Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
When AMF (American Machine and Foundry) took control of the company in
1969, sales were plummeting. Whatever the cause, morale of the company's work-
force hit an all-time low, and things got so bad that manufacturing was doled out to
separate factories around the country.
In1981,agroupofabout30Harleyemployeesboughtthecompanybackandvir-
tually reinvented it. With top-of-the-line products, brilliant marketing, and a furious
effort at regaining the trust of the consumer, Harley-Davidson moved steadily back
into the market. By the late 1980s, the company was again profitable against Japan-
ese bikes. The effects are manifest: There's a veritable renaissance of the Harley
craze,anextensivewaitinglistforbikes(all75,000producedinayeararespokenfor
up to a year in advance), and Harley groups tooling even the streets of Hong Kong.
More than half of Harley owners are senior citizens, married, college educated, and
have high incomes.
The contemporary Harley-Davidson headquarters sits very near the site of that
shed/workshop that cobbled together the first bike. The company remains firmly
committed to its downtown location. It has programs encouraging employees to live
in the neighborhood and is one of the most in-touch corporations in town. Its 2008
grand opening of a new Harley-Davidson museum cements it as a Milwaukee brand
forever.
Whitnall Park
One of the larger municipal parks in the United States at 600-plus acres,
Charles B. Whit-
nall Park
(5879 W. 92nd St., Hales Corners, 414/425-7303, free) is the cornerstone of
Milwaukee County's enormous park system and of the state's Oak Leaf Birding Trail,
which has 35 separate parks and forests to view crucial avian habitat. Lush landscaped
gardens are found inside the park at
Boerner Botanical Gardens
(414/425-1130,
www.boernerbotanicalgardens.org
,
8am-sunsetdailylateApr.-mid-Oct.,hourssignificantly
reduced early Apr. and mid-Oct.-mid-Nov., $5). The 1,000-acre arboretum surrounding the
gardens includes the largest flowering crabapple orchard in the United States. The gardens
are closed from late November through early April.
Also in Whitnall Park is the
Todd Wehr Nature Center
(9701 W. College Ave., 414/
425-8550,8am-4:30pm,parking$3),designedasalivinglaboratoryofeco-awareness,with
nature trails and an ongoing mixed-grass prairie restoration.
