A series of letters planted high atop aluminum poles are beginning to appear across the Milwaukee landscape. Each WaterMarkers installation represents the neighborhood in which it stands. The initiative blends art, science and community.
The story began with New York artist Mary Miss. Her work includes installations along the Hudson River designed to engage with the environment and ecological issues.
About 10 years ago, a visit to Milwaukee inspired Miss. She envisioned affixing large letters to stacks, or poles, throughout the city. Each would represent a bit of Milwaukee’s water story and the neighborhood in which it rose.
“We’re trying to make this for and about Milwaukee, but I don’t live here — so we have to build on others knowledge and experience. We’ll be working with as many groups as we can,” Miss told WUWM in 2017.
Each WaterMarker would be designed to glow in the night sky.
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CITY AS LIVING LABORATORYArtist Mary Miss envisions a project she calls "Watermarks: An Atlas Of Water And The City Of Milwaukee." -
Aaron AsisThe first marker, a five-foot red letter "A," stands atop 24-foot aluminum poles outside Milwaukee's Acosta Middle School.
WaterMarker "A"
In 2019, the first marker was installed in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood. A red, acrylic, five-feet-tall letter was erected atop an aluminum pole in front of Acosta Middle School at 6th and Washington.
“'A' because it’s Acosta, it’s agua [Spanish for 'water,'] it’s academic and when you think about the grading system, you can’t get higher than an 'A.' So, that’s our justification,” Acosta science and engineering teacher Shannon Olson explained.
Students collected their own families’ water stories and translated them into drawings and paintings.
They also worked with local artist Melanie Ariens to design life-sized images of the ways water affects their lives. The designs now fill nine expressway pillars just beyond Acosta’s front door.
WaterMarker "Ñ"
Like everything else in the world, the COVID pandemic slowed WaterMarks to a virtual stop.
But work has started back up again.
Five months ago, the second WaterMarker was lifted in place along the Kinnickinnic River just downstream from Pulaski Park.
Kinnickinnic River neighbors chose the Spanish letter "Ñ" and celebrated its installation this summer. People shared food, music, and printed their "Ñ" on t-shirts.
Esperanza Gutierrez, a member of Kinnickinnic Neighbors In Action, explained the profound significance of the "Ñ:" "This is the south side; this is where all the new immigrants come to labor, the working families of Milwaukee. So a lot of the Latinos, a lot of the regions came here. They’re not fully accepted at home and they’re not fully accepted here, but they have a right to exist and pursue their dreams."
Now rather than red, this and future WaterMarkers will be blue to better evoke water. The marker pulses when heavy rain is expected.
A plaque on its pole includes a code. Scan it and you learn why using as little water at home as possible during heavy rain events can help prevent stormwater overflows.
One more thing, markers no longer have to be hooked up to the grid. Instead the upper 14 feet of the pole is wrapped in a blanket of solar panels.
WaterMarker "G"
Stormwater management and environmental education are center stage at another WaterMarker installation.
Green Tech Station is a remediated three-acre brownfield site in Milwaukee’s 30th Street Corridor.
At its recent official opening, Willie Smith touted the station’s capacity to manage 100,000 gallons of stormwater in this flood-prone neighborhood and engage neighbors in environmental sustainability.
Smith heads the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation.
“There are 465 trees planted, four bioswales, native prairie, underground cisterns. You’ll also notice solar panels on the pavilion roof here,” Smith said.
The station's marker is the letter "G." It represents gather, gritty and growth.
Milwaukee resident Ellie Jackson joined the WaterMarks team as project manager about a year ago. Jackson said having the opportunity to build trust in the community takes time and is not to be taken lightly. She also thinks art is a powerful tool.
“I really do see the power between art and environmental issues and the way that art can connect with people. I feel like there’s only so far that facts can take and then we need some creativity to get the rest of the way,” Jackson explained.
WaterMarker "C" — coming soon
A few blocks south of Green Tech Station is four-acre Melvina Park in the making. It will also be getting a WaterMarker.
Yvonne McCaskill leads the Century City Triangle Neighborhood Association. She’s watched the park take shape from her front porch.
“The bioswales are in. Then they’ll start leveling it out and it will start taking shape,” McCaskill said.
She said before the parcel’s transformation began, neighbors already gathered there. When it’s transformation is complete, McCaskill envisions Melvina Park as a destination.
“The vision is that with all these green infrastructure projects along the corridor that there is a connection; and that we introduce our community to green infrastructure, to the importance of water and greenspaces in our neighborhood,” she said.
All neighborhoods deserve greenspaces, McCaskill said.
As for the Melvina Park WaterMarker, she expects to see its footing in place before the snow falls. Its gleaming blue "C" — for Century City, collaboration and culture — will be celebrated later in 2024.
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