Downtown Milwaukee covers an area of 2.5 square miles with a recorded population of 26,710 in 2020. The district includes several neighborhoods with distinctive land use patterns, architectural styles and histories. East Town, Westown,
Historic Third Ward,
Lower East Side, Yankee Hill are the primary neighborhoods within Downtown Milwaukee. East Town is the traditional core financial district while Westown has adopted a more transportation and cultural activity based profile. The Third Ward and Lower East Side are primarily residential and retail districts adjacent to the Downtown core.
East Town Days, facing south toward downtown;
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on the left. East Town is a neighborhood bounded by
Lake Michigan to the east, the
Milwaukee River to the west,
Interstate 794 to the south and State Street to the north. was formerly known as the historic
Juneau Town settlement, which had competed with the neighboring Kilbourn Town (present-day Westown) for people and resources. With the Milwaukee River as the division, these two "towns" have remarkably different feels. East Town is regarded as a more vibrant, densely populated area and one less severely impacted by the urban renewal efforts of the 1950s and 60s. Today most of Downtown Milwaukee's major office and residential developments are located in East Town. The
U.S. Bank Center,
Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons,
100 East Wisconsin and
University Club Tower are all located in the neighborhood. Most of the stops on
The Hop are located in the East Town neighborhood. The neighborhood also contains the
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist and Old St. Mary's Church which have survived from the early days of Milwaukee. The East Town Neighborhood Association hosts Jazz in the Park, an outdoor music concert series at
Cathedral Square Park. The area has become the center of Milwaukee nightlife featuring several trendy nightclubs, and outdoor upscale eateries. In summer, East Town sponsors the Parisian festival Bastille Days and in winter the Holiday City of Lights.
Yankee Hill in Yankee Hill The Yankee Hill neighborhood encompass the eastern portion of downtown Milwaukee's
central business district from Jackson Avenue to the west,
Lake Michigan to the east, Ogden Avenue (i.e., the lower East Side) to the north and State Street to the south. Yankee Hill is a key part of the East Town neighborhood, situated within East Town's boundaries, but closer to the lake and north of downtown. Yankee Hill is home to the
Milwaukee School of Engineering and several large residential complexes. In the 1950s, the Milwaukee Redevelopment Authority cleared 223 buildings and displaced more than 1,000 residents. Thirty city square blocks were cleared in preparation for the construction of a never built interstate highway. The area has since recovered with the construction of thousands of new apartments in major projects like
Ascent MKE, Yankee Hill and Juneau Village complexes. The neighborhood saw 251% population growth between 2000 and 2020.
Westown Westown is an area west of the Milwaukee River and downtown, bounded by
Interstate 794 to the south,
Marquette University to the west, McKinley Avenue to the north, and the
Milwaukee River to the east. The neighborhood comprises the original Kilbourn Town in what is now downtown Milwaukee. The
Shops of Grand Avenue,
Wisconsin Center and
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra are located on Wisconsin Avenue, the primary east-west avenue in the city. Westown suffered heavily during Milwaukee's urban renewal period with hundreds of historic structures demolished in an attempt to revive the area. Other attractions in this neighborhood include the
Milwaukee Public Museum,
Pabst Brewery Complex,
Fiserv Forum, the
UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena, the
Milwaukee County Courthouse, the Wisconsin Club and Old World Third Street. In 2013,
The Moderne opened to residents, the structure is the tallest in the Westown neighborhood and the tallest in Wisconsin west of the
Milwaukee River. The Westown neighborhood has seen a substantial amount of redevelopment since the 2000s with major employers like
Fiserv and
Milwaukee Tool announcing high-profile office relocations to the neighborhood. The Shops of Grand Avenue underwent a major renovation project between 2019 and 2022, eventually reopening to the public in 2022 as
The Avenue (Milwaukee) and anchored by a ground floor food hall with apartments and office space above. Newaukee, a local social architecture firm has hosted popular street fairs during the summer months on Wisconsin Avenue since 2014. ==Parks==