a brewery, a major fire and stints as housing for both lawyers and college students. Farther west are two of Milwaukee's current industry giants - the headquarters of both Miller Brewing and Harley-Davidson.

We're telling you all this because some of us are spending a little more time on Highland these days thanks to the reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange. Where State St., Wells St. and I-94 used to be the main routes of commuters from the west for some, the closing of bridges and ramps has tended to shift traffic to Wisconsin Ave. and other streets. One of those is Highland Ave. (Blvd. at its western end). The construction may be annoying, but it does open the door for the greatest of human endeavors: exploration.

Not that the people of the neighborhood ever forgot about Highland; they've always known exactly what they have. But others who didn't have much occasion to travel on Highland anymore may have forgotten.

The street is marked at both ends by recreational venues. At one end is Washington Park, once the city's premier park and still a pretty good place to hold a picnic. At the other (sort of, the street actually extends a few blocks farther east), is the Bradley Center, home of the Milwaukee Bucks, the Admirals and the Marquette . . .

West of 12th St., Highland Ave. is home to apartment buildings and complexes, including the Windsor Court apartments and smaller, newer houses. West of 27th St., the newer buildings give way to stately mansions that were built when the avenue was young.

Education is well-represented with Milwaukee Public Schools' High School of the Arts, Edward A. MacDowell Montessori Elementary School and the Highland Community School. So is religion in the form of St. Luke Emanuel Baptist Church, Bethesda Church of God in Christ and Hope Lutheran Church.

On a warm spring night, families saunter down the boulevard, kids play in their front yards and some watch the world go by from their front porches. A sign on one corner lot invites folks to attend the Historic Concordia Home Tour on June 18.

Highland was once one of Milwaukee's premier boulevards - a broad roadway lined with trees and mansions, running out of Washington Park and all the way downtown to the Milwaukee River and slightly beyond.

It's still a treat to drive down - and at some points feels like a trip back in time - but before the Marquette Interchange construction, not many did. Highland, of course, always had some traffic, but most western commuters took the freeway or Wells and State.

Sure, the freeway work has made commuting more difficult. But the opportunity to explore parts of the city we may not be as familiar with or may have neglected for a while shouldn't be missed. Nor is Highland the only example. We know of one driver who comes from the north down Lake Drive now and is reminded every day of just what a treasure the lakefront is. And others are finding the rejuvenation that's happening on N. 6th St. and on King Drive.

Exploring streets such as Highland and the neighborhoods that have grown up around them serves to re-educate us on the many real treasures the city has to offer, not least of which are the energy and warmth of its people.

The Tripoli Shrine Center and Our Savior's Lutheran Church at N. 30th St. and W. Wisconsin Ave were profiled in the Sunday Journal Sentinel.  The histories of the structures and how two such remarkably diverse structures ended up side by side are explained by prominent Milwaukee historian John Gurda.  Read the whole article here.

A Milwaukee bank and a lakefront coffee shop are among the winners of 2004 Historic Preservation Awards from the private, non-profit Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation.

The trust, based in Madison, cited Legacy Bank, 2102 W. Fond du Lac Ave., for its sensitive rehabilitation of a Neoclassical Revival building constructed in 1928. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and Alterra at the Lake, a coffee and sandwich shop at 1701 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive, were honored for their restoration of the 1888 Milwaukee River Flushing Station.

Other area honorees are the Elmbrook Historical Society in Brookfield, for its restoration of the Dousman Stagecoach Inn; Albert Muchka of West Allis, for his service to local history, including his 2003 book "Images of America - West Allis"; and Historic Concordia Neighbors Inc., for its work in neighborhood preservation.

Concordia Neighborhood featured on WUWM's "At 10" Program

Milwaukee Public Radio takes a tour of a west side neighborhood of contrasts, from mansions to apartment complexes. We’ll learn about Milwaukee’s Concordia neighborhood. The reporter, Robyn Cherry, talks with Milwaukee Alderman Bob Bauman and local residents.

Listen to the program here...