The Big Gig: From Baseball Stadiums and Bob Hope to the Marcus Amphitheater and Lady Gaga

Did you know that the Summerfest grounds were originally home to Milwaukee’s first airport? And that the Big Gig moved to the grounds after two years being held in various Milwaukee locations?

We’re two days in to celebrating the World’s Largest Music Festival, and if you haven’t been yet this year, here’s a brief history of the event to help you enjoy the views and tunes even more this year.

Maitland Airport opened in 1927 as one on the city’s first airstrip. After 20 years, the location was turned into a Nike Missile installation (during the height of the Cold War). The lakefront battery was used until 1969, when the Army closed it down to save money. The land was sold to the city of Milwaukee and then quickly sought by Summerfest’s early champions (http://onmilwaukee.com/seasonal/festivals/articles/summerfestgroundshistory.html).

Two years earlier, Henry W. Maier, the mayor of Milwaukee at the time, had envisioned a festival which would offer low-cost entertainment and revitalize Milwaukee’s downtown area at the same time. He used Munich’s Oktoberfest celebration as inspiration. The first Summerfest was held at 35 different locations around the downtown area. Bob Hope was the first headliner; he performed at Milwaukee County Stadium. Maier was pleased to find that the first Summerfest had been a financial success, but the second Summerfest proved a disappointment.

Maier put even more money into the second annual Summerfest in ’69, holding events at 60 locations around the city. Bob Hope headlined again, as did Dolly Parton. Maier also premiered “The Milwaukee Summerfest Polka,” which became the unofficial theme song of the festival and is still recognizable today. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate. The event lost money, ending $164,000 in debt. However, John Kelly, the President of the Summerfest Board of Directors, and other businessmen convinced Midland National Bank to provide Summerfest with a $200,000 loan, thereby saving the festival (http://www.maximumink.com/index.php/articles/permalink/summerfest_history_35_years).

Maier decided that the event needed a permanent location to maintain control in a centralized location. Milwaukee leased its newly purchased lakefront property to the festival organizers, and, since then, Summerfest has had its home (http://www.summerfesttickets.net/2011/12/summerfest-milwaukee-history-1968-to.html).

The first stages were primitive forbearers to the stages of today’s Big Gig, sheets of plywood on cinder blocks. In 1971, The Miller High Life Jazz Oasis was opened, the first permanent stage. The Schlitz Country Stage and the Pabst International Theater stage were both erected in 1974.

Because of the extensive fund-raising efforts of executive director Bo Black, many new structures popped up during the 80s, including bathrooms, paved walkways, upgraded food stands and more new stages. The greatest addition to Summerfest, though, was the Marcus Amphitheater. The 23,000-seat facility was built through the $1 million donation from the Marcus family and another donation from the G. Heileman Brewing Company. 

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, small changes have been a regularity. Briggs & Stratton and Harley-Davidson sponsorships took over Old Style and Pabst, Potawatomi Casino and Leinenkugel’s (now US Cellular) both began sponsorships, the Miller Lite Oasis stage opened in 2006 with a redesigned layout and, most recently, BMO Harris sponsored a new stage.

Despite all the upgrades, age-old legends remain. Supposedly, a circus came to town during the days when the Summerfest grounds were airport runways. When one of the elephants died, the circus didn’t know what to do with the carcass, so they buried it at the lakefront (http://onmilwaukee.com/seasonal/festivals/articles/summerfestgroundshistory.html).

When you’re swaying to the music at Summerfest this weekend, see if you can envision the Summerfests of years past—and enjoy your technologically-savvy stages, large restrooms and paved walkways.