Juneau Park, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is situated on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. It is popular for its short distance to downtown Milwaukee, lakefront walking path, and vantage point for fireworks displays.[1]
Early history
Located within the park is a tribute to the city's first mayor, Solomon Juneau. The Juneau Monument, designed by Richard Park, was built in 1887.[2][3] Also within the park is the 1887 statue, Leif, the Discoverer of Leif Erikson made by sculptor Anne Whitney. It is a replica of a statue in Boston.[4]
Gertie the Duck
Gertie the Duck, an icon of Milwaukee history, was moved with her ducklings to the lagoon at Juneau Park in the mid-1940s for their safety.[5] The story of a duck, Gertie, and her efforts to watch over nine eggs— and ultimately hatch six ducklings on a wood piling below the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge—was reported by Gordon MacQuarrie of the Milwaukee Journal and became an inspiration for many war-weary Americans near the end of World War II.[5][6] Passers-by, the Boy Scouts, and a Wisconsin Humane Society officer watched over Gertie and her growing family.[7] Besides local newspapers, the story was picked up in national and U.K. press.[8] After surviving bad weather and a nearby fire, the ducks were relocated to the Juneau Park lagoon.[5]
References
- ^ "Juneau Park". Park Milwaukee. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
- ^ Fischer, William Jr. (February 7, 2017). "Solomon Juneau". Historical Marker Database. HMdb.org.
- ^ "Solomon Juneau. Statue of the first white settler of Milwaukee unveiled" (PDF). New York Times. 10 July 1887. (reprint from Milwaukee Sentinel, 7 July 1887).
- ^ . Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. XXIX. 1920.
- ^ a b c Sandin, Jo. "Home Sweet Home". The Milwaukee Journal, March 31, 1995.
- ^ Bauer, Fran. "Gertie co-author remembers famous fowl". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 1, 1997, p. B3.
- ^ Gould, Whitney. "Mallard memorialized Gertie, City's Famed duck gets statue in her honor". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 25, 1997 Final, p. B1.
- ^ Johnson, Don L. "'Millie' Finds City Life Just Ducky". Milwaukee Sentinel, May 28, 1980 Final, p. A1.
Further reading
- John D. Buenker (April 15, 2016). Milwaukee in the 1930s: A Federal Writers Project City Guide. Wisconsin Historical Society Press. pp. 82, 84, 243, 254, 258. ISBN 978-0-87020-743-3.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 492–495.
- Federal Writers' Project (October 31, 2013). "Juneau Park". The WPA Guide to Wisconsin: The Badger State. Trinity University Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-59534-247-8.
- Michail Takach (August 22, 2016). LGBT Milwaukee. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 22, 23, 86, 87. ISBN 978-1-4671-1728-9.
External links
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43°02′38″N 87°53′49″W / 43.044°N 87.897°W
This page was last edited on 2 May 2024, at 16:45