The Tallest Buildings in Milwaukee

There are more than 100 skyscrapers in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and there are at least 43 that reach 200 feet tall. Most of the skyscrapers in the city are found between Lake Michigan, Milwaukee River, and Interstate 94. There are other skyscrapers that extend north along the lake. The US Bank Center is Milwaukee’s and Wisconsin’s tallest building standing at 601 feet above the ground and having 42 stories was completed in 1973. Milwaukee’s second tallest building is the Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons with 32 stories and reaching 550 feet above the ground and was completed in 2017. The history of Milwaukee’s high-rise buildings began with the construction of the first skyscraper, Pabst Building which reached 235 feet tall and was completed in 1891. In 1981 the building was demolished, and the 100 East Wisconsin was constructed on site. For almost 80 years Milwaukee City Hall was the highest building from 1895 to 1973, and when it was completed, it was the tallest habitable building in the US.

The Tallest Buildings in Milwaukee

The US Bank Center

The tallest building in the city is the US Bank Center found in downtown Milwaukee, and it is also the tallest in the state of Wisconsin, besides being the tallest building between Minneapolis and Chicago. The building covers a floor area of 1,077,607 square feet and reaches 601 feet tall with 42 stories. The construction of the building began in 1972 and was completed in 1973 having been designed by James DeStefano of Skidmore, Owings & Merill, and Bruce Graham, and served as the headquarters of what eventually became Firstar Corporation between1973 and 2001. By 2017, it was headquarters of corporations such as Sensient Technologies Corporation, Robert W. Baird & Company, and Foley & Lardner, and it is Milwaukee office for CBRE, US Bank, KPMG, and IBM.

The Northwestern Mutual Tower And Commons

The Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons building is the second tallest building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin rising to 550 feet above the ground and having 32 stories. In 2013, Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company unveiled the design of its new building, and the old 16 story building was demolished, and the Northwestern Mutual East Tower was erected on the site. The construction was completed in 2017 at the cost of $450 million, and the opening ceremony was on August 2, 2017. The building would overtake 100 East Wisconsin to become the second tallest building in the city.

Skyscrapers In Milwaukee

The city of Milwaukee experienced a boom in construction from the mid to the late 1980s, and between 1985 and 1991 twelve tallest buildings were constructed in the city. The second boom in construction was experienced at the turn of the 21st century and saw the coming of buildings such as the 833 East Michigan office building, Mordene, a highrise with luxury condominium, the Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons, and the Potawatomi Casino Hotel, all having been constructed from 2012. Other upcoming high rises in the city of Milwaukee include the mixed use tower with retail spaces and residential apartments reaching 537 feet tall with 44 stories, the Northwestern Mutual Residential Tower that will be 335 feet tall with 25 stories, and the BMO Harris Financial center among many others. From 2005, the city has seen the construction of nine of the fifteen tallest building in Milwaukee.