Location 1: The Clock Shadow Building
First of all, I'm pretty sure this building is open to the public anyway, but when I was choosing locations it didn't really tell you and I've never been here before. So if nothing else, Doors Open made me go somewhere I wouldn't of gone otherwise.
This buildings main function is to be a community healing center and each floor is designated to a different healing art. I walked around a little bit on each floor and saw some yoga classes going on and saw the people waiting for the clinic.
The best part of this building was the rooftop garden. You step out and you just see rows of flowers and vegetables being grown. Large beds of flowers throughout the roof, I was told, help insulate the building in the winter and helps purify the water running through the building throughout the year.
A few other things about this building I learned: A large portion of the building is made from recycled materials, it has a bi-lingual clinic, and there is a beautiful banner that runs through the center of the staircase that is painted to represent all the layers of the earth and atmosphere.
While I was walking through the building I thought a lot about the location of it and the people that occupy the space. From the rooftop you can see all the different area of Milwaukee. You see the third ward, you see downtown with its looming buildings full of corporate offices, you can see the interstate and the power plants that are next to it. It appears to be such a central location yet still seemed like an intimate place that only a small group of people occupy. How ironic that that while on top of an energy preservation building you can see power plants, gas stations, junk strewn about. A strange juxtaposition. I really appreciate the effort to create a community of people who are all like-minded and can come to a place in the center of Milwaukee to find peace and healing.
First of all, I'm pretty sure this building is open to the public anyway, but when I was choosing locations it didn't really tell you and I've never been here before. So if nothing else, Doors Open made me go somewhere I wouldn't of gone otherwise.
This buildings main function is to be a community healing center and each floor is designated to a different healing art. I walked around a little bit on each floor and saw some yoga classes going on and saw the people waiting for the clinic.
The best part of this building was the rooftop garden. You step out and you just see rows of flowers and vegetables being grown. Large beds of flowers throughout the roof, I was told, help insulate the building in the winter and helps purify the water running through the building throughout the year.
A few other things about this building I learned: A large portion of the building is made from recycled materials, it has a bi-lingual clinic, and there is a beautiful banner that runs through the center of the staircase that is painted to represent all the layers of the earth and atmosphere.
While I was walking through the building I thought a lot about the location of it and the people that occupy the space. From the rooftop you can see all the different area of Milwaukee. You see the third ward, you see downtown with its looming buildings full of corporate offices, you can see the interstate and the power plants that are next to it. It appears to be such a central location yet still seemed like an intimate place that only a small group of people occupy. How ironic that that while on top of an energy preservation building you can see power plants, gas stations, junk strewn about. A strange juxtaposition. I really appreciate the effort to create a community of people who are all like-minded and can come to a place in the center of Milwaukee to find peace and healing.
Location 2: Mitchell Leather factory and store
This wasn't my original choice but I didn't find anything interesting about the location I went to before this. I had some time before work, but still needed to go somewhere close to the mall so I wouldn't be late. This proved to be a really interesting tour thought and I'm glad I went.
Obviously leather goods is a touchy subject with a lot of people so right away the vibe you get walking in is that you're gonna be on the tour with people who are not vegetarians and don't get phased by stuff like this. Putting all that aside though, the tour was really informational.
Dave Mitchell, the owner of the store and main man who makes all the bags, wallets, key-chains, etc, started off talking about the history of the building and the company itself. The building is old and all poured concrete. He also mentioned that they have the safest cellar in Milwaukee in case of a bomb attack or something like that.
The factory had shelves and tables full of leather hides. There were lots of sewing machines and large, old machines used to do things like flatten, shape, cut, and form the leather. Some information about the leather given was that it is a myth that Europe has better leather because "you can find the best leather where you can find the best steak". So Milwaukee and Chicago is where some of the best leather in the world comes from.
The atmosphere of the factory was kind of eery and doesn't seem like a place I would want to spend everyday all day in like the two full time employees do. Everything is custom and hand-made by these two employees and they are so busy that Mitchell said he has no idea if he will even finish all the orders in his lifetime. Yet he loves it. He was very passionate and took great pride in the fact that everything made came straight from America and wasn't done in a giant production factory.
After the tour someone asked him if they got protested a lot and he said groups like PETA have been scheduled to come protest but then they find out they aren't doing the certain things they wanted to protest. He said he is an animal lover and even though it seems hypocritical he doesn't look at it as an evil thing. The leather is going to be there whether he used it or not so he might as well make beautiful things out of it.
This wasn't my original choice but I didn't find anything interesting about the location I went to before this. I had some time before work, but still needed to go somewhere close to the mall so I wouldn't be late. This proved to be a really interesting tour thought and I'm glad I went.
Obviously leather goods is a touchy subject with a lot of people so right away the vibe you get walking in is that you're gonna be on the tour with people who are not vegetarians and don't get phased by stuff like this. Putting all that aside though, the tour was really informational.
Dave Mitchell, the owner of the store and main man who makes all the bags, wallets, key-chains, etc, started off talking about the history of the building and the company itself. The building is old and all poured concrete. He also mentioned that they have the safest cellar in Milwaukee in case of a bomb attack or something like that.
The factory had shelves and tables full of leather hides. There were lots of sewing machines and large, old machines used to do things like flatten, shape, cut, and form the leather. Some information about the leather given was that it is a myth that Europe has better leather because "you can find the best leather where you can find the best steak". So Milwaukee and Chicago is where some of the best leather in the world comes from.
The atmosphere of the factory was kind of eery and doesn't seem like a place I would want to spend everyday all day in like the two full time employees do. Everything is custom and hand-made by these two employees and they are so busy that Mitchell said he has no idea if he will even finish all the orders in his lifetime. Yet he loves it. He was very passionate and took great pride in the fact that everything made came straight from America and wasn't done in a giant production factory.
After the tour someone asked him if they got protested a lot and he said groups like PETA have been scheduled to come protest but then they find out they aren't doing the certain things they wanted to protest. He said he is an animal lover and even though it seems hypocritical he doesn't look at it as an evil thing. The leather is going to be there whether he used it or not so he might as well make beautiful things out of it.
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