Bradford Beach
Beach
Bradford Beach is located in Wisconsin
Bradford Beach
Bradford Beach
Coordinates: 43°03′42″N 87°52′23″W / 43.061667°N 87.873056°W / 43.061667; -87.873056
LocationMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Part ofLake Park, Milwaukee Historic park
Offshore water bodiesLake Michigan
AgeApproximately 100 years old
Area
 • Total28.3 hectares (70 acres)[1]
Dimensions
 • Length1.94km[2]
Elevation3.1 m (10.2 ft)
Websitebradfordbeachmke.com

Bradford Beach is a public beach in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The beach which was constructed in the 1920s is part of Lake Park; a mile (1.6 km)-long park on a bluff above Lake Michigan. Lake Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 22, 1993.[3]

Design

Bradford Beach falls within Lake Park which was designed in the late 19th century by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Central Park in New York City.[4][5]

The beach is wheelchair accessible.[6] In 2021 the rising water of Lake Michigan has shrunk the width of the beach.[7]

History

In the 1920s, the beach was created by filling in swampy areas near Lake Michigan.[6][8] It has been Milwaukee's most popular beach. On the beach near the road, there is a historic bathhouse.[7] The Bathhouse was built in 1949 and includes a walkway above Lincoln Memorial Drive. The Wisconsin Historical Society surveyed it in 2011.[8]

One local resident who patronized the beach was a man named Dick Bacon. Bacon was known to work on his sun tan in the middle of winter at Bradford Beach.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Milwaukee County Parks" (PDF). County Milwaukee. Milwaukee County. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Bradford Beach". beachnearby. beachnearby.com. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Lake Park". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  4. ↑ Knopfelmacher, Dolores. "History of Lake Park". Lake Park Friends. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  5. ↑ Virginia A. Palmer; Lynne Goldstein; Jim Draeger (August 10, 1992). Inventory/Nomination Form: Lake Park. National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved December 3, 2019. With 17 photos.
  6. 1 2 Bentley, Drake (July 6, 2021). "Your guide to southeastern Wisconsin beaches: Hours, locations and which have lifeguards". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Small, Virginia (March 3, 2021). "The Endangered Public Space of Bradford Beach". Shepherd Express. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "2400 Block of N. Lincoln Memorial Drive - Bradford Beach - Lake Michigan Parkway N". Wisconsin Historical Society. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  9. ↑ HENZL, ANN-ELISE. "Remembering Dick Bacon, Milwaukee's Man With The Tan". WUWM. WUWM. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
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