Wauwatosa

Understand

Wauwatosa is a “streetcar suburb” of Milwaukee, meaning that it was designed to be connected to the city via streetcars, which were a common mode of public transportation in the early 20th century. While the streetcars no longer run through Wauwatosa, the city’s urban layout and architecture have been heavily influenced by its time as a streetcar suburb. Particularly in eastern Wauwatosa, it can be difficult to distinguish between the two cities without looking at the street signs, which are blue in Wauwatosa and green in Milwaukee. West Allis, another streetcar suburb, also borders Wauwatosa. (Street signs in West Allis are also green, but they lack the silver border used in Milwaukee.)

Visitor information

• Discover Wauwatosa (official tourism website)

Get in

Information about getting in to Milwaukee generally applies to Wauwatosa as well.

Get around

Wauwatosa is integrated into the Milwaukee urban landscape, so most of the information there applies to Wauwatosa as well, including bus, bicycle, and car transportation.

By bus

Several Milwaukee County Transit System routes, which tend to follow the grid-based streets, serve Wauwatosa. Most of the high-frequency routes are east-west and end in Milwaukee. There is only one high-frequency north-south route. Waukesha Metro Route 1 serves portions of Bluemound Road and connects with MCTS in Wauwatosa.

Major destinations served by multiple routes include:

• Mayfair Mall
• The Wauwatosa Village
• Milwaukee Regional Medical Center