Area Information & HistoryIt's name meaning "The Gathering Of Waters", Milwaukee is located at the point where the Milwaukee, Menominee, and Kinnickinnic rivers enter Lake Michigan. The largest city in the state, it is a port of entry, shipping heavy cargo from the entire Midwest to world ports via the St. Lawrence Seaway. It is a producer of heavy machinery and electrical equipment and a principal manufacturer of diesel and gasoline engines, tractors, and beer; Milwaukee once dominated the country´s beer-brewing industry. Motorcycles, refrigeration equipment, chocolate, and electronic products are also produced.
Among the educational institutions are Marquette University, the Univiversity of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Alverno College, Cardinal Stritch College, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and the Milwaukee Area Technical College.
Milwaukee attractions include the breweries, with guided tours; the Milwaukee Art Museum; internationally recognized Milwaukee Public Museum; a decorative arts museum and mansions open to the public; a church by Frank Lloyd Wright; a performing arts center; a large convention center; a world-class zoo; Bradford Beach; Lake Michigan boating; and the water tower.
The popular lakefront hosts numerous festivals, and the sizable park system includes Washington Park; Mitchell Park, with enclosed botanical gardens; Juneau Park; and Estabrook Park, with one of the city´s oldest landmark houses.
Milwaukee is also home to professional sports such as the Milwaukee Brewers (National League baseball), the Milwaukee Wave (U.S. Soccer Association), the Milwaukee Bucks (National Basketball Association) and the Greater Milwaukee Golf Open.
In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette visited the site, which was then a Native American gathering and trading center. In 1795 the North West Company established a fur-trading post. Solomon Juneau, the fur trader, arrived in 1818, and in 1838 several settlements merged to form Milwaukee village. It grew as a shipping center and became famous for its numerous industries, notably brewing and meatpacking. German refugees arrived in large numbers after 1848, stimulating the city´s political, economic, and social growth. Substantial numbers of Polish, Irish and African American immigrants also called Milwaukee home. The area also hosts a significant Hmong and Russian population, as well. The Knights of Saint Crispin foreshadowed the city´s growing labor movement after the Civil War. Victor L. Berger, the Socialist leader, exerted a dominant influence there, and Daniel W. Hoan made Milwaukee known for efficient administration.
In the 1960s, Milwaukee was the scene of racial disorder and African American demonstrations. Economically, the city was hit hard in the 1979/82 recession years; more than 60,000 jobs were lost in the industrial sector. Prosperity reoccurred in the late 1980s as manufacturing jobs became more prevalent, aided principally by the economic efforts of major Milwaukee companies, in areas such as the international export of tools and machinery. Today, the city is verging on a economic rennaisance and is increasingly luring technology-based companies to the area, such as divine, inc., a leading e-Commerce company and health care companies, such as the headquarters of Alterra Health Care Corporation, the nation's leading provider of assisted living facilities for persons with dementia, such as Alzheimer's Disease. In 1987, the the Milwaukee County Research Park Corporation, a non-profit organization affiliated with local universities, was formed to "nurture technology-based companies, strengthen Milwaukee County's business base, create new employment opportunities, and facilitate technology commercialization."*
It's name meaning "The Gathering Of Waters", Milwaukee is 
In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette visited the site, which was then a Native American gathering and trading center. In 1795 the North West Company established a fur-trading post. Solomon