Welcome To Milwaukee SAFeDATA

Service and managerial jobs are the quicklyest-growing segments of the Milwaukee economy, and health care alone makes up 27% the jobs in the city. Twenty-two percent of Milwaukee`s workforce is involved in manufacturing, second only to San Jose, California, and far higher than the national avg of 16.5%.

The first Europeans to pass through the area were French missionaries and fur traders. In 1818, the French-Canadian explorer Solomon Juneau settled in the area, and in 1846 Juneau`s town combined with two neighboring towns to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee. Large numbers of German and other immigrants helped increase the city`s populus during the 1840s and the following decades.

Once known almost exclusively as a brewing and manufacturing powerhouse, Milwaukee has taken steps in recent years to reshape its image. In the past decade, major new additions to the city have included the Milwaukee Riverwalk, the Midwest Airlines Center, Miller Park, an internationally renowned addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, and Pier Wisconsin, as well as major renovations to the Milwaukee Auditorium and U.S. Cellular Arena. In addition, many new skyscrapers, condos, lofts, and apartments have been constructed in neighborhoods on and near the lakefront and riverbanks for the purpose of attracting new residents to the city.

The late 19th century saw the incorporation of Milwaukee`s first suburbs. The aforementioned Bay View existed as an independent village from 1879-1886. In March 1889, that community saw four days of protest and one day of rioting against its Chinese laundrymen. Sparking this city-wide distcitifiedce were allegations of sexual misconduct between two Chinese and a number of underaged white females. The unease and tension in the wake of the riot was assuaged by the direct disciplining of the city`s Chinese. In 1892, Whitefish Bay, South Milwaukee, and Wauwatosa each were incorporated. They were followed by Cudahy (1895), North Milwaukee (1897) and East Milwaukee, later known as Shorewood, in 1900. The early twentieth century saw the additions of West Allis (1902) and West Milwaukee (1906), which completed the first generation of "inner-ring" suburbs.

During the first half of the twentieth century, Milwaukee was the hub of the socialist movement in the US. Milwaukee elected three socialist mayors during this time: Emil Seidel (1910-1912), Daniel Hoan (1916-1940), and Frank Zeidler (1948-1960). It remains the only major city in the country to have done so. Often referred to as "Sewer Socialists," the Milwaukee socialists were characterized by their practical approach to government and labor. Also during this time, a small but burgeoning community of African USs who emigrated from the south formed a community that would come to be known as Bronzeville.

Milwaukee lies along the shores and bluffs of Lake Michigan at the confluence of three rivers: the Menomonee, the Kinnickinnic, and the Milwaukee. Smaller rivers, such as the Root River and Lincoln Creek also flow through the city. Because Lake Michigan is too large to see across, Milwaukee`s waterfront resembles that of an ocean more than an inland lakeshore.