Bubbler Talk

The sign reads Pompeii Square. Many people have zipped past this tiny strip of green space while exiting 794 on their way to Summerfest or the Milwaukee Art Museum. And, many may have even wondered.. 'What is that?'

Joan Nink did, so she reached out to WUWM's Bubbler Talk to find out the origin of Pompeii Square.

No, this isn't the site of a volcanic eruption. It was actually where the first Italian church in the City of Milwaukee once stood.

Nestled between Miller Brewery and Harley Davidson on the west and Marquette University on the east, Milwaukee's near west side neighborhood is dotted with mansions and other historic spots from the 1800s and 1900s.

There's the Pabst Mansion, completed in 1892 to house the family of Milwaukee's famed beer barons; the Ambassador Hotel, an art deco retreat built in the 1920s and the Irish Cultural Center, which is housed in what was originally the Grand Avenue Congregational Church built in 1887. 

What is the oldest building in Milwaukee? That's the question Emily Pauly posed to WUWM in this week's Bubbler Talk.

“I work in the Mitchell Building downtown, which is a pretty old building," Pauly says. "I believe it was built in the 1870s – and knowing that Milwaukee is older than that, I figure there must be something older than what I work in."

While this may seem like a straight-forward question to answer, it’s not.

The game bar dice is a staple at bars across Milwaukee as well as the state.

Never heard of bar dice?

No worries, I hadn’t either, that is until a few weeks ago when a listener by the name of Dave Schroeter wrote in to WUWM's Bubbler Talk with a question: Why are the rules for bar dice the same everywhere in Milwaukee, except the south side?

Chances are if you ask a Milwaukeean about the best things to do in Brew City, a brewery tour will be pretty high on their list. For much of its history, Milwaukee has been known as the "beer capital of the world" and the city has been the birthplace of many heavy hitters in the industry: Pabst, Schlitz, and of course, Miller. 

Gross. Annoying. Ugly. But, illegal? This week, WUWM's Bubbler Talk answers the question: Is littering by throwing cigarette butts legal in Milwaukee? 

The City of Milwaukee has had an ordinance on the books since 1999. But according to a spokesperson, “To the best of our collective [Department of Public Works] knowledge, we have not issued any citations for cigarette butt littering.”

Our Bubbler Talk question for this week comes from Hannah Kaytonah, a student at Mount Mary University: "I’ve always wanted to know where the word Milwaukee comes from."

To find the answer to that question, we have to go back in time hundreds of years to a Milwaukee with no tall buildings or criss-crossing streets congested with traffic.

This week's Bubbler Talk question comes from Jim Thompson, who teaches mechanical drawing at MATC.

"I saw on a map there were two Honey Creeks in Milwaukee. One’s down close to the [Kinnickinnic River], and the other is up by the Menomonee [River] in Wauwatosa. And I was wondering if they’re just one stream or two separate streams."

Before we searched for the answer, we were curious why Jim wanted to know:  "I happened to be putting together a jigsaw puzzle…"

A weekend brunch staple: the Bloody Mary. The vodka and tomato juice drink has become known for its garnishes, which tower over other cocktails. Garnishes in Milwaukee may include asparagus spears, jumbo shrimp, even a piece of brisket or a miniature hamburger.

What have you always wanted to know about Milwaukee and the region?

For this week's Bubbler Talk, WUWM tackles this question submitted by Hannah Kaytonah:  Is Walker’s Point really a ‘gay’ neighborhood?

With the start of the new school year, WUWM's Bubbler Talk probes a school-related question. Asker Mike Osowski wants to know the story behind Bay View High School's many stone faces.

More than 160 of them adorn the building, with most along its upper edge, but others around the doorways. 

There may be even more concrete faces, those were just the ones we were able to count. Others may be hidden, due to the addition MPS tacked onto the school in the mid-1970s.

This week's Bubbler Talk inquiry comes from listener Brad Lichtenstein: "Besides the lakefront, what else did Socialist mayors do for Milwaukee?"

UW-Milwaukee historian Aims McGuinness met Lichtenstein and WUWM's Ann-Elise Henzl at the lakefront custard stand to share the backstory. He says the area was part of a massive public works project, which was completed in 1929.

This week's Bubbler Talk question is a simple one. Danica Herritz asked: Is or was there a falls (some sort of waterfall) in Menomonee Falls?

Lake Effect turned to Nancy Greifenhagen, board member of the Menomonee Falls Historical Society, for the answer.

Greifenhagen says there are actually two waterfalls in the Waukesha County village.

This week’s Bubbler Talk inquiry comes from Beth Gehred. She wanted to know how Milwaukee's public tavern is doing.

The tavern Gehred is referring to is the Riverwest Public House Cooperative, located on E. Locust Street in the Riverwest neighborhood. 

On the day WUWM's Marti Mikkelson and Gehred met at the packed bar, a couple of young men were playing dice, while several dozen other people were socializing with friends.

Wisconsin boasts one of the largest German populations in the country, and in the early 1900s, Milwaukee was considered one of the most German cities in America. "Milwaukee was known as the Midwest Munich," Steve Schaffer says. "It was, ya know, a German town."

This week’s Bubbler Talk question comes from listener Bruce Campbell, who wanted to know: How were Germans treated in Milwaukee during World War II?