Mid-Town Neighborhood Association (Milwaukee, Wis.).

ABSTRACT: Records of a group of local residents and businessmen interested in rehabilitation and preservation of older neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Within the area bounded by North 20th and North 35th Streets and West State and West Brown Streets, MTNA conducted clean-up campaigns, encouraged dwelling inspections, and other projects. After mid-1964, when the city of Milwaukee adopted a controversial urban renewal plan, the efforts of the Association increasingly were directed toward modifying the plan, which called for the razing of large sections of older neighborhoods. Other MTNA interests included programs for youth, children, the elderly, and minorities.

The collection consists of the records of the Association, and of other organizations with which MTNA and its officers cooperated. Administrative records include articles of incorporation and by-laws; minutes, memoranda and membership records of the executive board; minutes of the general membership meetings; and lists of members. An extensive run of correspondence is present, but committee files and financial records are fragmentary. An interrupted run of the MTNA's two newsletters is also included. Records of other organizations are incomplete; among the groups represented are Midtown Conservation Project, the controversial urban renewal program; Milwaukee Alliance of Concerned Citizens, Westside Action Coalition, and the Midtown Clergy.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: The collection has been arranged in two series: Records of the Mid-Town Neighborhood Association and Records of Other Organizations. The majority of the items date from 1968 to 1975, and were gathered by Father John Baumgartner, who was a member of the Association's executive board, and MTNA president or vice-president since 1963. The records represent a broad, if not complete and detailed, view of the many activities of the Association. Since the MTNA was one of the earliest such organizations formed in Milwaukee in response to a growing problem of "urban blight," it shows local response to city and federal urban planning throughout most of the 1960s and 1970s.

Included with the records of the Mid-Town Neighborhood Association are organizational and administrative documents such as articles of incorporation and by-laws; minutes, memoranda, membership records of the executive board, minutes of the general membership meetings and membership lists. Several folders of correspondence reflect the general activities of the Association, especially of the executive officers and their interaction with the city's Department of Redevelopment. There is a fair amount of correspondence dating from the organization's beginnings, but it does not always present a complete outline of MTNA, as the quantity and type of correspondence varies greatly from year to year. Financial records of the Association are incomplete. Check stubs are available for several years, which, combined with the treasurer's records, give a general view of income and disbursement for the years 1969-1973, but items from earlier and later years are missing, except for an occasional list of dues paid.

Information on the activities of various committees is sparse and must be gathered from the executive board and general membership minutes, lists of committee members, and fragmentary memoranda. Committees usually were formed to address specific issues and thus tended not to be of long duration or of a dominant nature within the Association. An exception to this is the Rehabilitation Committee which was constantly active in neighborhood improvement. One folder containing housing and property maintenance records gives information about empty lots owned by the city but contracted for maintenance to MTNA. Also in this file are lists of houses to be inspected by the city and rechecked by MTNA for completed improvements. Each of the last two mentioned housing records also illustrates the cooperative efforts of the city of Milwaukee and MTNA. Other records include an interrupted run of the organization's newsletters, Midtown News and its successor, MTNA, together with a mailing list. A handwritten daily log, 1965, 1968-1972, appears to be an account of office activity, and provides a good record of actual MTNA involvement in the community. The file containing MTNA/Cooperation West Side Association (COWSA) youth projects documents MTNA's concern for youth and delinquency problems as well as for the elderly, poor, and minorities that provided the motivation for many projects.

Several maps, some of which have been placed in an oversize folder, follow the changing neighborhood plans proposed by the city as money from the federal government was either withheld or made available and as input from local groups was incorporated into the plans. News clippings illustrate the activities of MTNA and reveal the impact that a neighborhood association can have on city politics and planning.

The series containing the records of Other Organizations documents the involvement of MTNA and its officers with other social action groups in the city, and with the Midtown Conservation Project. The latter records directly pertain to the Association's reactions to city plans and its attempts to mold these plans to fit neighborhood needs and desires. Many of these records, specifically from the Citizens' Conservation Council, the Milwaukee Alliance of Concerned Citizens, and the Westside Action Coalition, are those of umbrella organizations which coordinated otherwise separate neighborhood groups and thereby increased community input to city government. MTNA was a member of these umbrella groups. The Midtown Clergy was a similar organization which tried to coordinate the work of activist clergy, among them Father Baumgartner.

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY NOTE: The Mid-Town Neighborhood Association (MTNA) was organized in 1960 by a small group of area residents and businessmen led by Rudolph Witte, the group's first president. Initial efforts of the group concentrated on persuading property owners within the boundaries of North 20th and North 35th Streets and West State and West Brown Streets, to clean up yards and alleys and to refurbish homes and businesses. The founders believed that rehabilitation of area dwellings in order to preserve the original neighborhood atmosphere was preferable to widespread razing of structures. This philosophy was carried on by later presidents, Virginia Slaughter, Fr. John Baumgartner, and Frances Krueger.

MTNA projects such as clean-up campaigns, dwelling inspections, and free lawn and flower seeds, remained on the neighborhood level until mid-1964, when the City of Milwaukee and the federal government became involved by funding an urban renewal plan called the Midtown Conservation Project. Immediate disagreement arose between the city and the Association over the number of houses to rehabilitate, the city preferring to raze many more than the local group felt was desirable. Another area of concern was rooted in the city's efforts to increase the number of apartments in the neighborhood at the expense of single-family dwellings. Thus, from 1964, the efforts of the Association were directed toward modifying the decisions of the city's Department of Redevelopment and forcing the city to be responsive to input from MTNA. The dispute reached a peak in 1968 when the city proposed a plan for a community organization under federal Model Cities guidelines, to which MTNA objected because all decision-and policy-making power remained vested in the Department of Redevelopment. The city rebuffed the objections but did agree to designate MTNA as the channel for citizen participation in the area and provided funds for an office and MTNA's own community organizer. This action preserved MTNA's official role as the community's representative, but did not end MTNA's opposition to city policy.

Throughout the 1970s MTNA opposition continued to focus on city plans to raze large sections of older neighborhoods. Specific controversies revolved around playgrounds, traffic control, and higher density zoning. Other areas of Association concern included the allocation of low-interest mortgage loans, enforcement of building codes, absentee landlords, and a new freeway which was planned so as to eliminate even more neighborhood housing and businesses.

All of these disputes were resolved with varying degrees of success, from the Association's point of view, and in the intervening years, enthusiasm of MTNA members waned. There were divisive internal struggles for leadership in 1968, 1971, and 1972, which reflected changes in the composition of the neighborhood and in the philosophies of the members. Many of the early supporters left the Association, to be replaced by newer residents whose interest diminished as the Midtown Conservation Project was completed. As of 1971, MTNA was still organized but was struggling to retain members and community interest.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Mid-Town Neighborhood Association (Milwaukee, Wis.). Records, 1961-1980. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 13. State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Milwaukee Area Research Center. Golda Meir Library. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

ACQUISITION: Presented by the Mid-Town Neighborhood Association, via Joan McManus in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1980 (accession numbers M80-167, and M80-242).

PROCESSING: Processed by Menzi Behrnd-Klodt and Thomas Reitz in November 1980.

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:

• Baumgartner, John H.
• Community development, Urban--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
• Citizens' Conservation Council (Milwaukee, Wis.).
• Community organization--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
• Cooperative societies--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
• Midtown Clergy (Milwaukee, Wis.).
• Midtown Conservation Project (Milwaukee, Wis.).
• Milwaukee (Wis.)--History--Sources.
• Milwaukee Alliance of Concerned Citizens (Wis.).
• Urban renewal--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
• Westside Action Coalition (Milwaukee, Wis.).

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Last edited on Tuesday, May 22, 2001.
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