Third Ward Fire of 1892 Anniversary Tour

On Friday, October 28, 1892, the city’s largest and most destructive fire occurred in the Historic Third Ward. It began with spontaneous combustion in the Union Oil and Paint Company building on the Milwaukee River at Water Street, south of St. Paul Avenue. The fire spread east to Lake Michigan and south to Erie Street, creating chaos in the Third Ward. Twenty blocks were burnt out by the fire and more than 440 buildings, mostly small wooden homes, were destroyed. Join Historic Milwaukee tour guide, Cyndi Kramer, on a walking tour following the fire, the fight to extinguish it and the impact on Milwaukee.