The Mitchell Park Domes is the Focus of a $134 Million Rehabilitation
For more than eight years, it’s been touch-and-go for Milwaukee’s iconic Mitchell Park Domes (officially the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory), which was once on the precipice of demolition, but is now to undergo a $134 million rehabilitation. In March 2016 The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) enrolled the site in its Landslide program. Earlier that year, a small, fallen piece of concrete was found in one of the conoidal structures, prompting Milwaukee County officials to temporarily close the site and publicly raise the possibility of demolishing the domes. Designed by local architect Donald Grieb, the Domes were completed in 1967 and are widely recognized as a Modernist marvel.
The battle to protect the Domes has been hard fought, characterized by both advancements and setbacks. In 2019 a county sponsored task force unanimously voted to endorse a plan to rehabilitate the Domes, but in 2022 the Milwaukee County Committee on Parks and Culture approved a resolution that provided the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors leeway to consider demolition.
A New Plan Emerges
A major step forward took place on November 7, 2024, when the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a budget amendment to allocate $30 million toward the $134 million rehabilitation. The decision follows a new plan and partnership agreement between Milwaukee County, the non-profit organization, Friends of the Domes, and Madison-based real estate developer, The Alexander Company. “The Domes Reimagined” plan aims to rehabilitate Mitchell Park and the Domes, adding a café, educational center, children’s garden, and rain garden to the conservatory.
In addition to the financial resources allocated by the county, the plan will be funded through a combination of private donations, and federal and state grants and tax credits. In order to qualify for the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program (commonly referred to as the federal Historic Tax Credit) the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservancy must be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The county supports the National Register nomination, which was prepared in 2019, and plans to ultimately transfer ownership of the conservatory to Friends of the Domes.
Of the county’s vote to commit $30 million, Friends of the Domes executive director Christa Beall Diefenbach told Wisconsin Public Radio: “It was very exciting,” adding, “This is obviously many years in the making.”
