Water Street, Milwaukee

What is now the 100 East Wisconsin building was once the site where Jacques Vieau, Milwaukee's first white settler, built his cabin in the early 1800s.

[1] Solomon Juneau, the city's founder, eventually took over Vieau's cabin, which started the development of Water Street as a place for commerce, accelerated by its proximity to the Milwaukee River.

Even today, that original construction site is a critical central gathering place in the city, as demonstrated by participants in the Occupy Milwaukee protests on October 15, 2011.

[4] The street is home to Milwaukee City Hall, which was one of the tallest buildings in the world when it was completed in 1895[5] and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2005.

With the exception of the nearby Milwaukee Theatre and the Riverside, all of downtown's major theaters are concentrated near the middle of North Water Street.

[15] The success of Harley-Davidson's 100th Anniversary celebration has kept riders coming back to the street because of the ample parking and large patios.

[16] The entertainment corridor of Water Street has traditionally been lined with bars and taverns, such as Rosie's, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012.