Juneau Park

Juneau Park, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is situated on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. It is popular for its short distance to downtown Milwaukee, lakefront walking path, and vantage point for fireworks displays.[1]

Juneau Park, Milwaukee, 1891

Early history
Juneau Monument
Leif, the Discoverer

Located within the park is a tribute to the city's first mayor, Solomon Juneau. The Juneau Monument, designed by Richard Park, was built in 1887.[2][3] Also within the park is the 1887 statue, Leif, the Discoverer of Leif Erikson made by sculptor Anne Whitney. It is a replica of a statue in Boston.[4]

Gertie the Duck

Gertie the Duck, an icon of Milwaukee history, was moved with her ducklings to the lagoon at Juneau Park in the mid-1940s for their safety.[5] The story of a duck, Gertie, and her efforts to watch over nine eggs— and ultimately hatch six ducklings on a wood piling below the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge—was reported by Gordon MacQuarrie of the Milwaukee Journal and became an inspiration for many war-weary Americans near the end of World War II.[5][6] Passers-by, the Boy Scouts, and a Wisconsin Humane Society officer watched over Gertie and her growing family.[7] Besides local newspapers, the story was picked up in national and U.K. press.[8] After surviving bad weather and a nearby fire, the ducks were relocated to the Juneau Park lagoon.[5]

References
  1. "Juneau Park". Park Milwaukee. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  2. Fischer, William, Jr. (February 7, 2017). "Solomon Juneau". Historical Marker Database. HMdb.org.
  3. "Solomon Juneau. Statue of the first white settler of Milwaukee unveiled" (PDF). New York Times. 10 July 1887. (reprint from Milwaukee Sentinel, 7 July 1887).
  4. Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Whitney, Anne" . Encyclopedia Americana – via Wikisource.
  5. Sandin, Jo. "Home Sweet Home". The Milwaukee Journal, March 31, 1995.
  6. Bauer, Fran. "Gertie co-author remembers famous fowl". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 1, 1997, p. B3.
  7. Gould, Whitney. "Mallard memorialized Gertie, City's Famed duck gets statue in her honor". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 25, 1997 Final, p. B1.
  8. Johnson, Don L. "'Millie' Finds City Life Just Ducky". Milwaukee Sentinel, May 28, 1980 Final, p. A1.

Further reading

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