Cream City...the Brick that Made Milwaukee Famous

Milwaukee Bucks and the ARS have Cream City in Common!

Last summer when Bruce & Maggie Barr, chairs of the 2021 ARS National Convention in Milwaukee, were soliciting themes for the big event, I had fun coming up with several ideas, including a couple that featured "Cream City."  Having a long family history in Milwaukee and being a bit of an historian, I knew that Milwaukee's somewhat obsure nickname was the Cream City. So, when the committee selected Cream City Roses as the theme, I was totally tickled. And, in November, when the Milwaukee Bucks introduced one of their new uniforms for the season with Cream City emblazoned across the front I knew we were in really good company!

Many of you probably have no idea what the name Cream City has to do with Milwaukee. The logical guess would be that it  refers to the dairy industry. Nope. Milwaukee is known as the Cream City because of the cream-colored bricks made from the yellowish clay deposits found along Lake Michigan. Bricks were first produced in 1835 and quickly became popular because of their pleasing, soft color. The bricks were used to construct many buildings in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin in the 19th century including The Pfister Hotel, the 2021 Cream City Roses Convention site.  Although the bricks are no longer made due to their softer, more porous nature, Milwaukee's nickname is still going strong.

The Bucks Cream City jersey will be worn 20 times during this season and the design has proved popular with fans. I was at a game the other night with my Cream City sweatshirt blending into the sea of cream-wearing fans in Milwaukee's new Fiserv Forum. With hundreds of area businesses using Cream City in their name and now the Bucks promo, Cream City Roses is right on trend.