For several years, the future of Milwaukee’s Mitchell Park Domes has looked pretty bleak. The horticultural conservatory lost out on $19 million in federal funding in 2022—a would-have-been lifeline for the near-doomed domed structures which suffer from deferred maintenance. Today, the future looks rosier: a proposal, recently unveiled by nonprofit Friends of the Domes, seeks to update the facility and expand its programming.
Friends of the Domes presented its vision, “Domes Reimagined,” to the Milwaukee County Committee on Parks and Culture at a meeting last week. It charted out new projects and new revenue models for the historic site. Friends of the Domes and the Milwaukee County Parks System presently split the operations of the Mitchell Park Domes. To realize “Domes Reimagined,” Friends of the Domes has enlisted the help of local a real estate developer, the Alexander Company, and local architecture practice TKWA.