Un Paseo Al Agua - A Walk to Water
Un Paseo El Agua is a series of road signs installed from 10th and Greenfield moving East towards Milwaukee’s Harbor District.
The signs depict the unique and diverse landscapes of the Harbor District - illuminating it’s industrial past, it’s critical role in the transportation of people and goods, and it’s more recent development of spaces for public recreation and water access.
Greenfield Avenue is a large urban highway that passes through dense neighborhoods, looms over the expressway, and disappears under a railroad bridge surrounded by industry. You would never know driving or walking on Greenfield that less than a mile straight ahead you could dip your toes in a freshwater fountain or launch a kayak in the river.
Un Paseo El Agua hopes to create a visual and poetic invitation to the Harbor District to engage with Milwaukee’s unique public spaces, urban renewal, and connect with the water. The neighborhoods located west of the Harbor are 71% Latino and 63% of families speak Spanish in the home as a primary language - so ensuring that this poetic invitation was in spanish was very important.
To celebrate the signs, connect people to the water, and illuminate all the different ways the Harbor District is supporting greater public health a collaboration between WaterMarks, The Harbor District, Muskego Way Forward, 16th Street Community Health Clinic, and Versiti Blood Center was forged. These groups worked together to create an event centered around a free spanish speaking kayaking tour offered specifically to neighbors and first time kayakers. The event was located in the plaza and had free food, music, and raffle prizes but also brought groups like the DNR, MMSD, Milwaukee Public Museum together to share resources and activities like fishing and natural science with neighbors. Post cards and stickers of the street signs were also handed out at the event as a way to help people connect those images with the harbor district.
The Process
After months of exploration and research a tour of the Harbor District was developed in partnership with green builder and historian Stephen Servais. The tour was given virtually due to covid in February of 2021.
In November of 2021 every 6th grader at Bruce Guadelupe Middle School were asked to draw and develop visual language for some of the descriptions of the harbor district - near where their school is located. Their drawings and ideas inspired the first draft of the signs.
Between November of 2021 and February of 2022, 21 different signs were drafted using to start identifying important visual elements, words, and themes for the signs.
Between November of 2021 and February of 2022, 21 different signs were drafted using to start identifying important visual elements, words, and themes for the signs.
A public input session was held in February of 2022 at arts @ Large where the drafts were posted and visitors were asked questions about which designs they were most drawn to and improvements that could be made.
Over the next year the 21 signs and layers of input were condensed into 9 final paintings that would become the street signs.
In February of 2023 A group of 4 native spanish speakers and spanish language enthusiasts were gathered to look at the paintings and select words or phrases that helped bring more direction and understanding to the signs.
In July of 2023 the 16 signs were installed along Greenfield Avenue running from 10th st. to the Harbor.
In August of 2023 an event was held to celebrate the signs being installed and to bring neighbors from the communities west of the harbor district to the water and activate the public plaza.
Final Designs
Final Designs Installed
