The Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, better known as “the Domes,” one of Milwaukee’s most iconic landmarks, was closed recently by county officials after a chunk of concrete fell from the structure.
According to a report by Graef, a Milwaukee-based engineering and consulting firm, “The Domes are old structures that are showing the effects of their age. They will continue to deteriorate unless major renovations are completed.”
Completed in 1967, the Domes are almost 50 years old. Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele estimates it would cost $65 million to $75 million to replace the Domes.
A short-term solution to wrap the Domes’ concrete ceilings with a canvas-like material would cost nearly $1 million, Abele says. That could last for 10 years, but would not solve the long-term problems of the Domes’ deterioration.
Those two options seem like such extremes. There isn’t a way to repair the existing structure at a lower cost than $65 million?
Last year, 248,000 people visited the Domes. Not bad, but does that level of attendance justify spending up to $75 million? That’s going to be a hard sell.
You can be sure there will be a lot of accusations about who is to blame for the deterioration of the Domes. State Sen. Chris Larson, who is running against Abele for county executive, is already blaming Abele and former county executive Scott Walker. The County Board loves to criticize Abele, so you know that’s coming. A spokesperson for Abele said he isn’t “pointing fingers” but then said Abele “inherited a mess” when he became county exec.
“There needs to be a broader community conversation about whether (the Domes are) an icon that we’d like to save for future generations,” said County Board chairman
Theodore Lipscomb.
Indeed. The future of the Domes needs to be part of a broader conversation about how our community will preserve its most treasured cultural assets, including the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Milwaukee County Zoo, the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts and the Milwaukee Art Museum. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce has taken a leadership position in calling for action to preserve these institutions, but little has happened so far.
Just like the major investments made in Milwaukee’s sports facilities, investments in parks, arts and cultural amenities are important for providing a high quality of life in the Milwaukee area, which is necessary for the region to be competitive in attracting businesses and talented employees, who could choose to live anywhere.
The urgency to provide a high quality of life will only grow as the huge baby boomer generation leaves the workforce and the war for talent among regions intensifies.
