The Domes: Reimagined

One-of-a-kind Horticultural Oasis at the Heart of Milwaukee

For 60 years, the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, lovingly known as The Domes, has been a homegrown treasure in our city. That means something different to everyone…

An iconic piece of the Milwaukee skyline.
A mathematical marvel of mid-century architecture.
An immersive, restorative experience with nature.
An integral part of childhood and family memories.
A community resource for all to enjoy.
A stroll through six desert climates or a lush tropical paradise, no matter the season…

A History Worth Repeating

When the Mitchell Park Domes opened in 1965, it exemplified the confidence and hope of a city on the rise: a bustling urban center intertwined with the natural world. Milwaukee County’s original vision for the conservatory was to “provide for the public the ultimate in experiencing nature in the city,” and for generations it has done that and more.

It is easy to take for granted that something as hopeful and historic as The Domes will always be there. But that is patently not the case, unless we act now.

The Current Challenges

Due to decades of deferred maintenance, the beautiful Mitchell Park Domes requires investment. This includes addressing the significant maintenance challenges, but simply putting the conservatory back the way it was is not good enough. We also must make needed upgrades to turn Milwaukee’s horticultural oasis into a modern conservatory that is positioned to achieve its critical purpose: creating a world inspired by nature.

The Domes: Not Just a House of Flowers

Our own lived experiences, and an increasing amount of research, tell us how crucial a connection with nature is, whether to improve mental health and wellness or to inspire more people to advocate for our planet. The Domes has the singular ability to provide this for Milwaukee and our visitors — if we take action to sustain it.

A Path Forward Is Within Reach

Friends of the Domes oversees much of the operations at The Domes. In partnership with Milwaukee County Parks System, we developed an exciting new path forward. Focused on two primary goals—a sustainable business model and a better visitor experience—the Domes Reimagined project will engage the resources in our community to ensure The Domes continues to be there for all of us.

The Domes: Reimagined

Our new vision for the Mitchell Park Domes:

Addresses the building’s physical challenges.
Revitalizes Mitchell Park.
Enables The Domes to generate sufficient operating income to create a sustainable business model.

The plan includes restoring the domes (new glazing and aluminum), a new café, a new interactive children’s garden, increased educational facilities, an expanded gift shop, enhanced events space—and, importantly, long overdue steps to reinvigorate Mitchell Park itself. In addition, the energy inefficiencies will be managed through a series of strategic investments.

This exciting vision also comes with a funding solution … necessary funds would come from private philanthropy, municipal and other public funding sources, and an investment from Milwaukee County.

Friends of the Domes is taking the lead on both the private philanthropic campaign and securing the municipal and other public funding.

Business Plan “at a Glance”

How to Help!

In answer to the question we hear daily, “What can we do to help?” we say Support The Domes:

We simply cannot do this work alone. Thank you for joining us in this journey to find a path forward for our Beloved Domes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the future of the Mitchell Park Domes at risk?

Due to decades of deferred maintenance and the fiscal crisis facing Milwaukee County, the Mitchell Park Domes is facing an existential crisis.
After the last set of studies presented in 2023, it became clear that demolition might just be the only option for Milwaukee County.
Understanding that Milwaukee County residents deserve this amazing horticultural oasis, Friends of the Domes, in concert with Milwaukee County Parks, put forth an exciting new future for The Domes – called the Domes Reimagined.

The Domes has faced a crisis for decades … How is this plan different from previous plans?

This plan builds on the great work that came before it.
Most importantly, we are not just putting The Domes back the way they were – but have imagined a new exciting future that adds many more amenities.
This smart plan is not just fundable, it yields a sustainable business model (with more revenue than expenses), ensuring that we don’t end up in a similar situation in the future.

Why are The Domes at a crossroads?

We are all familiar with the many challenges facing The Domes…The chipping concrete; the failing glass and aluminum; an outdates mechanicals; the lack of ADA compliance; the large carbon footprint.
In addition to all of that, the Mitchell Park Domes has been operating at a deficit for decades—requiring Milwaukee County to cover the shortfall.
There have been 25 years of studies and plans with no consensus and no path forward.
This led the County to consider the only viable option—demolition.
At the same time, Friends of the Domes was implementing a long-term strategic plan to build its staff resources and infrastructure in order to lead this initiative to maintain and preserve Milwaukee’s iconic and world-class horticultural conservatory.
Today, a new and exciting future has been put forward—the Domes Reimagined.

What is the plan?

The Domes Reimagined is an exciting new future driven by Friends of the Domes. It is supported by key players including Milwaukee County Parks System and Milwaukee Preservation Alliance.
This plan checks all the key boxes, ensuring a sustainable future for our Beloved Domes:
1. Addresses building’s physical challenges.
2. Addresses the safety and security of Mitchell Park.
3. Addresses the need for a sustainable business model.

How will The Domes change?

The plan:
- Restores the domes (new glazing and aluminum);
- Adds a new café;
- Adds an interactive indoor children’s garden;
- Adds a new nature learning center that provides the opportunity for collaborations with other nature-focused organizations;
- Expands the gift shop by 100%;
- Reduces the energy consumption of The Domes, and incorporates green infrastructure;
- Reinvigorates Mitchell Park; and
- Ensures that the Mitchell Park Domes makes good on its purpose: creating opportunities for meaningful connection to nature.
The gardens may change—but we will maintain as much of the collection as possible.

What will be different in terms of operations?

Currently, Friends of the Domes (FOD) manages half of the operations—with Milwaukee County Parks System managing the other half. With this new partnership, Friends of the Domes will manage all of the operations of the facility, which will enable FOD to make business choices and investments in marketing that will result in more admissions revenue. This model has worked well for other cultural organizations such as the Milwaukee Public Museum.
This new partnership model is also a requirement of the tax credits programs that we are pursuing as part of the capital stack.
We are bringing The Alexander Company in as a consulting The facility will be operated by FOD exclusively – and the Park itself will remain part of the County Parks system in perpetuity.

How will this the Domes Reimagined project be funded?

Funds will come from private philanthropy, financing, and public funding from Milwaukee County, the State and Federal governments.
Friends of the Domes is taking the lead on the fundraising campaign and securing financing and public funding.
We have asked Milwaukee County to commit $30M to this project – an amount that is appropriately aligned with its obligation since The Domes is a County facility.
This new future will permanently remove The Domes from the County’s list of obligations. For every $1 that the County contributes, Friends of the Domes is bringing nearly $4 in other resources.
Without question, this project is fiscally responsible—and offers Milwaukee County a tremendous return on investment.

Do you really think that Milwaukee philanthropy will support this effort?

We do! We conducted a donor feasibility study in 2023 and 2024, and the results show that the philanthropic community is supportive.

Why include Mitchell Park in the plan?

Many don’t realize the long history of Mitchell Park…at 62 acres, it is one of the original six Milwaukee County Parks.
Due to chronic disinvestment in the park over the last 50 years, it has become unsafe and is therefore not used by the local community.
This is particularly a concern since Mitchell Park is one of the only significant public green spaces on the near South Side—a part of Milwaukee County with more children than nearly any other part of the state!
Our plan addresses the park more broadly, providing an investment in infrastructure as well as ongoing programming to get people using the park again.
An active park is a safe park!

Who is Friends of the Domes?

Friends of the Domes is a private nonprofit established in 1989 that conducts half of the operations at The Domes: membership, retail sales, educational programming, marketing, and much more.
Something to note is that we are an organization on the move. In the past three years we have more than doubled membership, fundraising revenue, operating revenue, school field trip participants, and Domes admission.
This was achieved through strategic investments in staff resources and infrastructure.
Today, we have 25 staff, hundreds of volunteers, and nearly 5,000 members.

What work is FOD doing to advance Milwaukee County’s equity goals?

Friends of the Domes supports the County’s equity goals in many ways. This includes approaching all programming and work with an equity lens. This has led us to provide all educational programming in both Spanish and English (our Spanish field trip program is the fastest growing field trip option!). In addition, we have deep connections with our near South Side community. This includes having our closest neighbors participate as vendors in the gift shop and through events. We also host the largest Day of the Dead celebration in the city, partnering with more than 25 South Side organizations. For more information about our equity work, visit our website MilwaukeeDomes.org/Equity.

So where are you with the plan?

Friends of the Domes is negotiating a partnership agreement with Milwaukee County. We anticipate having a signed agreement by July 2025.

How can I help?

This is a heavy lift, and we cannot do this alone. We need an upswell from the community to push us over the finish line.
Here’s how you can help: Write to your state officials to voice your support of state funding!

VIDEOS

What the Community Is Saying

“The Domes are a state treasure. It’s an important educational destination for us to learn and enjoy.”