Tours & Events Home | Regularly Scheduled Walking Tours | Focus Tours
Group Tours | Special Events | Historic Presentations
Group Tours
Walking Tours
Historic Milwaukee, Inc. offers walking tours of various neighborhoods in groups at $5.00 per person or a minimun of $30.00. For a complete listing of these tours, please see the walking tours page for more information.
Bus Tours
Step-on-guide Services
HMI provides two trained guides to direct your bus. The fee is $25.00 for each 1/2 hour.
Customized Group Bus Tours
HMI will design a tour for your group’s specific interests or needs. Fee is $50.00 in addition to the step-on-guide fee.
Advanced Reservations
HMI requires a $25.00 deposit per bus. The deposit is refundable with 48 hours notice.
Three Original Settlements
Milwaukee began as three separate settlements: Juneautown, Kilbourntown and Walker’s Point. They united in 1846 to form the City of Milwaukee. Today, second, third and fourth generations of buildings occupy downtown Milwaukee, but Walker’s Point retains much of its original late 19th century character. This tour traces the historical development of Milwaukee.
Time: 1.5 hours
Milwaukee Highlights
Join us and explore important historical and architectural areas of the City of Milwaukee. In addition to Milwaukee’s downtown business district, this tour can include many of Milwaukee’s neighborhoods including the East Side, the lakefront, Bay View and the Historic Third Ward. The tour includes views of many architect-designed houses including some by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Time: 1.5 to 3 hours
In Search of Milwaukee’s Beer Barons
Join us as we journey in search of the men who made the “Brew City” famous - the original Milwaukee Brewers. See the sites where the Blatzes, Gettelmans, Millers, Pabsts and Uihleins brewed their famous beers, built their palatial homes and raised their families. This tour could include a tour of Miller Brewing or one of the new microbreweries in the Milwaukee area.
Time: 1.5 hours and up to 1 hour for a brewery tour.
Sacred Spires and Spectacular Spaces
In addition to touring the interiors of several magnificent churches, these three tours include exterior views and histories of other congregations in the area. A separate donation to each of the churches opened for touring is added to the cost.
South Side
Discover Milwaukee’s South Side churches and the ethnic groups that established them. Interiors can include Serbian Orthodox Cathedral and St. Josaphat’s Basilica.
Time: 2 hours for exterior views with an additional 2 to 3 hours for interior tours.
Downtown
Discover the churches built for the City of Milwaukee’s oldest congreations and the later generation of churches that followed. Interiors can include Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church and St. Paul’s Epsicopal Church with its Tiffany windows.
Time: 2 hours for exterior views with an additonal 2 to 3 hours for interior tours.
East Side of Milwaukee
Discover the churches built by the congregations of Milwaukeans as they moved out of the central businessdistrict after the turn of the 19th century. Interiors can include St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church and Plymouth United Church of Christ with its Tiffany windows.
Time: 2 hours for exterior views with an additional 2 to 3 hours for interior tours.
Milwaukee’s Pre-Civil War Buildings
Join us as we search for buildings that were built in the City of Milwaukee from the 1830s until 1860. Many of these early farmhouses are now located in densely populated neighborhoods. In addition, you will see early double houses, churches and mansions as well as Milwaukee’s only octagonal house.
Time: 2.5 hours
A Pageantry of Parks
In 1891, the City Park Commission voted to set aside tracts of land so that the city would be completely surrounded by “breathing places” where people could “rest their tired brains and weary limbs”, where children could romp and play and where every citizen would feel the consciousness of ownership. This tour showcases one of the finest park systems in the country from “pocket parks” to lake front beaches and city squares.
Time: 2.5 hours
Student Tours
Since 1981, the Student Tour has successfully served Milwaukee area school children.
HMI’s trained guides will lead your school groups on a 1.5 hour walking tour of downtown Milwaukee. This tour is adaptable to students in grades 3 through 12 and is geared as a supplement to history classes. This tour has successfully served Milwaukee area school children since 1981. It can also be used in conjunction with photography, civics, art or architecture classes.
The tour is also appropriate for use by scout leaders for work on history and architecture badges. It is an excellent activity for children involved in day camp programs.
The tour meets in front of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water Street. Here the students begin by discovering the elements of architecture. Walking along the Milwaukee River gives them a chance to learn about the people who settled along the banks and why the river is so important.
The history of Milwaukee’s three early settlements comes alive as the tour winds its way along the streets of downtown. Starting out in Kilbourntown, the tourgoers enter Juneautown at the Milwaukee River and are able to get a glimpse of the area where George Walker first settled. The early rivalry between the settlers in the towns founded by Solomon Juneau and Byron Kilbourn is told in the story of the Bridge Wars of 1845.
Nineteenth century facades are observed, and the students are helped to “read” the story of the buildings using names and dates found on the facades. These are all part of the rich ornamentation added by the architects and builders who constructed Milwaukee’s early streetscapes.
The tour includes interiors of several of the buildings along the route. The students will learn about the use of light courts as a way to illuminate buildings before the use of electric lights.
A complete Activity Packet has been designed to use with the tours. Geared to the different age levels, the exercises are to be used both before and after the field trip to reinforce the concepts learned. They are sent out when the tour is booked and are included in the price of the tour.
For older students, you may want to book one of our regular walking tours. These tours offer a greater variety for the older student. A Listener’s Response Sheet is included to reinforce the concepts learned. For more information on these tours, please see the listing at the top of this page.
Reservation Information
The fee for tours is $2.00 per student, teacher and chaperon. Students are divided into groups. One chaperon per 10 to 15 students is required and attends free of charge.
For reservations or more information, please contact our office at 414–277–7795.
