Milwaukee's Martin Drive neighborhood is small but tightly connected

JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·7 min read
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The Martin Drive neighborhood is bordered by Vliet Street and Washington Park to the north, Highway 175 to the west, 35th Street to the east and Martin Drive to the south.
The Martin Drive neighborhood is bordered by Vliet Street and Washington Park to the north, Highway 175 to the west, 35th Street to the east and Martin Drive to the south.

The Martin Drive neighborhood, so named for a the street on its southern border and located on Milwaukee's west side, might be small but finds itself surrounded by notable Milwaukee landmarks and institutions, including Washington Park, the Harley-Davidson plant, the Miller Brewery and even the early iteration of the Milwaukee zoo. It also possesses an uncommon community bond evident in its events and spaces.

The working-class community is one of the most diverse in the city, with 40% Black residents, 31% white, 11% Asian and 10% Latino, bucking Milwaukee's broader trend of segregated neighborhoods.

Someone out for a walk can glimpse a breathtaking view of the Miller Valley from Martin Drive itself, a public-transit user has bus lines to other parts of town and a motorist can quickly access downtown via State 175 or to the east on surface streets.

The neighborhood association adopted a mission statement roughly a decade ago: "Through programs and projects, we'll embrace and foster a sense of belonging and common purpose, resulting in a neighborhood that is beautiful, diverse, secure and fun for everyone."

"People call the neighborhood like a Hotel California," said Raymond Duncan, one of the neighborhood association leaders. "They check in, come to the neighborhood and they don't leave. Or they leave because of a job situation but come right back."

Here's what to know about the Martin Drive Neighborhood.

Where is the Martin Drive neighborhood?

Bordered by Martin Drive to the south, 35th Street to the east, Vliet Street to the North and State 175 to the West, the area is less than one-half of a square mile. It's not the smallest neighborhood in Milwaukee, but it won't take you long to circumnavigate.

Inside the perimeter is the Harley-Davidson plant and a series of one-way streets lined by diverse living options, from duplexes and apartments to single-family homes. Many of those homes underwent a neighborhood-wide revitalization in the 1990s.

A view of the Miller Brewery and Miller Valley from Martin Drive, the southern border of the Martin Drive neighborhood in Milwaukee.
A view of the Miller Brewery and Miller Valley from Martin Drive, the southern border of the Martin Drive neighborhood in Milwaukee.

Who is 'Martin,' plus other components of the neighborhood's history, including the old zoo

Morgan Martin, regarded as "the least celebrated of Milwaukee's founders" in "The Making of Milwaukee" book by John Gurda, was a Green Bay lawyer who bought half of Solomon Juneau's Juneautown property in 1833. Two years later, they co-founded their new village of Milwaukee.

Martin, whose father founded Martinsburg in New York in 1805, died in 1887 and had a street named for him, but that street became State Street during a 1920s renaming program. To keep Martin's name on the map, the street one block south of Juneau Avenue was renamed for Martin in 1926, around the time the Martin Drive Neighborhood was taking shape.

Thanks to its early population of German immigrants, many of which had moved from older blocks in the central city to the west side, you can still find the Blatz Temple of Music and statues of Goethe and Schiller in Washington Park (just beyond the neighborhood's northern border), plus a nearby statue of Von Steuben. By the mid-20th century, several Greek families also settled in the neighborhood and founded the Hellenic Educational Progressive Association.

Residents could mingle with the animals kept outdoors at the county zoo, first located in what is now Washington Park as early as 1892 before moving to its current site in 1961.

Homes in the neighborhood on 47th Street between Vliet and Juneau were lost upon completion of Interstate 41 — the area now considered the stadium freeway or State 175 — which now serves as the western border of the neighborhood.

The Martin Drive Community Garden near 46th and Vliet Street provides a gathering space for the tight-knit community.
The Martin Drive Community Garden near 46th and Vliet Street provides a gathering space for the tight-knit community.

Why the Martin Drive neighborhood has such a unique community bond

Take, for example, Dan Sylvester, a Milwaukee Public School teacher who moved to an apartment in the neighborhood in 1990. Sylvester, who died in May at age 73, noticed an overgrown space near his building and asked his landlord if he could develop the space into what essentially became a community garden.

Not only did the idea latch on with other neighbors, but landlord Pat Mueller supported the concept financially, installing landscape lights. Mueller owns nine properties in the area, with 85 total units, and she maintains a significant presence in the community as somewhat of an "urban guardian," heavily involved in upkeep, programs and serving as liaison with the city.

"Renters really feel empowered," Duncan said. "Sometimes, renters are not seen as the same value as homeowners. People always say the renters are the problem ... but if you're an awesome landlord, then you get the other half of a renter who really wants to feel involved. Some of our best people in the neighborhood are renters, and they volunteer on projects as well."

A pavilion near the Martin Drive Community Gardens near 46th and Vliet often serves as home for movie nights in the summer.
A pavilion near the Martin Drive Community Gardens near 46th and Vliet often serves as home for movie nights in the summer.

In 2008, another neighbor, Steve Falsetti, spearheaded the spiritual successor to Sylvester's garden on 46th Street, formally establishing a community vegetable garden in a vacant lot. Fundraising for a pavilion in that space created an opportunity for neighborhood movie nights, as well.

Throw in a neighborhood rummage sale about to celebrate its 20th year in August, the associated neighborhood picnic, a neighborhood trick-or-treat and an initiative to tie red bows on trees, and it paints a picture of uncommon connectivity between residents.

"My block was diverse and also diverse beyond the Black/white binary we typically think of in Milwaukee," said former resident Laurel Cutright, who lived in the neighborhood for six years and now owns a home nearby. "I had neighbors who were white, African American, Latino and Burmese, as well as folks in multiracial families. In the summer, a roving band of kids played on the sidewalks and yards, with a feeling that everyone had their eye on them."

The community is part of the Near West Side Partners, a group of neighborhoods advocating for better housing, food access and safe streets.

The "all-seasons tree" at 45th and Vliet in front of one resident's home serves as a community corkboard of sorts for the Martin Drive neighborhood, decorated for the season with event announcements, canned goods for the needy and more.
The "all-seasons tree" at 45th and Vliet in front of one resident's home serves as a community corkboard of sorts for the Martin Drive neighborhood, decorated for the season with event announcements, canned goods for the needy and more.

What to eat, see and do in and around Milwaukee's Martin Drive neighborhood?

Vliet Street has always served as the neighborhood's commercial hub. Grocery stores, bakeries and meat shops lined the street and served the Martin Drive residents from the neighborhood's inception.

Today, you can find popular Pete's Pops on the stretch of Vliet in the Martin Drive neighborhood. Denizen MKE opened an event space on Vliet this year that can host weddings. As Vliet continues west, residents have access to numerous dining and bar options.

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company's offices are located inside the neighborhood, across Highland Boulevard from the Miller Brewery offices.

Just beyond the perimeter are historic Wick Field, a major hub for Milwaukee recreation programs, and Washington Park, one of the oldest public parks in the city.

New to the neighborhood? Here's how to access Milwaukee services

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's Martin Drive neighborhood is small but tightly connected