The Historic Third Ward is Milwaukee's most design-conscious neighbourhood, a former warehouse district south of downtown that has filled up with galleries, restaurants, independent boutiques and design studios. The brick warehouse buildings from the late 19th century were largely abandoned by mid-century, then gradually reclaimed from the 1990s onward by the arts community, and the neighbourhood still has a genuine creative energy alongside the gentrification.
The Milwaukee Public Market on Broadway is the Third Ward's social hub — an indoor food market with good local vendors, a genuine alternative to the supermarket chains that ring the city. The stretch of the Riverwalk through the Third Ward is the liveliest section, with restaurants opening onto the water. On weekends in summer this neighbourhood is as animated as anywhere in Milwaukee.