Brady Street: The Magical Mystery of Milwaukee’s East Side

Milwaukee’s Brady Street packs an extraordinary amount of history, character, and creativity into just a few blocks.

On this walking tour, you’ll find out about the days when this vibrant east side corridor was an immigrant haven before becoming a hippie paradise – and eventually the eclectic dining and nightlife destination that it is today. You’ll hear the fascinating stories behind historic buildings, and meet some of the diverse characters who’ve shaped this neighborhood.

The tour starts at the famous Brady Street Walgreens – a local landmark that’s become something of a neighborhood meme for its colorful cast of regular characters. As you pass beloved institutions like Peter Sciortino’s Bakery (operating since 1947) and Glorioso’s Italian Market, you’ll hear about the street’s rich Italian heritage. Along the way, you’ll weave through areas once known as “Little Italy,”and past Polish flats built by early immigrants who established this neighborhood.

The tour ends near the starting point, where you can easily access the Oak Leaf Trail leading to Lake Michigan.

On this 60-minute tour, you’ll also have a chance to:

• Visit St. Hedwig’s Church with its striking 167-foot steeple made from distinctive cream city brick
• Find out how Brady Street became the “Haight-Ashbury of the Midwest” during its hippie heyday of the 1960s and 70s
• Explore the site where horror author Robert Bloch wrote his early stories before penning Psycho
• Discover Art Smart’s Dart Mart and Juggling Emporium, a quirky shop selling everything from juggling supplies to practical jokes
• Learn about historic buildings that have transformed from vaudeville theaters to pharmacies to modern eateries
• Pass by the Hi Hat Lounge, housed in a building that was physically moved from another neighborhood in the 1880s
• Admire the Cavorting Critters sculptures along the river path

By the end of this tour, you’ll have a sense of why Oscar Wilde once declared, “If what you want isn’t on Brady Street, you probably don’t need it.”