Landslide Update: Mitchell Park Domes Listed on State Register
It has been an eventful decade for Milwaukee’s Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, colloquially known as the Mitchell Park Domes. The future of the domes—recognized as a Modernist marvel and a rare surviving work by one of the city’s most consequential architects (Donald Grieb)—came into question when a small concrete fragment was found in the desert dome in January 2016, presumably having fallen from the ceiling. In response, Milwaukee County officials closed the conservatory and publicly raised the possibility of demolishing them, leading The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) in March 2016 – the first such National organization to draw attention to the Domes -- to enroll the Modernist site in its Landslide program of at-risk landscapes.
Along with local non-profit Friends of the Domes (now Milwaukee Dome Alliance), TCLF championed the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, publishing updates on its website and securing critical press coverage. In Fall 2017, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) named the domes one of its “11 Most Endangered Historic Places,” drawing increased attention during which time TCLF’s President and CEO, Charles A. Birnbaum was quoted in the online publication Urban Milwaukee, stressing that the domes “are likely eligible to the National Register of Historic Places.”
The conservatory has since reopened and in July 2025, the Milwaukee County Board’s Committee on Parks and Culture voted in favor of committing $30 million in county funding to the dome’s redevelopment.
In a major step forward, on Friday June 5, 2026, approximately ten years since Birnbaum stated that the domes are “likely eligible to the National Register of Historic Places,” the Wisconsin Historical Society announced the listing of the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory on the State Register of Historic Places. The nomination has been forwarded to the Keeper of the Register in Washington D.C., who will determine its eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
If successfully listed in the National Register, any future federally funded projects at the Mitchell Park Domes will be required to undergo a Section 106 review process, essential to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects.
