Brutalist Architecture at its Finest on Milwaukee’s Lakeshore…

May 4, 2018

Brutalist Architecture Milwaukee County Art Museum

Brutalist facade of the Milwaukee County Art Museum.

Photo: Library of Congress

Brutalist cantilever at the Milwaukee County Art Museum.

Photo: Library of Congress

Brutalist flying staircase at the Milwaukee County Art Museum.

Photo: Library of Congress

Brutalist interior courtyard Milwaukee County Art Museum.

Photo: Library of Congress

Brutalist tile work facade of the Milwaukee County Art Museum.

Photo: Library of Congress

Love Brutalist architecture? Can’t get enough unfinished concrete & dystopian geometry? Feel like being crushed by your surroundings? Look no further than the remarkable Milwaukee Art Museum! Famous for its more recent wing designed by starchitect Santiago Calatrava, it’s original incarnation is an oft overlooked gem. A gem designed by one of the first starchitects, Eero Saarinen of TWA Terminal & tulip table fame.

Originally envisioned as a war memorial, Saarinen’s Brutalist pile of blocks on a hill was utilized to merge the collections & educational facilities of two previously independent institutions. The Layton Gallery, founded in 1885 by Frederick Layton to house his collection of European old masters, merged with the neighboring Milwaukee Art Institute to form the Milwaukee County Art Museum. Now called the Milwaukee Museum of Art, the present building has housed the combined collections since 1957. Favorite bits? That Edmund Lewandowski tilework! Also, that flying staircase!

More information on the Milwaukee Art Museum here.

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