Milwaukee weekends.
My city, planned the way I'd show it to a friend.
Plan a Milwaukee weekend Field Guide No. 01 · Milwaukee · Brady Street
Brady is still weird.
In 2005, barely out of the closet, I opened Babylon, a Thursday gay night at the old Trocadero on Brady. We hit capacity on the first night.
Twenty years later, I sit on the board of Brady's business district and I'm still queering up the street. It's been Milwaukee's Little Italy, its hippie strip and its late-night hangout, and you can feel all three on one walk.
Little Italy 
The movie palace
After hoursBrady is still weird.
Brady Street and the Lower East Side, Milwaukee. On foot, one long weekend.
By Aaron Berth · Dopamine Furnace Creative
Brady is still weird.DF/c · 01
Before we walk Little Italy, the hippie strip, the late-night hangout.
In 2005, barely out of the closet, I opened Babylon, a Thursday gay night at the old Trocadero on Brady. We hit capacity on the first night.
Twenty years later I sit on the board of Brady's business district. You can feel all three eras on one walk. That's the point.
- Where
- Brady Street and the Lower East Side
- Pace
- On foot, one long weekend
- Best
- May to October
- For
- Solo, a couple, or your crew
The walk · Stops 01 to 03DF/c · 01
The walk Six stops. Wear real shoes.
- Brady StreetProspect Ave to the river
Start at Prospect and drift west toward the river. Italian grocers, head-shop-era storefronts and corner bars, all in a few blocks. Look up: the second floors tell the story.
- Black Cat AlleyBetween Kenilworth and Ivanhoe
A back alley behind the Oriental turned outdoor gallery. Five minutes to walk through, an hour if you take photos.
- The Oriental Theatre2230 N Farwell Ave
A 1927 movie palace, still showing films, run by Milwaukee Film. Buy a ticket for the lobby alone.
The walk · Stops 04 to 06DF/c · 01
The walk, continued Down the bluff and back.
- Lake ParkUp the bluff from Bradford Beach
Olmsted's firm designed it: stone bridges over wooded ravines, and the North Point Lighthouse up top. Downtown in the morning, trailhead by lunch.
- Bradford BeachDown the bluff, on the Oak Leaf Trail
Take the stairs down to the beach and walk Lake Michigan, then climb back up for dinner.
- Landmark Lanes2220 N Farwell Ave
Old-school bowling under the Oriental's block, with a bar and an arcade. The rainy-night plan everyone ends up loving.
Eat and drink · Part oneDF/c · 01
Eat like you live here - Glorioso's
The Little Italy anchor. Deli sandwich plus the olive bar, carried to Lake Park.
- Peter Sciortino's Bakery
An old-school Italian bakery on Brady. Cannoli filled to order, eaten on the sidewalk.
- Zaffiro's
Cracker-thin Milwaukee pizza in a room that hasn't changed. Get the sausage.
Eat and drink · Part twoDF/c · 01
Drink like you live here - Nessun Dorma
Worth the short hop to Riverwest. Sidewalk tables, good sandwiches, a deep drink list. My solo dinner at the bar.
- Rochambo
Coffee and tea with big windows. Take a window seat and watch Brady wake up.
- Von Trier
A German beer hall on Farwell. Order a liter and stay longer than you planned.
After hoursDF/c · 01
After last call Pizza Shuttle.
1827 N Farwell AveOne of the only places that's still open late, and you can feel like a college kid again. Nobody has to know.
Stay at the Pfister. Walk everywhere else.
I'll build yours, down to where you sit for dinner.
One trip request, no phone call. Up to 7 nights for $333, with a 30-minute Burn Session included.
dopaminefurnace.org · (708) 414-6945
The walk on a mapThe walk on a map All six stops in order. Open it on your phone and go.
Need to knowNeed to know Getting there, timing, layers, the longer story.
- Train
- Skip the car. The Hiawatha from Chicago, then The Hop to Burns Commons and walk the last stretch.
- Timing
- Brady keeps late hours. Weekend nights run loud, Sunday mornings are quiet.
- Layer
- The lake sets the weather. It's often cooler by the water, so bring a layer in July.
- Safe
- Milwaukee gets a bad rap and is a very safe city if you practice basic awareness. I've walked Brady alone after dark for twenty years. Use Lyft after the bars, and solo is a great way to do it.
- Summer
- The Brady Street Festival. Plan your trip around it.
- Pro tip
- Tell your AI assistant what corner you're on and let it walk with you. Best tour guide I've had.
- Read on
- The longer story of this walk, and the freeway that never reached the lake: Forced Perspective, Part I of The Cream City Flâneur.
Every place in this guideEvery place in this guide Each one links to its own site.
- Brady StreetProspect Ave to the river
- Black Cat AlleyBetween Kenilworth and Ivanhoe
- The Oriental Theatre2230 N Farwell Ave
- Lake ParkUp the bluff from Bradford Beach
- Bradford BeachDown the bluff, on the Oak Leaf Trail
- Landmark Lanes2220 N Farwell Ave
- Glorioso'sThe Little Italy anchor. Deli sandwich plus the olive bar, carried to Lake Park.
- Peter Sciortino's BakeryAn old-school Italian bakery on Brady. Cannoli filled to order, eaten on the sidewalk.
- Zaffiro'sCracker-thin Milwaukee pizza in a room that hasn't changed. Get the sausage.
- Nessun DormaWorth the short hop to Riverwest. Sidewalk tables, good sandwiches, a deep drink list. My solo dinner at the bar.
- RochamboCoffee and tea with big windows. Take a window seat and watch Brady wake up.
- Von TrierA German beer hall on Farwell. Order a liter and stay longer than you planned.
- Pizza Shuttle1827 N Farwell Ave
- North Point LighthouseThe lighthouse at the top of Lake Park.
- The Pfister HotelWhere I'd stay.
- The Hop streetcarFrom the train to Burns Commons.
- Amtrak HiawathaChicago to Milwaukee without the car.
- Brady Street FestivalPlan a summer trip around it.
- Brady Street BIDThe business district I sit on the board of.
- East Side BIDFarwell, North Ave and the alley.
The Cream City FlâneurThe Cream City Flâneur I walk it for the book too, at Boiling Point.
My solo walks through Milwaukee, my hometown, written down at Boiling Point.
All of you is welcome
Find Your Intersection(ality) Here
Queer, neurodivergent, a regular or brand new: Brady has room for all of it. Tell me which, and I'll point you to the stops that fit.
I'll flag the ones that fit you, and I'll still meet you for coffee. Find your corner of Milwaukee.
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Pass a match · The referral
Book a session and I send you your own Pass a match link after. When a friend books a paid session with it, your next 15 minutes are on me.
Book a BurnWhere to next.
Forced Perspective.
The walk behind the Brady guide: twelve photos from the same afternoon, printed two-ink on the press.
Read the walkMilwaukee's Scars.
Ten stops along a freeway that never got built, from the Cream City Flâneur.
Walk the guideYou've got the spark.
I've got the matches.