City of Milwaukee Archives

City of Milwaukee Archives

The City of Milwaukee Archives contain a variety of materials, including departmental annual reports, and unpublished, unique items such as correspondence, subject files, department journals and ledgers, and board/committee minutes and reports.  Milwaukee Public Library is one of several repositories for City of Milwaukee records and actively receives materials from the City of Milwaukee’s City Records Center.  Finding aids for processed materials for the City of Milwaukee Archival Collections may be found online thru our library catalog, CountyCat, or at Archival Resources in Wisconsin, which contains the findings aid for archival collections in the Milwaukee Public Library and around the state of Wisconsin.

City of Milwaukee Archives Holdings by Department

Some of the City of Milwaukee departments represented in the City of Milwaukee Archival Collections:

City Attorney
City Clerk
City Comptroller
Common Council, including various Aldermanic Papers
Department of Building Inspection – Premises Records
Department of City Development
Department of Public Works
Health Department
Housing Authority
Office of the Mayor, including John Bohn, John Norquist, Carl Zeidler, and Frank Zeidler

Using the Collection

Archives & Special Collections are viewed by appointment only in the Frank P. Zeidler Room of the Central Library. All materials are requested and appointments are scheduled here. Same day access cannot be guaranteed. All research questions should be addressed via e-mail to mplarchives@milwaukee.gov and will be answered in the order received.