Halyard Park residents gather to preserve their neighborhood’s history, one memory at a time

Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local

Their items were digitized to help preserve the North Side neighborhood’s history as its residents prepare to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

On a mezzanine overlooking the first floor of ThriveOn King, residents of Halyard Park gathered to reminisce and share memories of the original residents of the historic Black neighborhood on Milwaukee’s North Side.

Community members brought personal photographs and ephemera to a Memory Lounge event on Aug. 28 at ThriveOn King, 2153 N. Martin Luther King Drive, a community hub located at the nexus of the Halyard Park, Brewers Hill and Harambee neighborhoods.  Residents brought their items there to be digitized to help preserve the neighborhood’s history.

“This event today is for the neighbors to come together, reminisce and share memories of their time in the neighborhood,” said Cydney Key, senior director of ThriveOn guest experience and strategic partnerships.

Key said they are digitizing some of the residents’ special memories, like photos and booklets, collected from past decades, in preparation for Halyard Park’s 50th anniversary celebration on Sept. 19.

The redevelopment of the Halyard Park neighborhood began in 1976 under the leadership of Beechie O. Brooks, a Black real estate broker and developer from Milwaukee who passed away in 2017. 

Brooks envisioned a suburban-style subdivision for Milwaukee’s Black middle class. The development created over 40 single-family homes across several city blocks.

[…]

The 50th anniversary celebration for Halyard Park is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19. It will include the unveiling of a statue honoring Brooks at Gaines Triangle, 2043 N. 6th St., followed by a community gathering at ThriveOn King.

Read more about the redevelopment in the Milwaukee Independent.

Find more events like this.

More breaking Black news.