Brinton in Milwaukee
"There was a mill and on that mill there was a walk and on that walk there was a key." This was a jump rope jingle chanted by little girls in the 1940's in Milwaukee Wisconsin . At that time Milwaukee Wisconsin was the 13th largest city in the United States and was known for having more churches than any other city. Oh, yes, and beer companies, too.
As to the little girls, the ones that lived on the south side in the area known as Bay View went to Beulah Brinton Community Center to learn how to dance. One of the dances was the "Flower Dance" growing from a seed, to a bud, to a full bloom, then whilting and dying. Later the little girls, now teens, went to their first dance there. The home in the photo above is that of Beulah Brinton.
The house at 2590 South Superior Street was built in 1872. It is among the best examples of a Victorian Gothic home in the city of Milwaukee. It is in the area of Milwaukee known as Bay View. Bay View is three miles from downtown Milwaukee and on the south east shore overlooking Lake Michigan. The many architectual features of the house include a front bay window, ionic columns supporting the front porch and balustrade above the porch, and white clapboard siding. The house has been restored by the Bay View Historical Society after puchasing it in 2005. An old bedroom on the second floor is the office of this organization that started in 1979.
Beulah Brinton owned the house with her husband Warren who was a supervisor for the Milwaukee Iron Company. Beulah was community minded and started a library in her home. She also conducted English language and homemaking classes for immigrant women. She furnished rackets and balls for their children to play tennis on her courts next to the house. The Beulah Brinton Community Center was established in 1911. In 1924 it moved into an old firehall some blocks from Mrs. Brinton's home. In 1977 the community center moved into a new building. Today the Beulah Brinton Community Center at 5555 Bay Street in the Bay View area of Milwaukee offers programs six days a week. On Sundays it is available for rentals. One of its recent events has been the Second Prom Program, giving an opportunity for members of the community to relive their high school years.
Link: http://www.bayviewhistoricalsociety.org/Bayview%20Yesterday.html
Photo: Taken September 2006 by SW.
Demolished: Firehall #11 that became the 1st Beulah Brinton Community
Center in 1924 was demolished in 1977.
