Group proposes plan to revamp Mitchell Park Domes, a Milwaukee landmark

Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory in Milwaukee, also known as the  Mitchell Park Domes, has been in disrepair for years. 

But when the county considered demolishing the domes last year, the group Friends of the Domes stepped up and proposed a $133 million plan to save the landmark, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Milwaukee County Supervisor Eddie Cullen told WPR that Milwaukee County Parks supports the plan, but the county board has yet to vote on it.

Christa Beall Diefenbach, executive director of the Friends of the Domes, joined WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” to illustrate the landmark’s significance. 

“In terms of what the Milwaukee domes mean to Wisconsin and the city of Milwaukee, it is, without question, iconic,” she said.  

The domes were the winning entry to a 1955 design competition to replace the former Mitchell Park Conservatory — which was built in 1898 — with a modern upgrade. 

The park features two permanent exhibits: the desert dome and the tropical dome, both of which represent plants from ecosystems around the world. The third dome has rotating exhibits of flowers. 

“We know that this is an economic driver. It’s an economic driver for the south side of Milwaukee, as well as the county and as well as the state,” Beall Diefenbach said. 

But decades of deferred repairs have left the domes in a bad state. There are problems with concrete and the glaze on the glass panels on all of the domes, she said. 

“When it rains outside the domes, it rains inside the domes,” Beall Diefenbach said. 

The Friends of the Domes proposed a plan that includes not just fixing architectural problems, but also expanding the domes to include a cafe, larger gift shop and children’s area. 

“That’s because … restoring them exactly the way they were doesn’t meet the needs of a modern day conservatory,” Beall Diefenbach said. “We’re going to be adding all of these wonderful amenities that will help us to achieve a sustainable business model.” 

Friends of the Domes’ plan to fund the renovations and add-ons to the domes includes $30 million from the county. The group also plans to go after private philanthropy, do a capital campaign and leverage historic and new market tax credits, she said. 

“We are optimistic that there’s a path forward here, that this is a great plan,” Beall Diefenbach said.