Explore "Gayborhoods that are Gone" at Doors Open Milwaukee

Gayborhoods that are Gone is back! 

This popular Doors Open Milwaukee tour sells out year after year, and we're proud to bring this walk to you again in 2026.

For generations, gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming individuals were told they were the only ones in the world. They lived isolated, confusing, often tragic lives -- totally unaware of the remarkable history, heritage and community that LGBTQ Milwaukee offered as early as the 1880s.  

We'll explore the ruins of Milwaukee's first and second "gayborhoods" -- and discuss five pivotal events that transformed not only local queer lives, but the architecture, history and culture of Walker's Point and the overall landscape of Milwaukee as we know it.

The 2-hour tour begins at 1 p.m. at 401 N. Plankinton Ave. (the Black Nite Uprising monument) near the Hop Stop at the southwest corner of Plankinton & St. Paul. 

Note: this is a ticketed Doors Open Milwaukee 2026 event. You must have a ticket to join the walking tour. The History Project DOES NOT sell tickets on tour day, so you MUST PURCHASE yours at the Doors Open Milwaukee website in advance.

• Saturday, September 26 tickets
  
• Sunday, September 27 tickets

This tour will be led by Michail Takach, president and chair of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project, alongside Adam Thibodeaux of UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning and Diane Gregory of Milwaukee City Tours and the History Project Board.  Additional guests will join the tour to share their lived experiences and memories of yesterday's gayborhoods.

This tour involves a .4 mile walk across sidewalks, railroad tracks, bridges, hills, and some rough terrain. If mobility is an issue, we invite tourgoers to drive from the first tour stop to the second (173 S. 2nd) and third (235 S. 2nd) talking points. Parking may be difficult to find south of Michigan St. during brunch hours.

Recommended pre-reading: LGBT Milwaukee (2016) and Milwaukee Drag: Seven Generations of Glamour (2022) available for purchase at Historic Milwaukee.