| Water: | Lake Michigan |
| Bradford Beach | |
| Type: | Beach |
| Map: | Wisconsin |
| Location: | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Coordinates: | 43.0617°N -87.8731°W |
| Part Of: | Lake Park, Milwaukee Historic park |
| Water Bodies: | Lake Michigan |
| Elevation M: | 3.1 |
| Surface Elevation M: | --> |
| Length: | 1.94km[1] |
| Area: | 28.3ha[2] |
| Type: | --> |
| Age: | Approximately 100 years old |
Bradford Beach is a public beach in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The beach which was constructed in the 1920s is part of Lake Park; a mile (1.6 km)-long park on a bluff above Lake Michigan. Lake Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 22, 1993.[3]
Bradford Beach falls within Lake Park which was designed in the late 19th century by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Central Park in New York City.[4] [5]
The beach is wheelchair accessible.[6] In 2021 the rising water of Lake Michigan has shrunk the width of the beach.[7]
In the 1920s, the beach was created by filling in swampy areas near Lake Michigan.[6] It has been Milwaukee's most popular beach. On the beach near the road, there is a historic bathhouse.[7] The Bathhouse was built in 1949 and includes a walkway above Lincoln Memorial Drive. The Wisconsin Historical Society surveyed it in 2011.[8]
One local resident who patronized the beach was a man named Dick Bacon. Bacon was known to work on his sun tan in the middle of winter at Bradford Beach.[9]