Wauwatosa (/ˌwɔːwəˈtoʊsə/ ⓘ WAW-wə-TOH-sə; colloquially Tosa) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States.

[6] The lush Menomonee Valley of the Wauwatosa area provided a key overland gateway between the rich glacial farmland of southeastern Wisconsin and the Port of Milwaukee.

The following year a United States Road was built from Milwaukee through Wauwatosa, eventually reaching Madison.

[9] On November 25, 1952, the City of Wauwatosa more than doubled its size by annexing 8.5 square miles (22 square kilometers) of land west of the Menomonee River, the entire remaining portion of the Town of Wauwatosa,[10] which became the home to several large cold storage and regional food distribution terminals.

In the past 40 years, western Wauwatosa has become an edge city with an important commercial and retail district built up along Milwaukee's beltline Highway 100 and anchored by the Mayfair Mall.

[11] The seal itself had originally been designed by 9-year old Suzanne Vallier as an entry in a contest among Wauwatosa schoolchildren.

[12] On February 2, 2020, Alvin Cole, a 17-year-old African-American male, was shot and killed at Mayfair Mall by a police officer responding to a reported disturbance.

[15] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.25 square miles (34.32 km2), all land.

[16] Eastern Wauwatosa is also known for its homes and residential streets, at one time just a short streetcar ride away from downtown Milwaukee.

In Wauwatosa, the Menomonee Valley made it easier to quarry portions of the Niagara Escarpment, which provided the necessary materials for cream-colored bricks and limestone foundations used in many homes and public buildings throughout the region.

The aldermen set policy and have extensive financial control, but are not engaged in daily operational management.

Other points of interest are the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; and the Memorial Center, built in 1957, which contains the public library, an auditorium, and the city hall.

In July 2019, the Tourism Commission of Wauwatosa sponsored the installation of several new murals by professional artists.

Schoepp recorded the song at Wauwatosa's Wire & Vice studio for his album Primetime Illusion (2019).

[34][35] An episode of the police procedural television show Criminal Minds, entitled "In Name and Blood" (S03 E02), was set in Wauwatosa.