Demolish the Domes? New county policy considers the future of the Milwaukee landmark

The future of Milwaukee County's Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory — fondly known as just the Domes — has always been precarious. But with the approval of a new county policy this week, its future could be non-existent.

The Committee on Parks and Culture unanimously recommended the adoption of a county policy that would expand the scope of strategic planning tied to the Domes, which would allow the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors to consider all options for the future of the Milwaukee landmark, including its restoration, renovation and demolition. The full County Board is expected to take up the measure Dec. 15.

Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez suggested that when the public sees that demolition is also costly opinion could solidify toward preservation.

"As the county residents begin to gain understanding of the costs associated with destroying the Domes, transferring the plant collection, and rebuilding the site of the building, I am confident that public opinion will continue to trend toward saving this Milwaukee icon," Martinez wrote Tuesday.

"Choosing to ignore a jewel in our Parks system as it begins to deteriorate is the same as choosing to demolish it and should not be an option which is considered," he said.

But for the county the Domes have become both a financial hemorrhage and an emotional conflict, as county officials and residents alike have tried to preserve the site as it began to physically crumble and face a drop in visitors and money.

While he's not advocating for demolition, Milwaukee County Parks Deputy Director James Tarantino explained that it has caused a division between supervisors who want to maintain and repair the site while others want to look at the bigger picture and find different options.

"It opens up Pandora's box to all these other options," said Tarantino, whose department owns and operates the Domes. "The reality is it's just an unsolvable math problem for Milwaukee County with its budget — even in good times."

While the financially strapped county has for a third year dodged major service cuts in its 2023 budget, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has warned the county's financial pressures could mean that there would be no property tax money available to support the parks by 2027 — one of the county services that is not state-mandated.

What is this new policy?

The Domes, situated in Milwaukee's Mitchell Park neighborhood, is a living plant museum that is the home to a permanent collection of more than 1,800 plant species from across the globe.

This new policy would allow supervisors to consider all options, along with their fiscal and economic impacts, in order to make a decision. But the option to demolish the Domes was also placed on the table, with the committee requesting the Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture to coordinate with county offices, including the Office of Corporation Counsel and the Comptroller's Office, in order to present a report to the County Board at the July 2023 cycle. The report must include the cost of demolition.

But this would not be the first time the Domes had been demolished.

The current site, which opened as a new horticultural conservatory in 1964, with first lady Lady Bird Johnson, present, replaced a Victorian-era greenhouse that had been built in 1898 and later demolished in 1955 because of structural safety concerns.

The county previously considered demolition and co-locating the Domes exhibits with the Milwaukee Public Museum, following a 2019 study commissioned by the Milwaukee County Museum Task Force. That plan ultimately faced opposition from both officials and residents.

Safety concerns extend to the present site after a piece of concrete fell from the ceiling of one of the Mitchell Park Domes in 2016, prompting supervisors to seek ways to restore and renovate the site. In 2019, the Domes Task Force submitted a $66 million restoration plan, but was ultimately not adopted by the County Board.

In September, the county's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Task Force unanimously rejected a proposal to allocate $19 million of the county's $183 million ARPA funds for restoration purposes.

For preservationists, the possibility of demolition is a cause for concern.

"We certainly would love to see the Domes restored," said Jeremy Ebersole, director of the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance, told the Journal Sentinel. "It's the solution that honors the heritage, the culture, and we believe is the most equitable for the community and can be one that is financially viable."

"Architecturally and culturally, if you look at the what are the icons of Milwaukee's skyline as places that lend Milwaukee their sense of place, I think people would say City Hall, the Calatrava, maybe the Hoan Bridge and certainly the Domes," he said.

Ebersole said that he and the alliance had helped submit 707 letters from residents, calling on county officials to preserve the Domes.

Previous attempts to protect and preserve the Domes have been shot down, including a recent petition for its historic status.

On Nov. 1, Crowley introduced a last-minute veto of a resolution to petition the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office to nominate and register the Mitchell Park Domes on the National and State Register of Historic Places.

"There is virtually nothing to gain by taking this step now rather than... as a part of a long-term, sustainable plan on the future of Mitchell Park," Crowley wrote in a statement about the veto response.

During county budget adoption on Nov. 10, supervisors abstained on voting an override of the veto. It allows the veto to stand, but "sends a message that we're not divided and will resubmit it," Supervisor Ryan Clancy told the Journal Sentinel.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County considers demolition of the Mitchell Park Domes