Milwaukee, WI
Harley-Davidson Unveils Davidson Park, a New Community Park at Iconic Milwaukee Headquarters
Press Release | June 24, 2024
Harley-Davidson today formally unveiled the newly created community park, Davidson Park, at its iconic Juneau Avenue campus in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee, WI (June 24, 2024) – Harley-Davidson today formally unveiled the newly created community park, Davidson Park, at its iconic Juneau Avenue campus in Milwaukee.
The project, pioneered by the Harley-Davidson Foundation (“the Foundation”), has been created in partnership with internationally acclaimed designers, Heatherwick Studio who conceived and oversaw an original design to transform the 4-acre parking lot just south of the Company’s 3700 W. Juneau Avenue building into a soulful green space that can be used by everyone who lives in and visits Milwaukee’s Near West Side (“NWS”). As part of the project team, HGA served as the architect and engineer of record and Greenfire Management Services as the construction partner, with both Milwaukee-based firms partnering with Heatherwick Studio to bring the design vision to life.
“When we started this project, we did so with one main goal, and that was to further connect the Company with our hometown Milwaukee, a place that we’ve been proud to call home for over 120 years,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman, President and CEO, Harley-Davidson. “No matter how fast you move forward, you can never forget where you’ve come from – this project both celebrates our heritage and reinforces the power of the Harley-Davidson brand to be a force for good within our communities.”
“Davidson Park has been an extraordinary collaboration between the studio and local partners, schools, artists and the Forest County Potawatomi community, to transform an uninspiring concrete parking lot into a new public park and events amphitheatre for Milwaukee. Created for the local community, with the community’s collaboration and help, it’s a place where people can come together with friends and family to enjoy some of the wildness of Wisconsin’s incredible nature, listen to the state’s best music, or experience the energy of a motorcycle rally. Harley-Davidson has been part of Near West Side’s history for over 120 years and the park is a natural next chapter in their joint story. As the plants grow and mature, the intention is that the space increasingly honours both the heritage of Harley-Davidson and gives the residents something to not just enjoy, but to feel proud of,” said Thomas Heatherwick, Founder and Director, Heatherwick Studios.
“On behalf of the Harley-Davidson Foundation, we are really excited to formally unveil Davidson Park – we believe that the Park will provide a much-needed greenspace in our local community – but importantly a space that can be shared by all,” said Tori Termaat, President, The Harley-Davidson Foundation.
History and Concept
In 2021, the Foundation sponsored an Appreciative Inquiry Summit in partnership with Near West Side Partners, a non-profit founded to make the NWS a great place to live, work, play and stay by revitalizing and sustaining thriving business and residential corridors.
The Summit brought together over 200 NWS stakeholders, including residents, youth, and local businesses, to realize their hopes and dreams for the neighborhood. Among the key community needs identified was a safe green space that supports health, well-being, art and culture, and a place for youth to play. Input from the stakeholders served as the basis for Heatherwick Studio’s unique community park design.
From the start, the ambition for Davidson Park has been to create an inclusive place that everyone who lives or visits NWS can call their own – whether they use the park as a space to relax, to enjoy the local art and culture scene or attend an event.
“Davidson Park is a testament to the power of collaboration and listening,” says Peter Balistrieri, Principal and National Corporate Market Sector Leader at HGA. “Voices from all over the Near West Side—from Potawatomi leaders to local students and community groups—played a crucial role throughout the process. This is truly a park for the community, by the community.”
Davidson Park Features
The Hub and Foundation Stone
Celebrating togetherness and paying homage to history and community, at the heart of Davidson Park is “The Hub”, a sunken multi-use events space, an amphitheatre approximately 272 feet wide with tiered seating, set among lush plants and trees. The design promotes coming together with its circular layout defined by a combination of motorcycle driveways and turning circles, parking bays, sidewalks, plants, seats, and 360-degree viewpoints.
In one direction, “The Hub” will provide views of the brick buildings of the original home of Harley-Davidson. In the other, visitors will see a park sown with 120 native plant species, including 20 species of trees and 100 species of perennials, some of which are sacred to the Forest County Potawatomi tribe, who have helped provide guidance throughout the process.
The Hub has been built with ten types of locally sourced brick, natural wany-edge timber, and weathered steel with a beautiful warm patina. In addition to tripling the green space such as lawns and plantings, the park integrates a dynamic system of green infrastructure, including native bioswales, permeable pavers and cisterns to capture hundreds of thousands of gallons of stormwater – a significant contribution to regional infrastructure and the environment. With a commitment to sustainability, the park’s design will be one of the first SITES—a rating system for sustainable land design and development—certified projects in Wisconsin.
The Foundation Stone is located at the center of the Hub (the event and gatherings amphitheater, recessed into the ground) and is four feet in diameter made from cast iron. The Foundation Stone has been designed by local artist, and Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design student, Megan Huss, and celebrates the Near West Side and the creation of this new community park in Milwaukee.
“I am incredibly honored to be a part of the history of Harley-Davidson and I am able to showcase the sense of community in the Near West Side neighborhood through my work,” said Huss.
Main Street
Main Street is the main pedestrian thoroughfare through the Park, envisioned for use for events such as farmers’ markets, craft fairs & food trucks. The street also connects all major areas of the park including the Hub, playground, community lawn, picnic knoll, serenity garden, and viewing lawns, surrounded by native plants, including one hundred species of perennials and twenty species of trees. People can walk across or around Main Street to access the Hub, making it a lively place for social interaction. At night, the street will have a festive ambiance with catenary lights above that change colors.
Union Plaza
The main pedestrian entrance to the park is Union Plaza, located off West Highland Boulevard. At approximately 11,000 square feet, the plaza leads to Main Street and the Hub and will be a destination in itself, with flexible space for temporary markets, food trucks, and events. Union Plaza will be made from concrete with varying textures. It is home to a 10-foot tall, weathered steel sculpture inspired by Harley Davidson’s iconic bar and shield.
North and South Lawn
Located off Main Street to the northeast is the community North Lawn. The Lawn is approximately 7,600 square feet in size and is surrounded by planting, which will provide shade and a beautiful setting for relaxation, play & community events.
The South Lawn picnic knoll is adjacent and east of Main Street and north of the Union Plaza. It is a place for people to gather on picnic benches, whether this be family lunch, dog walkers having a chat, or school children taking part in learning activities. The picnic knoll is approximately 5,750 square feet in size and is a wonderful place to be while surrounded by greenery.
Little Legends Playground
Located in the south portion of the park off Main Street, Legends Play Area was designed in collaboration with the NWS community to realize the vision of a nature play area. Elements include wooden log climbers, steppingstones, and hillside climbing. Little Legends Playground is 6,000 square feet of accessible elements for kids ages 1 to 12.
Viewing Hills
Three hillside Viewing Hills are adjacent to the southwest portion of the Hub. Each hill is approximately 2,300 square feet and provides views overlooking the Hub during special events such as movie nights, theatre events, or music performance events. The Hills also provide a place to relax surrounded by native plants, some of which are sacred to the Forest County Potawatomi., including one hundred species of perennials and twenty species of trees.
1903 Tavern
In partnership with Molson Coors, 1903 Tavern brings together two iconic Near West Side anchor institutions to offer Davidson Park visitors a relaxed open-air environment to socialize while enjoying a cold beverage. 1903 Tavern will serve an assortment of canned beverages including beer, malt, seltzers and non-alcoholic beverages. A portion of the revenue from 1903 Tavern goes back into amplifying Davidson Park’s ambition.
Potawatomi Serenity Garden
The Serenity Garden is a result of a close collaboration between the Forest County Potawatomi leaders and the Harley-Davidson Foundation. The garden reflects the geometry of the medicine wheel, a symbol of significance for many Native American tribes including the Potawatomi. A grandfather stone is located at the center of four quadrants of medicine plants that mark the cardinal directions of the wheel. These plants include tobacco to the east, cedar to the south, sage to the west, and sweetgrass to the north. All are invited to use this garden as a place for contemplation, reflection, and meditation.
An accessible and inclusive space, Davidson Park will be open and welcoming for all (residents, community members, and visitors) to enjoy, gather, and connect. We will continue to seek ongoing stakeholder feedback – incorporating and encouraging community and visitor voices to inform future enhancements and changing interests.
Future Campus Development
Today’s opening marks the first phase of development at Juneau Avenue. The Company’s vision for the campus is to focus on multi-purpose development, ensuring that developments continue to celebrate Harley-Davidson and its history, while recognizing the need to evolve the space to be relevant not only for today, but for the future. And as the Company continues to explore opportunities for the wider campus, we remain committed to our mission and vision.
As part of the next phase of development, two exciting additions are coming to Juneau Ave – a STEAM Lab and the Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Headquarters.
Harley-Davidson recognizes the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) in education and the importance of helping build the next generation of skilled workers. The STEAM lab will enable H-D to further partner with local organizations and schools to provide students direct access to resources, receive mentoring from our talented employees, experience hands-on learning, and encourage career exploration in STEAM fields.
Racing has been part of H-D history for over 100 years and is a compelling way to bring its brand narrative to life for customers and fans. The H-D Factory Racing Team will move back to where it all began, giving visitors to the historic H-D headquarters an exciting and engaging behind-the-scenes look and enhancing customer-facing experiences in alignment with the Company’s campus strategy.
To learn more about Davidson Park, including upcoming events, visit h-d.com/davidsonpark.
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MILWAUKEE — As Venezuela continues to recover from devastating earthquakes, support from Milwaukee’s “United for Venezuela Emergency Relief Campaign” is soon heading to the disaster-stricken country.
The basement of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church is filled to the brim with donations ticketed for Venezuela, the culmunation of a week of community generosity.
From food to clothing and toys, the outpouring has been remarkable said Father Norberto Sandoval, who is from Venezuela and serves as associate pastor of Blessed Sacrament.
“This [has been] overwhelming,” said Sandoval. “I mean, if you can see [the basement], you were able to get in on Monday. Now we [are not] able to walk.”
(Spectrum News 1/Blake Dietz)
Aura Escobar, who is also from Venezuela, has been doing whatever she can to help her home country, including packing donations. She described the support from friends, coworkers, and strangers as something special to witness.
“In my Venmo, I had three thousand dollars in less than 24 hours,” Escobar said. “And I was able to buy stuff to donate. It’s been amazing. It’s very heartwarming to have so many people that care about Venezuela.”
Due to limited storage capacity and the logistical planning required to transport the supplies to those who need them most, organizers have decided to stop accepting donations after Friday afternoon.
“We have more than a thousand boxes right now. We are expecting two semi-trucks either to move [Friday] in the afternoon or tomorrow,” Sandoval said.
(Spectrum News 1/Blake Dietz)
He acknowledged that corruption in times of trauma is a long-standing concern in Venezuela. For that reason, the trucks will take the local donations to Miami, where a Venezuelan organization he fully trusts will handle the final distribution.
“We have already the person and it’s going to be [done] free. It’s going to be directly to a group of religious groups in Venezuela. So, in that way people will get the donations,” he said.
Sandoval and other organizers are putting out one final plea for volunteers to help load the semi-trucks on Friday and Saturday.
Video circulating this week shows masked federal agents in Milwaukee arresting people. City leaders say the face coverings violate a city ordinance — but whether federal agents are required to follow local ordinances is a legal question that may ultimately be decided by a federal judge.
RELATED | Father with no criminal record detained by ICE on Milwaukee’s south side, family says
Local attorney Russell Jones said the answer depends on the specific ordinance and what federal authorities are doing.
“The issue becomes whether or not the local ordinances interfere with the operations of the federal officers acting under federal law. If it does, federal law will supersede it. Right, it’s the supremacy clause of the Constitution. If it doesn’t interfere with their operations, then typically they will follow those ordinances. So that’s really the question: do the ordinances interfere with the legitimate operations of the federal agency?” Jones explained.
For the past week, masked federal agents have been seen in Wisconsin arresting people they say are in the country illegally.
Watch: Do federal agents have to follow Milwaukee’s face covering and park ordinances?
Do federal agents have to follow Milwaukee’s face covering and park ordinances?
Galo Suarez described one encounter.
“They broke our side window, and they told us that if we didn’t comply, we would face several heavy consequences,” Suarez said.
Images have also surfaced of what appear to be federal agents in Milwaukee County parks.
Federal agents wearing masks and being in county parks, according to city and county leaders, are against local ordinances.
Milwaukee’s city ordinance prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings. A Milwaukee County ordinance prohibits any law enforcement agency from using a park as a staging area without a permit.
When asked whether a resolution to the legal question was possible now, Jones said it likely falls to the courts.
“That’s a question that eventually probably some federal judge will answer,” Jones said.
Before the city’s face covering ordinance was passed, City Attorney Evan Goyke wrote in a memo that “it is legal and enforceable.”
Enforcement of the ordinance would fall to Milwaukee Police, who earlier this week said they have “requested a formal written legal opinion from the city attorney’s office regarding the ordinance’s applicability and enforceability.” TMJ4 News reached out to Goyke on this and is waiting to hear back.
ICE has already stated it “will not abide by unconstitutional bans,” noting that “ICE officers wear face coverings for one reason: to protect themselves and their families from real-world threats including agitators.”
Jones said the practical challenge of enforcing a local ordinance against federal officers adds another layer of complexity.
“Enforcing a local ordinance right is typically done with an arrest or issuing a ticket, and certainly arresting ICE officers would interfere with their operations,” Jones added. “Ultimately, a federal judge will decide if these ordinances interfere with federal operations, and if they do, they will be superseded by federal law, and if they don’t, then ICE would likely have to follow them.”
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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A hospital bed. That was the only thing that could stop Dominique Paul Noth from doing a review.
An ice storm tried a couple of years ago, coming to Milwaukee the same night as a dance recital. It failed. When he could no longer drive and gave up his license, one of his children would take him, or he’d Uber to a performance. That was his level of dedication.
Then, one month before his passing, Noth, stuck in a hospital bed and hooked up to an oxygen tank, acquiesced, calling his editor to inform him he would not be able to review Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.” For the first time in his 60 years as an arts critic in Milwaukee, the show would go on without him.
“He was not happy about it,” his son Vincent said.
“It’s something I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do before,” added Paul, the third oldest Noth’s nine children.
Noth, who influenced Milwaukee’s discussion of culture and the arts for close to six decades, died on June 26 at 84 years old. He had advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated by heart failure.
Conceived while his parents were escaping the Nazis in France, Noth was born in New York in 1942. He moved to Milwaukee as a teenager and went to Marquette University, where he fell in love with the arts.
Noth graduated in 1963, and worked in New York for three years before being hired by the Milwaukee Journal, where he worked in a variety of positions for three decades. Starting as a copy editor, he soon made a switch to news writing before becoming a film and drama critic.
He kept rising, becoming an arts and senior features editor, working on the publication’s beloved Green Sheet in the 1970’s. Noth stayed at the newspaper long enough to serve as the first online news producer for the merged Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In the 1970’s and 80’s, he also taught a film course at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After leaving the Journal Sentinel, he served as editor-in-chief of The Milwaukee Labor Press for a decade before becoming a contributing theater and culture critic for Urban Milwaukee.
Noth’s writing earned numerous honors, including nine gold medals from The Milwaukee Press Club for Best Critic. Never afraid to ruffle feathers with searing reviews, Noth said “the force fizzled” in “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.” He even briefly got himself banned from reviewing a Skylight Theater show in 1974 because of past rhetoric.
“He approached Milwaukee as if it was New York, L.A., Chicago,” said Jeannie Gaffigan, Noth’s oldest daughter. “He really always believed in Milwaukee, and always believed in the arts in Milwaukee.”
His access to subjects often set him apart. Once, when Cary Grant was getting into a taxi to go to the airport, Noth followed the actor into the cab to secure an exclusive interview. He also got a one-on-one with Steven Spielberg by talking his way past security after the filmmaker spurned other media.
Noth juggled working tirelessly with raising a family, and often involved them in his jobs. He would take his children to exclusive, private screenings and even more exclusive interviews. His kids attended his UWM classes, and sat in the Milwaukee Journal offices while he typed his reviews.
He also loved to cook and bake, making everything from scratch.
“I have no idea how he did as much as he did,” son Paul said. “He was able to accomplish a lot.”
Even though his body was not fit to leave the hospital, Noth was able to give his family one final gift before he died. Surrounded by all his kids and many grandkids, Noth went around the room and gave a personalized goodbye to everybody.
“It’s a great blessing,” Paul said, “but it’s also a very emotional, devastating time.”
Noth told them even though he could no longer continue to make the world a better place, he trusted each and every one of them to carry on that legacy.
In that vein, his family established the Dominique Paul Noth Memorial Fund, which is now accepting donations. The fund, according to its website, will be used to support charitable causes that enrich the greater Milwaukee community, foster creativity and education, and strengthen civic life.
A celebration of life for Noth will begin at 2 p.m. on August 2 at Turner Hall, followed by a memorial tribute at 4 p.m.
Jack Albright can be reached at JAlbright@usatodayco.com.
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