Westown, the west side of downtown

Westown is downtown Milwaukee west of the river. It has the old Kilbourntown, a German shopping street, bank vaults you can step inside, a library from 1898 and an arena that fills a plaza.

Cross the Milwaukee River heading west and you step into Westown. The Westown Association describes a neighborhood in the heart of downtown, west of the river. It has sporting events, concert and theater venues, cultural institutions, hotels and the Old World Third Street Entertainment District.

That is a lot of ground, and it comes with a lot of history. This page walks through it in order. The stops are a rivalry that shaped the map, a German shopping street, a bank turned museum, department stores and streetcars, then the river, the arena and the markets.

Our own two restaurants sit on Third Street, and we say hello near the end. We are one stop among many in Westown. Start with the stories, pick a few places to see, and come eat when your feet need a rest.

Milwaukee did not start as one city. Solomon Juneau began what became Juneautown on the east side of the river in 1818. Sixteen years later Byron Kilbourn founded Kilbourntown on the west bank, and George Walker founded Walker's Point to the south. Westown is on Kilbourn's side of the river.

The towns competed hard for settlers and trade. The Encyclopedia of Milwaukee says Kilbourn tried to isolate Juneautown. He laid out streets that did not match Juneautown's, published a map that made it look like a wasteland, and built a bridge that let travelers skip the ferry.

Then came the Bridge War. On May 3, 1845, a schooner ran into and partly wrecked the busy Spring Street bridge. Angry West Siders tore down their end of the Chestnut Street bridge on May 8, and East Siders sank half of the Spring Street bridge on May 28. The encyclopedia finds no evidence anyone was killed.

The fight pushed the towns toward peace. The three settlements merged into the City of Milwaukee on January 31, 1846, and Juneau became its first mayor. The feud is still visible. The encyclopedia and the Milwaukee Riverkeeper both trace the slanted angle of downtown's river bridges to street grids that were laid out not to line up.

Kilbourntown filled up with German immigrants. The Encyclopedia of Milwaukee says that by 1840 German entrepreneurs were remaking commercial buildings on Third Street, west of the river, to serve a growing German community. Germans were the city's largest ethnic group for much of its history.

The National Register nomination for the Old World Third Street Historic District says that from the 1830s until World War I the area was one of downtown's most important commercial areas. It was home to some of the city's most important German-American merchants. Today it is the last remaining portion of that retail district.

Third Street sold nearly everything. The nomination lists saloons with upstairs halls rented to clubs and unions, drugstores, hardware and dry goods. It also lists Steinmeyer's, which it calls the city's largest combination wholesale and retail grocer of the 1800s. Even after Wisconsin Avenue became the main retail center, Third Street stayed important.

One business from that era is still there. Fred Usinger began his sausage company in 1880 on Third Street, and its six‑story building went up in 1906. VISIT Milwaukee calls the store a Milwaukee staple for over a century. For the block‑by‑block story, read our Old World Third Street guide.

The Milwaukee River gives Westown its eastern edge. VISIT Milwaukee says the RiverWalk runs along both sides of the river from the site of the former North Avenue Dam through downtown and the Historic Third Ward to Lake Michigan. It has 3.1 miles of restaurants, brewpubs, shops and nightlife.

The idea is old. The Encyclopedia of Milwaukee says city planners first imagined a RiverWalk in the early 1900s. A segment was built outside the Gimbels department store in the late 1920s. In the 1980s Mayor Henry Maier revived the idea, and in the 1990s a west bank walkway went in from Clybourn Street to Pleasant Street.

Today you can stroll it, paddle beside it or take a boat tour. VISIT Milwaukee points to the Bronze Fonz statue, public art, bridges made for photos and riverside dining. It notes that the path is accessible, with several lifts for visitors who need them.

The big modern landmark is the arena. Fiserv Forum opened in 2018 as home of the Milwaukee Bucks and Marquette University men's basketball. The Encyclopedia of Milwaukee says its interior uses reclaimed wood and Cream City brick as a nod to Milwaukee's built heritage.

Around it grew the Deer District, a thirty‑acre entertainment block that the encyclopedia calls the largest development project ever undertaken in downtown Milwaukee. VISIT Milwaukee says some 65,000 fans packed the plaza in 2021 for the watch party celebrating the Bucks' NBA title.

You do not need a ticket to enjoy it. VISIT Milwaukee lists restaurants, breweries, a beer garden with a 40-foot LED screen, and plaza events such as Fitness on the Plaza and summer concert and movie nights. Bring comfortable shoes and an appetite.

The Milwaukee Night Market turns West Wisconsin Avenue into an open‑air market and dance floor on summer evenings. NEWaukee founded it in summer 2014, and the Westown Association took it over in 2021. The market says it has grown to draw more than 100,000 attendees each year.

The 2026 schedule listed monthly evenings from 5 to 9 p.m. Dates change from year to year, so check the official page before you plan around one. Wear comfortable shoes, because you will be on your feet.

For a market under a roof, try the 3rd St. Market Hall at 275 West Wisconsin Avenue. It opened in October 2021, and its own site invites you to explore twenty‑plus food vendors. Usinger's deli counter on Third Street is the old‑fashioned version of the same idea.