I'm honored to work with the good folks at Milwaukee Public Library's Central Library, 814 W. Wisconsin Ave., on a small exhibit and panel discussion that look into Milwaukee's historic public schoolhouses.
In recent weeks, I teamed with librarians in the library's Art, Music & Recreation and Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Room -- as well as with staff from the Wisconsin Architectural Archive housed at Central -- to put together a small look at some of the schools that have meant so much to so many Milwaukeeans.
There are original architectural drawings and vintage photographs of five schools: 21st Street School (razed), Walnut Street School (razed), McKinley School (vacant), Maryland Avenue School (still in use) and the old Gaenslen School building (razed).
These can be seen in glass cases in the main corridor outside the Zeidler Room on the second floor of the Central Library from today until Dec. 18.
A related event, "Milwaukee Public School Buildings: Past, Present & Future, A Discussion," is a panel discussion slated for Monday, Dec. 8 from 6:30 until 8 p.m. in the Loos Room in Centennial Hall, 733 N. 8th St. Admission is free and all are invited.
We've tapped veteran education reporter Alan Borsuk -- who is now Senior Fellow in Law and Public Policy at Marquette University Law School -- to moderate the discussion about the history of Milwaukee's vintage schoolhouses, their architectural significance, their ongoing educational efficacy, efforts to landmark and preserve some of them and more.
The panel consists of District 4 Ald. Robert Bauman, who was recently a key figure in the city's historic designation of McKinley School, Historic Milwaukee Inc. director Stacy Swadish, MPS' Director of Facilities and Maintenance Gina Spang
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
