The Menomonee River Valley is home to beautiful public art and even a premier art gallery.
Public Art Tour
Get a close up look at the Valley’s art through the eyes of its creators in a series of videos.
Art locations
For a larger view, open the digital map in Google Maps (also works on your mobile device). You can click on icons to learn more about that location.
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Art You can find in the valley
Bloody beast
Sobelmans Pub & Grill - 1900 W St. Paul Ave
In 2020, Sobelmans worked with Milwaukee Blacksmith to create an incredible 6ft, 400lb Bloody Mary statue. One more artistic (and delicious) reason to visit! #bethegarnish
People of the road
Menomonee Valley Community Park - 212 S 36th Street
People of the Road is a five sculpture landmark honoring the railroad workers who carried Milwaukee’s name across the country on rails. Richard Taylor, a Milwaukee artist, designed the silhouettes using archived photos from the Milwaukee Road. Completed in July 2020, People of the Road is a powerful reminder of the people, land, and history that shaped the Valley.
Rain barrel murals
Menomonee Valley Community Park - 212 S 36th Street
In 2018, local Artists Jenny Anderson and Audrey Moore lead community art programming with the Young Scientists Club at the Urban Ecology Center in the Menomonee River Valley. Together they would walk the trails in Three Bridges Park, identify native plants and animals, and create art inspired by nature. The Young Scientists, ages 5-12, had the opportunity to create sun prints using plants and photosensitive paper, make their own ink and chalk from natural pigments, and reimagine insects and animals. The students artwork was scanned and digitally collaged to create the designs on the rain barrels. Read more.
Tilted channel
Menomonee Valley Community Park - 212 S 36th St
Featured in Sculpture Milwaukee 2019, Tilted Channel is a piece by artist Arlene Shechet that became a permanent fixture in the Valley in August 2020. The sculpture is from a series of works, Full Steam Ahead, that emphasize the principles of going for broke and doing the right thing. Her work asks viewers to pause and celebrate new ideas.
Photo: Eddee Daniel
The hillclimber
Harley-Davidson Museum - 400 W Canal St
As an ode to the exhilarating pastime of hill climb racing, sculptor Jeff Decker created a life-size hill climber. Constructed of hundreds of bronze pieces, The Hillclimber became a fixture at the Harley-Davidson Museum in 2008.
The Warehouse
Guardian Fine Art Services - 1635 W St Paul Avenue
The Warehouse regularly showcases various exhibits and is free to the public.
Gazebo at 32nd street
32nd Street & W Canal St
The gazebo at 32nd Street, designed by artist Peter Flanery as a Millennium Art Project by the Merrill Park Neighborhood, acts as a gateway, rest spot, and information location. The gazebo marks the connection between the Valley and the Merrill Park neighborhood to the north. Historic elements, such as gears and railroad spikes and track, were integrated to artistically enhance the structure.
The gazebo hosts an interpretive sign describing the Valley’s historical connections to its surrounding neighborhoods, and a boulder whose inscription explains that the word “Menomonee” means wild rice. Other boulders can be found beneath the 35th Street viaduct at Canal Street and throughout the Merrill Park neighborhood.
Art Glass Panels
Menomonee Valley Community Park
The incorporation of art glass panels developed by artist Kathryn Lottes honoring native plants and creatures were an additional feature that added beauty and interest to railings in the Menomonee Valley Community Park west of 35th Street.
Photo: Emily Stadler
Historic Streetcar Shelter
25th Street Roundabout on Canal Street
The Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail reclaimed history and the era of Milwaukee's original streetcar system through the restoration and installation of this architectural gem near the 25th Street Roundabout on Canal Street. FOHAST funded the restoration and siting of the structure which was constructed by City of Milwaukee employees in 1929 and was originally a street car shelter on the Sixteenth Street Viaduct.
Hank Aaron State Trail River Loop
The River Loop between 13th Street and 25th Street is an alternative to the parallel path along Canal Street, and offers a more secluded trail along the Menomonee River. Art and informational signs can be found throughout the Valley, but the River Loop contains the most concentrated number of art pieces.
March ON
Art Loop on Hank Aaron State Trail
A mural developed during a Milwaukee Institute and Design (MIAD) public art class in 2006, "March On" by Katrina Motley, became inspiration for future murals. To honor the 40th anniversary of the Milwaukee open housing marches led by Father James Groppi, FOHAST worked with area schools and community groups to create public art along the Trail’s Menomonee River Loop, between 13th and 25th Streets.
A Place to sit
Art Loop on Hank Aaron State Trail
Located near the intersection of N Emmber Lane and W Canal Street, this public art installation features high-backed chairs that honor the “spirit and people” of the American Native American tribes that called the Valley home.
River Loop Civil Rights Murals
Art Loop on Hank Aaron State Trail
Inspired by the 40th Anniversary of civil rights and a particular march across the Sixteenth Street bridge crossing the Menomonee River Valley, children from neighboring schools developed murals for River Loop section of the Trail in 2007. The project was not only educational, but inspired efforts by others to further embellish this section of the Trail now known as the River Loop. The murals, which feature messages of hope from Chief Joseph, a prominent leader of a Nez Perce tribe, and Mexican hero Benito Juárez contrast with the barbed wire on the fence.
Three Bridges Park
Bridge
Near the Potawatomi Bridge
"Bridge" is composed of 20 local glacial boulders, selected by the artist, Peter Flanary, for form and color, and averaging two feet in diameter each. The artwork relates to the Menomonee River Valley landscape, and explores the idea of "connection" in broad and various ways.
Valley Passage
Near Urban Ecology Center - Menomonee Valley
The mural adorning the walls of the Valley Passage, the tunnel connecting the Menomonee River Valley and Silver City neighborhood, illustrate what can be experienced on the opposite side and depict the Valley of yesterday and today. Wisconsin artist Chad Brady completed the mural in 2011.
Donor sculpture
Hank Aaron State Trail between the Valley Passage and the 35th Street Viaduct
A permanent donor sculpture was installed in Three Bridges Park in 2017 to recognize the more than 200 foundations, corporations, and individuals who supported the Menomonee Valley – From the Ground Up project at the $1,000+ level. Donors’ names are inscribed on the arch’s interior, a long-lasting symbol of what our community can accomplish when we come together. Thank you to ALL the donors and supporters who made this project possible!
