The Raymond Szopieray Collection covers the time period ranging from roughly 1935-1985. It is extensive, including a total of more than 25,000 images, and is part of the John Angelos and Marilyn Johnson collection of 75,000 images of Milwaukee from the last 100 years recently acquired by the Milwaukee County Historical Society.

Szopieray records downtown Milwaukee in great detail, especially buildings along Wisconsin Avenue and such landmarks as the Commerce Street Power Plant. His collection features images of individuals along with shots of large groups at events such as the State Fair.

Photographs on display will include a sample of the works of Lyle Oberwise, Ray Szopieray, Michael Durante, Alfred Brietwish and Charlie Sciarba.

The exhibit will be on display at the Milwaukee County Historical Society, 910 N. Old World Third St., Milwaukee, through Aug. 15. For more information, or to schedule a tour, call (414) 273-8288. 

In his photos Szopieray captures special events and programs including the Centurama (above) in 1946 and the 1941 Midsummer Festival, an early predecessor to today’s Summerfest.

Photo provided by the Milwaukee County Historical Society.

The cold clear water of Lake Michigan beckoned Shorewood residents to its shores in these photos provided by the Shorewood Historical Society. In 1916 the Shorewood village government authorized the construction of steps to the beach from the little park area at the top of the bluff, called Atwater Beach (Capitol Drive was originally named Atwater Road). A wooden dressing house and wooden pier were constructed at the water’s edge. Three jetties (piers) were built out into the lake in 1932, allowing a sandy beach to pile up. Also noticeable is the zigzag path that afforded beach visitors a less steep, more gradual descent and ascent.

Access to the beach was past this gatehouse. Shorewood residents could get a season permit to the beach; nonresidents needed daily permission
from the police to enter.

This aerial photo shows the top deck of the Atwater Beach pavilion and two of the three piers in 1947. Lifeguards on high chairs on the beach and on the piers and rafts were usually Shorewood High School student swimmers. A concession stand in the beach level of the pavilion, along with men’s and women’s dressing rooms and showers provided amenities to the swimmers.

Photos provided by the Shorewood Historical Society

The Woman’s Relief Corps was the oldest patriotic organization in the United States. The national corps was founded in July, 1883 and became the auxiliary of the grand Army of the Republic, an organization of veterans of the Union Army in the Civil War. This photo was taken in 1921 when Mary Ingersoll served as president of the W.B. Cushing Post Number 64. Other officers at the time were Mary A. Wilson, Addie Witte Jr. and Geraldine Fenton.

The group met twice a month at the GAR hall. The corps’ purpose was to aid and memorialize the GAR and perpetuate the memory of its dead.

The picture was taken on South Street in Waukesha at the entrance of what was then City Hall.

Photo courtesy of the Waukesha Freeman