Wisconsin 101

Images of the Wisconsin Dells (Waterparks Not Included!)

More than a century before the Wisconsin Dells became the "Waterpark Capital of the World," it was a famous tourist destination known for its scenic beauty. Guides began taking sightseers in rowboats along the Wisconsin River as early as the 1850s, and…

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February 21, 2024

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Milwaukee County / Wauwatosa / Related Stories / Everyday Life / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Region 8 - South East / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

Images of a Treasured Childhood: At Home in Wauwatosa with the Lefebers

In the first decades of the 20th century, Wauwatosa was well on its way to becoming a bedroom suburb of Milwaukee. Families were moving into newly developed subdivisions built on land that once grew grain, fruit, and vegetables for the large Milwaukee…

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February 21, 2024

Wauwatosa / Milwaukee County / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Region 8 - South East / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

Wauwatosa’s Lefeber Brothers Department Store

“A clerk had to show Mother each item. She retrieved a pair of folded silk stockings and carefully inserted her hand to show how the color looked against the skin.”--Jean Lobe, from her memoir recounting her experiences growing up in Wauwatosa in…

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January 25, 2024

Art, Sport & Entertainment / New Object Histories / Wauwatosa / Object Histories / Milwaukee County / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Region 8 - South East / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

OBJECT HISTORY: Lefebers’ Glass Plate Negatives

Kodachrome? Fujifilm? Ektachrome? All too modern! We're stepping back more than a century to an era when photographers used glass plates – not film – to capture an image. Glass plate negatives can be professionally restored and digitally scanned. These before-and-after images are…

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January 25, 2024

Beetown / Home Furnishings / New Object Histories / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Grant County / Pleasant Ridge / Everyday Life / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Region 6 - South West

OBJECT HISTORY: Sanitary Metal Kitchen Cabinet

Kitchens form a central part of the American experience. The Sanitary Metal Kitchen Cabinet, also known as the Mound City Kitchen Safe (circa 1906), fits into the history of American cookery, American kitchens, and American consumerism. Originally owned by members of the…

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January 23, 2024

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Dane County / Madison / Related Stories / 1840-1860 / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Politics, Society & Government / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000 / 2000-2020 / Region 7 - South Center / 2020-2040 / Box of Chlorinium

From Fairs to Football Games: A History of Camp Randall

University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium has been through many transformations yet has remained a pillar of statewide community. First put to public use as fairground enjoyed by residents across the state of Wisconsin, the site housed the state’s largest soldier training…

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September 26, 2023