MILWAUKEE, Wis. — A public petition has been created in an effort to save the Streets of Old Milwaukee exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM).
MPM will soon be moving to a new location on Wells Street, called the "Future Museum." However, some people have concerns over whether or not the old exhibits are coming along for the move.
It all started with one of the museum's posts on Facebook. A user commented on the post asking if the Streets of Old Milwaukee exhibit would be moving to the new location.
An MPM staffer replied, “Entire exhibits won’t be moving over but those who love MPM will have A LOT they love at the Future Museum. As you can imagine, making something new and refreshed, yet familiar and cozy is a fun challenge for our design team!”
That response sparked disappointment among fans of MPM, spurring some to create and sign a petition.The online petition has nearly 5,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
The petition says, "join fellow Milwaukee residents in OPPOSING the dismantlement and removal of one of the city's most beloved, meaningful, and culturally significant exhibits -- The Streets of Old Milwaukee."
However, MPM recently provided clarity on what was really happening to the exhibit.
"Most of our exhibits, like the Streets of Old Milwaukee, have elements that are built into the current facility," MPM tweeted. "Deconstructing those in a way that won’t damage them and using those exact same materials to reconstruct them in a differently-shaped building would be nearly impossible, not to mention excessively expensive and time-consuming."
Over the course of a few days the statement "entire exhibits won’t be moving over" fueled a lot of speculation about the Future Museum. While you'll get a first peek at the exhibits in spring here are a few details in this thread to help to provide some clarity about our process: pic.twitter.com/UkeMYsWWbM
— Milwaukee Public Museum (@MKEPublicMuseum) January 10, 2023
Essentially, the museum will have a highly-immersive walkthrough of Milwaukee but it will not be called Streets of Old Milwaukee.
It will also feature new objects that have never been seen on display. MPM said they have millions of objects behind the scenes that will be showcased.
MPM said it will release a first peek at new exhibits this spring.
You can hear more from the museum and the Streets of Milwaukee exhibit in the video at the top of this article.
