MILWAUKEE — The Future of Milwaukee’s Mitchell Park Horticulture Domes remains uncertain.

What You Need To Know

  • Milwaukee County Parks are working to figure out how to make needed improvements to the Mitchell Park Domes

  • Options include demolition and improvements to the current structure

  • Clearer cost estimates are expected soon 

  • A new website also welcomes public feedback

The Domes, which were built between 1959 and 1967, are in need of significant upgrades — or they could face demolition. Milwaukee County Parks estimates it would cost more than $60 million to rebuild The Domes.

While several options for improving The Domes are on the table, no definitive plan on which option Milwaukee County Parks would like to see has been decided. However, the Milwaukee County Board has urged the parks department to come up with a recommendation by the end of this year.  

On a walk around the facility on a rainy day, raindrops could be seen falling inside the building and onto the many plants located in each exhibit from around the world. It was also falling on guests, some of whom were using umbrellas.

“Water really causes a lot of damage,” said Jim Tarantino, Milwaukee County Parks deputy director. “It gets behind the glass, drips inside the building, and it is everywhere you can see here today. That is because of the level of maintenance needed at The Domes. There is no cheap option. The cheap option is to continue to have the status quo, which is a facility that is leaking and isn’t what the parks department wants to provide to the public.” 

Tarantino said that given the strong feelings many in the community have about the future of The Domes, making sure the public stays updated is important.

“We have to be very fiscally responsible with how we spend the public’s dollars, and we want to make sure if this is really something important, having a long-term conservatory at Mitchell Park, that we are embedding public engagement right in the middle of that and making sure it is what the public wants,” said Tarantino.

Milwaukee County Parks recently launched a new website called The Future of Mitchell Park. The website provides information about the financial challenges associated with improving The Domes. In addition, it provides a way in which the public can offer opinions and recommendations.

For many visitors to The Domes, nostalgia plays a role in what they hope will happen in the future. Lucy Poplar is among those who would like to see them stay here for good.

“I think they need work, but I love it. I think we should preserve it. I think it is super important to Milwaukee and the community itself,” said Poplar.

At this point, Milwaukee County Parks does not have exact cost estimates on what various renovation or rebuilding options would cost. However, Tarantino said they are working on getting those estimates compiled. He also stressed that Milwaukee County is very fiscally constrained.

Milwaukee County will have a Parks and Culture Committee meeting on Sept. 12, where the parks department is expected to present more specific cost estimates for several options that exist for repairing or replacing The Domes.

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