From meat market to a hub for the arts, a building in Walker’s Point will soon a major renovation.
Arts@Large has acquired an 1890 building just south of National Ave. on 5th St. It will begin rehabbing the property later this month, eventually relocating its headquarters there.
The nonprofit works with 30 MPS schools where arts programming has been reduced. It also partners with a number of other schools to provide access to arts education.
Once complete, the new offices will boast thousands of additional square feet of gallery space, a student-staffed cafe, a wood shop, an audio production studio and plenty of studio space. It will also offer space for other nonprofits to use, as well as updated offices and meeting areas.
The new plan is quite different from the building’s original use.
The space was opened as a meat market, owned by famous Milwaukee entrepreneur Patrick Cudahy. It had apartments and offices above the retail space and was one of many storefronts offering Cudahy’s famous meat products.
OnMiwlaukee’s Bobby Tanzilo toured the vacant building and researched its history, turning up a few interesting facts dating back to 1981.
