Our East Town tour starts at Pabst Theater (also known as "The Pabst"), located on the northwest corner of Wells and Water Streets. This registered National Historic Landmark was orignally built in 1895, and is actually the second theater on this site. The first theater (The New German City Theater) was built in 1890 by brewing magnate Captain Frederick Pabst, but was destroyed by fire in 1895. Captain Pabst learned of the fire while vacationing in Europe, and ordered a new theater be built immediately. The order was taken seriously, as the Pabst Theater was built in an amazingly short 11 months!

The building's architect was Otto Strack, who designed The Pabst in the tradition of Europe's great opera houses. The outstanding Baroque interior features a 2.25 ton, 12 x 16-foot Austrian crystal chandelier (with 33,000 crystals!), a staircase crafted from white Italian marble and a gold-leafed proscenium arch highlighting the stage. At the apex of the arch is a seven-foot tall statue of Apollo, with muses Drama and Song on either side.

Not only is the building beautifully designed inside and out, it also included many significant innovations, including state-of-the-art fireproofing, the first theater to use an all-electric lighting system, semi-cantilevered construction to enhance sight lines by eliminating columns and air conditioning! Many of these innovations were later copied at other theaters.

The Pabst was renovated in 1928, then restored to its original style in 1976. Today the theater is the anchor of the downtown theater district, and hosts a wide variety of concerts and events throughout the year.

When done admiring this remarkable building, proceed east across Water Street to our next stop: Milwaukee City Hall.