This is it, folks.
The current Milwaukee Public Museum will close its doors at 800 W. Wells St. on January 3, 2027. Then, sometime in spring 2027, the new Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin will open its doors at 1310 N. 6th St. and officially take MPM’s place. A handful of MPM dioramas and items (and exterior swans) have already made the move to NCMW. Most will be moved after MPM closes.
Which means this is the final time the Streets of Old Milwaukee and the European Village will be done up for Halloween and Christmas. (The “spiritual successor” to Streets will be NCMW’s Milwaukee Revealed.) To celebrate, MPM has announced three months of special events in the exhibits, part of its year-long “Greatest Hits” programming.
So here’s info on those events, courtesy of MPM. We’ll say it again: this is it, folks.
Halloween in the Streets
October 1-November 1, 2026
Enjoy old time frights and festive fall sights in the Streets of Old Milwaukee, where replica turn-of-the century Halloween decorations, vintage Museum collections items and seasonal props have been added to several of the businesses and homes.
Streets Alive!
Saturday, October 17, 2026, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
History will come to life in Streets of Old Milwaukee as Museum docents dressed in period attire share stories about the Milwaukee of the past. Visitors can chat with a maid from the Pfister Hotel, a tavern owner, a pharmacist and others from the early 1900s who will inhabit the exhibit, answer questions, and share fascinating insights about life and work more than a century ago.
Deck the Streets and Village
November 20, 2026-January 3, 2027
In Streets of Old Milwaukee, visitors will find Victorian-era garland, wreaths, bells, and ribbons adorning streetlamps, businesses and homes as classic carols play in the background. In the European Village, nine of the 33 units, each of which depict the home of a different European heritage set in the early 1900s, are decorated with culturally specific holiday items.
Streets Alive! at NIGHT: Holiday Edition
Thursday, December 10, and Thursday, December 17, 2026, 6-8 p.m.
Experience a nostalgic adults-only social hour in Streets of Old Milwaukee and European Village, full of holiday magic! Event highlights include:
• Both exhibits transformed into winter wonderlands of the past with traditional holiday decorations
• Museum docents dressed in period attire sharing stories about European holiday traditions
• Victorian-era parlor games
• Live music by the Checkmate Barbershop Quartet
• Commemorative photo in a vintage-style holiday card
• Cash bar
Tickets go on sale November 7.
This is a 21+ event.
European Village Alive!
Saturday, December 12, 2026, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Visitors will be immersed in the wonder of the season as they learn about the history of Christmas and Hannukah throughout the delightfully decorated European Village. Museum docents dressed in period attire will share details about the European traditions that have shaped our modern-day American holiday season, including greeting cards, Christmas trees, menorahs, gingerbread, mistletoe, nativity scenes and stockings.
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