Milwaukee Henry Maier Festival Park

Henry Maier Festival Park is a 75-acre open-space events park, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the shore of Lake Michigan. The park was opened on one of Milwaukee's first airstrips, the Maitland Airport, which remained in operation between 1927 into the 1950s, before being replaced with a Nike missile installation during the height of the Cold War. The installation remained in use until the late 1960s, when the land was sold to the city and stared being used by Summerfest.

Summerfest itself was created in 1968, held in 35 different locations around the city. A year after, in 1969, the festival suffered financial lossess due to being struck by bad weather, forcing the organisers to find a new central location for the 1970 Summerfest. They decided upon a then-abandoned airstrip along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Early Summerfest Grounds were made up of concrete blocks with wooden slabs placed on top to serve as stages, with the whole area being set on a muddy field. The festival's success brought the organisers enough funds to expand and build up what is now the Festival Park between the 1970s and the 1980s, including the creation of the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, built in 1987.

Apart from Summerfest, the grounds also hold other ethnic and cultural festivals, including African and Arab World Festivals, PrideFest, Asian Moon Festival, Labor Fest, Festa Italiana and more.

Muse are set to play the Festival Park as part of Summerfest in 2026, on July 2nd, as part of the The Wow! Signal North American Tour.

Muse appearances

• 2026-07-02 (Summerfest)

References

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