The Grohmann Museum holds the world’s most comprehensive art collection dedicated to the evolution of human work, spread across three floors on the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) campus.
This guide was updated in August 2026. As of August 1, 2026, the entire MSOE campus — including the museum — has gone cashless, so bring a card or a cheque rather than cash for admission or the gift shop. You can book your admission ticket in advance through Viator.
Quick facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Address | 1000 N. Broadway, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 |
| Hours (Mon–Fri) | 9am–5pm |
| Hours (Sat) | 12pm–6pm |
| Hours (Sun) | 1pm–4pm |
| General admission | $5.00 |
| Student / Senior admission | $3.00 |
| Children under 12 | Free |
| Nearest transport | MCTS bus routes 15, 18, 30, 57; The Hop streetcar, M-Line |
| Typical visit duration | 1–1.5 hours |
Why book Grohmann Museum tickets?
- 🏛️ A one-of-a-kind collection: More than 2,000 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper tracing the evolution of human work from 1500 to today.
- 🎟️ Just $5 general admission: With free entry for children under 12.
- 🌿 A rooftop sculpture garden: A dozen 9-foot bronze figures of labourers overlook downtown Milwaukee from a green roof.
- 📜 A tribute to David Plowden: The current exhibition honours the photographer, who gifted over 700 works to the collection before his death in 2026.
- 💰 Free for MSOE’s community: Students, alumni, faculty, and staff always visit at no charge.
Grohmann Museum opening hours
The museum is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, Saturday, 12pm to 6pm, and Sunday, 1pm to 4pm. There’s an upcoming closure on September 7, so check the calendar if you’re planning a visit around that date.
Grohmann Museum ticket prices
Special exhibitions are included in the price of general admission.
| Ticket type | Price |
|---|---|
| General admission | $5.00 |
| Student / Senior | $3.00 |
| Children under 12 | Free |
| MSOE students (with ID), alumni, faculty, and staff | Free |
The museum accepts credit, debit, and cheques only, since MSOE’s campus became cashless on August 1, 2026. Group tours for 12 or more adults or seniors are included at the regular admission rate, and school field trips cost $3 per student, with one free chaperone ticket per ten children. Book in advance through Viator to skip the admissions desk.
How to get to the Grohmann Museum
The museum sits on the northeast corner of Broadway and State Street, on MSOE’s downtown Milwaukee campus. By bus, MCTS routes 15, 18, 30, and 57 all serve the area, and The Hop, Milwaukee’s streetcar, stops nearby on its M-Line. Downtown visitors can easily walk over and take in the surrounding architecture along the way.
Parking at the Grohmann Museum
Free parking for museum patrons is available in a small lot east of the museum, at the northwest corner of Milwaukee and State Streets, accessed from Milwaukee Street. Visitors using this lot need to provide their vehicle’s license plate number at the front desk. Additional metered street parking is available nearby.
How long to spend at the Grohmann Museum
Most visitors spend one to one and a half hours moving through the three gallery floors and the rooftop sculpture garden.
Accessibility at the Grohmann Museum
The Grohmann Museum building is fully wheelchair accessible. Two wheelchairs and 25 folding gallery stools are available to borrow at the front desk, free of charge.
What to see at the Grohmann Museum
Like many university art museums, such as the Yale Center for British Art in Connecticut and the Meadows Museum in Dallas, the Grohmann Museum specialises. In this case, the key topic is work.
The mosaic floor in the glass entryway, designed by German artist Hans Dieter Tylle, depicts five figures at work — a farmer, textile worker, blacksmith, foundry worker, and miner.
The atrium ceiling mural, a 700-square-foot circular work called The Element of Fire, also by Tylle, depicts history’s great thinkers: Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Johannes Gutenberg, and Leonardo da Vinci.
Eight stained-glass windows in the atrium dome replicate paintings from the collection, showing millers, harvesters, blacksmiths, and other tradespeople at work.
The permanent collection includes Norman Rockwell’s Bookworm (1926), Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s The Peasant Lawyer, and a substantial Carl Spitzweg collection, alongside bronze sculptures of longshoremen, farmers, and foundry workers.
The Rooftop Sculpture Garden displays a dozen large bronze figures, each about 9 feet tall and weighing roughly a thousand pounds, set on a green roof with sweeping views of downtown Milwaukee and Lake Michigan.
The current special exhibition, One Step Ahead of the Wrecking Ball: The Best of David Plowden from the Grohmann Museum Collection (through November 1, 2026), honours the photographer, who documented steel mills, railroads, and small-town America over decades and gifted more than 700 photographs to the museum.
Practical visitor tips
| Tip | Detail |
|---|---|
| Bring a card, not cash | MSOE’s campus, including the museum, went cashless on August 1, 2026. |
| Visit during a free-admission event | Doors Open Milwaukee (Sept 26–27) and Gallery Night and Day (Oct 16–17) all waive admission. |
| Borrow a stool if you’re settling in | 25 folding gallery stools are available at the front desk alongside two wheelchairs. |
| Note your licence plate for free parking | Required at the front desk to use the small lot behind the museum. |
| Don’t skip the rooftop | The sculpture garden is included with admission and offers some of the best skyline views around. |
Grohmann Museum FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What are the Grohmann Museum’s opening hours? | Monday–Friday 9am–5pm, Saturday 12pm–6pm, Sunday 1pm–4pm; closed September 7. |
| How much does admission cost? | $5 general admission, $3 for students and seniors; free for children under 12 and MSOE’s community. |
| Is the museum wheelchair accessible? | Yes, fully accessible, with two wheelchairs available to borrow at the front desk. |
| Can I pay with cash? | No, MSOE’s campus became cashless on August 1, 2026; cards and cheques only. |
| Is there a current special exhibition? | Yes, “One Step Ahead of the Wrecking Ball,” a David Plowden retrospective, runs through November 1, 2026. |
Things to do near the Grohmann Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum, on the lakefront a short drive away, is known for its Santiago Calatrava-designed wing with movable, wing-like sunscreens.
Discovery World, also on the lakefront, is a hands-on science and technology museum with a working aquarium of Great Lakes species.
The Milwaukee Public Museum, downtown, covers natural history and world cultures across its long-running dioramas and exhibits.
The Milwaukee RiverWalk winds along the river through downtown, connecting several neighbourhoods with public art and riverside dining.
The Historic Third Ward, just south of downtown, is a walkable arts and shopping district set in converted 19th-century warehouses.
What to visit tomorrow
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center, in Sheboygan, about an hour away, is a free contemporary art museum famous for its Arts/Industry residency program pairing artists with the Kohler factory floor — a natural thematic pairing with Grohmann’s own focus on work and industry.
The Museum of Wisconsin Art, in West Bend, roughly 35 to 40 minutes away, focuses on historical and contemporary Wisconsin artists across its rotating collection.
The Racine Art Museum, about 35 to 40 minutes south, holds North America’s largest contemporary craft collection, spanning glasswork, ceramics, and textiles.
