John Gurda is perhaps best known as the chief historian of the City of Milwaukee. His documentary series and book, The Making of Milwaukee, have become vital resources in understanding the city’s history.
But Gurda’s impact on Milwaukee has been broad and varied. In fact, his work can be seen in neighborhoods throughout the city, on lampposts and in homes. Gurda was part of the two-person team that developed the city's neighborhood posters.
"This goes back to the late 70s... I was hired as a contractor to first of all, identify neighborhoods in Milwaukee, so map them - the ones that were identifiable. And then to write an essay about each of them, highlighting history and character," Gurda explains.
Gurda says he explored nearly every street in the city by car and bike. After he'd chosen which neighborhoods to highlight, he wrote an essay about each, looking at its unique history and character. Then, Gurda sat down with artist Jan Kotowicz to decide on how they would be symbolized on the poster.
Initially the posters were printed with Gurda's essays on the back, but once they were framed or hanging the essays could no longer be seen. The essays and posters were reunited once again when Gurda's book Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods was published.
"That became kind of a grassroots Bible. It's the closest thing we've had to an encyclopedia of neighborhoods," he says.
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