They lift your spirits, prompt you to think, make you feel grateful and inspire you to do more. They connect you to our community, shining a spotlight on what's good about our city. They're stories that are Uniquely Milwaukee, sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Library.
At the corner of Locust Street and King Drive, there’s a sense of purpose, happiness and hope. That’s because theHarambee neighborhood is welcoming back a community anchor: the new Martin Luther King, Jr. branch of the Milwaukee Public Library (MPL), its modern façade brighter, bigger and more inviting for all to enter.
As Levar Perkins took in this major upgrade that adds to the revitalization currently happening along King Drive, he experienced a mix of past and present. “I don’t know the word to describe it,” he said, “but it’s one of those things where this is needed, especially for this area and Milwaukee as a whole.
His nostalgia comes from visiting the previous version of the library branch as a kid to seeing it now, and how the changes will impact this community. “This is going to bridge so many different gaps. You’ve got Riverwest, Bronzeville, you’ve got all these different neighborhoods that this intersection could connect.”
And that’s the point: reading, learning and connection.
“I’m so filled with joy. I love hearing the community saying how wonderful this is,” Milwaukee Public Library Director Joan Johnson said. “I’ve been waiting for this day in order to see how the community responds to this, and being able to see the investment in their community.
“I really, really want people to understand how much we — the administration of the city, the administration of the library — care about this community.”
Before the doors opened, hundreds of people gathered outside the library as officials offered their remarks, including Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “Here in Milwaukee, we understand the strength of a city begins in its neighborhoods, and a library is the proof of that,” he said.
But while some listened intently, others were simply excited to get a new book. Seven-year-old Kennedy Jackson couldn’t wait. “(Books) inspire me; and whenever I read a book it feels like I’m in the book reading it with the words and trying to figure things out,” she explained.
When guests were finally invited in, avid horror fan Nile Lloyd was already on her way out with four new books. “I like libraries,” she said. “My dad, when my sister and I were younger, we went to every library in the city. I’m getting back into it, saw this one was opening, and I’m like, ‘Let me check this out.’”
As you head north toward Locust Street, the image of Dr. King appears on the library’s front windows. It’s visible from about a half-block away as you pass an old Walgreens that closed last fall. At the time, the branch was still under construction but nearing the end of its almost decade-long process of completion. Johnson is one of many whose commitment never wavered.
“The initial request for proposals for developers went out nine years ago,” she explained. “We had a lot of challenges with that, and then we finally found the right fit for development partners and were able to break ground in May of 2023.”
City and library leaders overcame many setbacks — project delays, rising costs, challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic and even a car that crashed into the building in January. But, as Johnson put it, they’d “come too far” to stop.
“The board, the foundation, team, all of our staff, the developers — this was our third group of developers — we were all working together to keep moving forward no matter what,” she said. “And that’s why I said in my opening remarks that besides people’s brainpower and creativity, it was literally sheer drive to keep the project moving forward.”
Alderwoman Milele Coggs joined the library board after being elected to the Common Council in 2008. She supported a mixed-use model for the MPL sites and knew the time would eventually come for the King branch, which also hosts the MLK Library Apartments, a 42-unit complex with residents already moved in.
“I love the fact that we committed to something today that will likely be here for at least another generation to come,” Coggs said. “And when I say state-of-the-art, I mean 3D printers and all kinds of stuff we couldn’t have even dreamed of when we were kids,” she added, laughing.
Everything about the library’s design was intentional. The giant MLK letters under the outside canopy that welcome you, the open concept that creates a lot more space inside, the little reading nooks for little doses of privacy and even a color scheme that helps set the tone.
“The yellow and where the carpet is the brown, the earth tones and the yellow tones is where we want to encourage connection,” Johnson explained, “and the areas that are blue and green with the gray carpet are areas where we want to encourage reflection.”
One instantly popular spot in the new branch is the maker's space. It’s an area targeted to teens but open to anyone wanting to create and engage with technology. The room has 3D printers, a “green screen” wall for video and a recording booth. Guests can also build their own robots, video game controllers and much more.
It’s an appropriate feature for a library branch that is very much a dream turned into reality.
Antoine Carter, the director of philanthropy for the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation, calls this a resilience project — one of compassion that taps into the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and of Black Milwaukee.
“This is the receipt for all of the waiting and the hope that, ‘I hope they do MLK like they would Bay View,’” he said. “Yes, it is amazing. It is fire. I’m just so proud of what this turned into and how there are more Easter eggs of Black excellence to come.”
While the Milwaukee Public Library is a sponsor of Uniquely Milwaukee, this episode was not created in concert with MPL. Rather, it was an independent project from the content team at Radio Milwaukee.
