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Milwaukee County Historical Society caught between RNC, history and, likely, protests

Ricardo Torres, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
4 min read

The Milwaukee County Historical Society will be in the middle of history and physically between two political ideologies when the Republican National Convention comes to Milwaukee in July.

Just a few blocks west of the building, the Republican National Convention will convene at Fiserv Forum, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the newly opened Baird Center to officially select Donald Trump as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

To the east of the building, Pere Marquette Park will likely be the designated area for those who are coming to Milwaukee to voice their disagreement with the party and Trump.

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The location of the protest area, known as the First Amendment Zone, has been a point of controversy. Officials with the RNC have been pressuring the U.S. Secret Service to change the location because of concerns about conflicts between protesters and Trump supporters and its proximity to the convention security zone.

The historical society has been located at the intersection of West Kilbourn Avenue and King Drive for 113 years. It hopes to rent the building for convention gatherings, but it also has concerns about being in the heart of any potential conflicts.

“Our mission is to preserve and share the history of Milwaukee County,” said historical society executive director Ben Barbera. “We are caught between a rock and a hard place because of where we’re located.”

More: Republican National Convention seeking Milwaukee businesses for 'Convention Fest'

The Republican National Convention will take place at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (upper right- white roof) and the Baird Center (upper center) just west of Pere Marquette Park in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Historical Society building is the triangular building on the west side of the park. Last month, GOP officials urged the Secret Service to move protest organizers farther from the downtown venues that will host the RNC than the expected site at Pere Marquette Park on the west side of the Milwaukee River.
The Republican National Convention will take place at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (upper right- white roof) and the Baird Center (upper center) just west of Pere Marquette Park in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Historical Society building is the triangular building on the west side of the park. Last month, GOP officials urged the Secret Service to move protest organizers farther from the downtown venues that will host the RNC than the expected site at Pere Marquette Park on the west side of the Milwaukee River.

Building available to rent but finding a taker is difficult

Staff at the historical society location downtown are going to be working at other locations or remotely during the week of the RNC. But the building is available to rent.

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Area businesses in general are hoping to make money from hosting events. and the city expects to see an estimated influx of 50,000 people during that week. But the historical society might lose on the financial front.

Barbera said they’re hoping to get a group to rent it, so the society has additional income, but it hasn’t been easy.

“At this point, we do not have any rentals,” Barbera said. “A big sticking point is the potential location of the protest zone. Most of the entities we’ve heard from don’t want to rent a building that is that close to this area.”

Inside the building are artifacts from the county’s long history, along with the research library, exhibits and programs.

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“My biggest fear, by far, is people get inside the building and destroy what is arguably the largest repository of Milwaukee history. That would be tragic on many levels,” Barbera said, adding the historical society doesn’t have the means to move any objects nor the additional space to store them.

Barbera said they have had discussions with the U.S. Secret Service, law enforcement and Milwaukee County Parks but “none of which have been particularly fruitful.”

“The answers seem to be the park is almost certainly going to be the location for the protest zone,” Barbera said. “Everybody understands our concerns, and everybody seems to think that it’s inevitable that this will be the protest zone. Then they all kind of look at me and say ‘Well, what are you going to do?’ And my answer is, I don’t know at this point.”

Barbera said the patio on the east side of the building, near the park, is made of bricks, which could be a problem.

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“Those bricks are all loose. So we potentially have thousands of projectiles sitting right outside of our building," Barbera said. "We also have very big, ornate glass windows. So as you can imagine, there’s concern that those bricks and our windows would not go well together.”

The historical society could board up the windows and doors or put up a high fence but it doesn't want to go that route.

“It’s not a good look. It’s not the impression of the historical society that we want to give to anybody,” Barbera said. “And I have concerns that doing something like that would actually invite potential damage or destruction.”

At the same time, the historical society is having internal conversations about how to record this event for future generations.

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Barbera said the society plans to preserve different ephemera like signs, fliers and any other material. They might even do interviews with guests if the event is calm enough.

“We should certainly be working to document the event,” Barbera said. “What that looks like on the ground, I’m not sure.”

More: Area businesses preparing for RNC await news on contracts for the big event. It's early, most not worried

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Historical Society caught between RNC, protesters

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