Waswo X Waswo
A Desirable Destination? the art district as social phenomenon
If India’s urban art districts are to defy the cycle of flourish and decay, then politicians, community planners, gallerists and
business leaders might want to keep an eye on the steps and missteps of those abroad, citing the growth of art districts in his homeland, Milwaukee, Waswo X Waswo suggests. When I was still in my late-twenties, living in Milwaukee, I often made the train ride down to Chicago, Milwaukee’s much bigger and more sophisticated sister city. I’d hop on board the Friday evening Hiawatha, watch fields of corn sway by, and after arriving at Union Station, walk through canyons of Chicago skyscrapers to a cheap little room in a very cheap hotel. The next morning I’d awake to a bacon and egg breakfast at the Howard Johnson, and set off to explore River North, Chicago’s large and always intriguing art district. It was easy to spend the entire weekend in River North. There were galleries such as the Catherine Edelman Gallery that specialized onlyin photography, and Carl Hammer Gallery that had an affinity toward quirky folk art. But there were too many galleries to visit in one go. I’d inevitably have lunch at the Green Door Tavern(one of the last standing wood frame buildings in the city) where an odd mix of macho sports enthusiasts shouted at televised baseball games while dandyish artists made deals with blacksuited businessmen.

I’d swoosh down a burger with beer, and return to an afternoon of gallery hopping. Leaving for home on the Sunday night train I’d have a feeling of not having seen it all, and return to Milwaukee with a melancholy wish that there could have been more time. River North was, in fact, at one time named Smokey Hollow, due to the constant smoke River Walk in Milwaukee’s Third Ward Newly rennovated riverside commercial buildings in Milwaukee’s Third ward