In our semi-regular Tracklist feature we round up a bunch of Milwaukee things and present them in list form. Do people still enjoy lists? Yes? Well, enjoy!
What’s in a name? A sense of self, a sense of identification, a sense of individuality, that’s what. And in the case of a handful of Milwaukee names, the possibility of getting those names technically wrong.
Yes, we’re going to get picky with this list. Sorry! What follows are 10 Milwaukee places and things whose official names are easy to get wrong—but get wrong just by a little bit. For sake of brevity, we’re not including names that involve questions of articles (Is it Sugar Maple or The Sugar Maple?), questions of spelling (Theater or theatre?), or names that folks simply refuse to accept (“It’s still Miller Park to me!”) Here we go!
1. “General Mitchell International Airport”
Are we the only ones who, growing up, thought the “General” in General Mitchell International Airport meant “this is Milwaukee’s common/universal/main airport,” and that it didn’t refer to an actual military general? Just us? Well, yep, Milwaukee’s airport is indeed named after an actual military general: Brigadier General William “Billy” Mitchell. But folks who call the airport “General Mitchell International Airport” today (a name it was given in 1986, replacing General Mitchell Field, and Milwaukee County Airport before that) are a little off. In 2019, the airport quietly changed its official name to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. No more “general” confusion, we suppose.
2. “Potawatomi Hotel & Casino”
While most everyone refers to the city’s go-to casino simply as Potawatomi, fancy folks like to call it by its full name: Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Well, those fancy folks are wrong. First opened as Potawatomi Bingo in 1991, the Menomonee Valley destination changed its name to Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in 2014. BUT, just in the last few years, it’s flipped its headlining amenities. Potawatomi is now known as Potawatomi Casino Hotel. Gene Simmons would approve.
3. “Summerfest grounds”
This is more of a nickname issue, but it’s still worth pointing out. When you’re enjoying all the music, food, beer, sampler platters, Skyglider rides, and Bush’s Beans bucket hats at Summerfest, you’re technically not enjoying those things at the Summerfest grounds. No, the 75-acre lakefront park (which was once the site of a military missile installation!) is officially called Henry Maier Festival Park. It’s named after Milwaukee’s longest-serving mayor (and the “father of Summerfest”) Henry W. Maier, who served from 1960 to 1988.
4. “Marcus Center for the Performing Arts”
It’s almost February and we’re still waiting for our beloved snow pile to appear outside the parking structure of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Wait a minute, scratch that: The downtown theater complex—originally built in 1969 and known simply as the Performing Arts Center—shuffled its name around in recent years. These days, it’s the Marcus Performing Arts Center. When will the snow pile finally show itself? That’s anybody’s guess, but when it does, our Official Melt Day remains April 14 (Milwaukee Day!).
5. “U.S. Bank Building”
Yes, it’s still the tallest building in Milwaukee (and Wisconsin!), but no, it’s name isn’t the U.S. Bank Building. The downtown tower’s official name is the U.S. Bank Center. Oh, and despite Baird taking over the north- and south-facing signs atop the building, the name remains the U.S. Bank Building…we mean the U.S. Bank Center!
6-7. “Club Garibaldi’s” / “George Webb’s”
No possessives to see here, folks. It’s just Club Garibaldi and George Webb. One has terrific wings, and the other is still sore (we think) about that “We went to every George Webb in the world on February 29” article we wrote nine years ago.
8-9. “Bayview” / “Eastside”
Okay, we said we wouldn’t include any spelling examples, but these never fail to bug us. It’s Bay View, not Bayview. Two words, not one. And speaking of that, it’s East Side, not Eastside. (That “Eastside Music Tour” in 2013 and 2014 drove us up the wall.) And if we want to get really picky/pedantic/insufferable about it, when you write something like “I live in Milwaukee’s East Side neighborhood,” “East Side” is capitalized; but when you write something like “The restaurant is located on the city’s east side,” “east side” isn’t capitalized. (“Bay View” is always capitalized, however.)
10. “The Milwaukee Record”
Okay, we said we wouldn’t include “article” examples, either. But this one is about us, so: it’s just Milwaukee Record. We lost the “the” about two weeks after launching in 2014. Like they say, it’s cleaner.
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