10:00 December 14, 2004
French newspaper recognizes Milwaukee's strong cultural life

The following story is a translated version of an article that appeared in the French newspaper Le Monde on November 3, 2004. The story squarely centers itself on Milwaukee capitalizing on the strong cultural life that exists here and states that the Milwaukee Art Museum “embodies the revival of Milwaukee around a cultural life well richer and more diversified.”

Le Monde

To relaunch itself, Milwaukee bets on cultural life

APPEARED ITEM IN THE edition OF THE 03.11.04

Situated by the Lake Michigan, the city returns to normalcy attractive

Certain imagine it mouette, of others, dragon. The white metallic structure of the art new Museum of Milwaukee, realized by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, give a purity impression aerial, just by the lake Michigan. This museum, inaugurated in 2001, was distinguished "better design" year by the magazine Time. Since, it embodies the revival of Milwaukee around a cultural life well richer and more diversified.

With its 600 000 inhabitants, Milwaukee can be considered as an average typical American city. Nineteenth to the classification in number of inhabitants, she historically always had trouble to live in the shadow of the big Chicago, to an hour and half of road to the south. If one asks American any this that evokes Milwaukee for him, there is strong luck that it replies Harley Davidson, beer or "Happy Days," the series TV of the years 1960...

This former counter of the commerce of established furs by French in

1795 and of which the origin of the name remains debated - "beautiful earth" in algonquin or « place of rivers » in potawatomi? - Has in fact crossed a difficult economical crisis from the years 1980. If she not integral part of the rust belt, this "rust belt" old industries going Indianapolis (Indiana) to Rochester (New York) while going through Cleveland (Ohio) and Pittsburg (Pennsylvania), it not in remains less that economical and industrial fabric of Milwaukee suffered even in the second half of the years 1990. Today, the unemployment rate is of more one than 6%, be above the national average.

The segregation is the other blight that touches the city. She is divided in three ethnic sectors: the black population (38%

inhabitants) occupies the party north; the White ones (50%) the center; and the population Hispanic (12%) to the south. "Here, one feels this segregation to the day the day, deplores Aaron Hoffman, a secondary school student of 18 years that will vote - Kerry - for the first time. In my school establishment, one does not mix oneself a lot. It is sad to say, but I there have few black friends."

Facing this picture little shining, the actors of the city - elected, business bosses - wished to do Milwaukee an attraction new center of the north of the United States. This is not while leaning on the sector of the mechanical components made in the numerous SMES or on always active fabric of the breweries (the factory Miller is a city in the city) that tournament was raised. "Here, we have the luck to have a tremendous artistic and cultural life, and the infrastructures that go with," notes James Auer, journalist to the Newspaper Sentinel, first local daily. This native one Wisconsin saw closely the evolution of the ten last years. "The city has access to five theaters of big capacity: a room for the classical theater, a for the contemporary theater, two music lobbies and a site for the opera." To which Ones it is necessary to add the stadium cover, that welcomes the concerts of rock one, and the art museum, that exposes Chagall or Monet. The school establishments take their students to attend the spectacles. Aaron Hoffman goes in the even feels: "I am sent to school in a public high school specialized in the art, really great for a city as the ours. We have music courses classical, pop or rap, of dance, of paint, of sculpture. The environment here in favor of an interesting cultural life."

Interesting to the point of some to do a decisive element in the installation of big businesses. On time délocalisations, General Electrics, fifth American corporation, decided to establish to Milwaukee his affiliate health. GE Medical Systems opened in 1998. "The corporation put in competition four cities of the country, of which Atlanta. When they returned their decision, the leaders asserted that they had chosen Milwaukee for his cultural life, for they want employees blossom in their social life," summarizes James Auer. More than the employees of GE, this are the inhabitants of the north of Chicago that go out, and consume, more and more to Milwaukee.