Things to Do in Cudahy

One of several annual fundraising events dedicated to subsidizing the Milwaukee Air & Water Show, Bay View Wine Fest gathers quality wines and wine aficionados for an evening of enological appreciation. Vendors dispense pours of reds and whites that attendees can pair with samples of locally made cuisine, and sommeliers in training can treat their palates to a reserved wine-flight tasting. Partial proceeds from the event go to Wisconsin Adopt a Golden Retriever. If guests tire of the puppies in attendance they can boogie the night away on the festival dance floor.

Completed in 1892 as the private home of the Pabst family, Pabst Mansion stands as the last bastion of more than 80 mansions built for Milwaukee’s elite during a booming, bygone era. Since its construction, the estate has housed archbishops, priests, and sisters and was saved from near-demolition during the 1970s. The Flemish-Renaissance-Revival home has since been awarded a place on the National Register of Historic Places for its bounty of architectural intricacies.

Today, on-staff docents conduct a range of tours for public groups, private parties, school groups, and well-behaved rugby teams through the fortress of halls, opulent rooms, and verdant grounds, each restored to their original condition.

The Pabst Mansion’s impressive art collection includes works from the 1640s through the 1900s by artists such as William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Gaetano Trentanove, and Eugene Joseph Verboeckhoven. The emporium of excess also features Pabst Beer Pavilion, the pavilion built for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and the glass-covered conservatory where tropical plants and beer trees continue to flourish.

The mansion gift shop holds classic Pabst drinkware and memorabilia as well as antique photos, books, and former employees' original finger paintings.