Pumphouse (a.k.a. Flushing Station)
NOTE: This site is not accessible due to the pandemic response as the building is closed to the public. Be safe. Avoid this site.
The Cream City Brick Flushing Station at 1701 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr. was constructed in 1888 to house the largest water pump in the world. The pump is still in the building, which is owned by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. This pump was used to flush out the Milwaukee River with Lake Michigan water because the river had become so polluted with industrial and urban wastes.
Explore more of the story with the Water Story MKE app, a citywide scavenger hunt where you discover Milwaukee's water stories hidden in plain sight.
Mission
In the Clue Hunt, visual scavenger hunt clues lead you to the answers to five questions that connect with objects in the Flushing Station museum or on its grounds. Complete the Clue Hunt to earn the Pumphouse badge and unlock the Activated Sludge bonus!
“The lakefront has become a cultural theme park and one of its central themes is water.”
Bonus Trivia
What powered the boom to raise the gate valve to the flushing tunnel?
