Curt is Chicago native – but don’t hold that against him. After stops in Madison and California, he and his wife moved to Waukesha in 2004 to open their own downtown business.
Thursday, August 31st, 2006:
It was nearing 7PM on an ordinary late afternoon in Waukesha. My wife and I had just returned from a trip up North and were tidying up our apartment.
I was out on the back deck sweeping up dead petunia pedals when I heard what sounded like a DC10 roaring through the parking lot behind our place.
As I looked up to identify the source, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a black Brinks truck- Brinks as in the armored car company. It was screaming through the clock tower parking lot and appeared to be headed for Main Street.
My wife, Monica was inside folding clothes at the time. She, too, heard the revving engine of this massive truck and ran to the front window to see what was going on.
I called in to Monica and asked her to give me an update of what she saw. She notified me that the truck had squealed out of the lot, flew down Main, and took the corner at Maple Avenue at a very high speed. It had now come to a screeching halt in front of 724 Maple Avenue.
724 Maple Avenue is an address her and I had come to loath over the summer. In recent months, unsettling criminal activity had been taking place at this location. We could only imagine how this Brinks truck was going to add to the issues.
To our surprise, it was quite the contrary.
As the Brinks truck idled, an unmarked, white box truck pulled next to it. Out of these two trucks emptied a barrage of police officers dressed in full SWAT gear, rifles in hand, and they stormed 724.
Three Waukesha Police cars then joined the scene and officers had the location surrounded. It was an impressive sight to behold.
You see, 724 was a crack house- right here in Waukesha, only a few doors up from Main Street. And although that may concern a lot of people, please read on and understand the whole story before you decide never to come downtown again.
724 started out with only a few folks hanging out around the place. As time went on, the number of loiterers increased and concerns began to be raised.
Who raised these concerns? The residents, the business owners, and the community that has become downtown Waukesha.
And who listened? The police, the Alderman, and the Mayor.
And together all of these people worked to begin keeping an eye on a growing problem.
As time went on, the situation grew worse. 724 was becoming more popular with a shifty crowd. Drug use and drug dealing was becoming more obvious, and these characters were becoming more brazen about it. As their confidence grew, so did the surveillance.
We all did our parts; the community reported the activity, the police monitored it, we met together to discuss it, and together, over time, we were able to end it before it got out of hand.
The downtown community continues to grow stronger like this every day. Together we are all striving to make this a safe, clean, and friendly destination.
Downtown Waukesha should be a place where locals and tourists alike can fancy warm summer days and enjoy fun summer nights without the worries some of our bigger cities face.
As Milwaukee begins enforcing its curfews and cracking down on its crime, Waukesha continues to maintain its reputation as one of the top places to live in the United States. Instead of letting the situation get out of hand and then dealing with it, Waukesha steps in and takes control first.
And although certain underhanded elements are trying to make Downtown Waukesha their home, they will eventually meet the same fate as the residents of 724 Maple Avenue.
This isn’t the Downtown of ten years ago- where drugs and crime were as prevalent as ants at a picnic.
This is the New Downtown. These are the new residents, the new merchants, the new police- the new community. It’s made up of those that have seen it since its days of uncertainty, and those that are fresh on the scene.
Together, with the support of all those who continue to visit and enjoy downtown, Waukesha will continue to evolve in a very positive direction.
A special thanks goes out to the Police Officers who were involved in the raid last Thursday. There were 19 people in that house, a lot more than they had expected. Word on the street says they ran out of handcuffs. Nine individuals were arrested on various charges including possession, robbery, and obstruction.
It was a professional job from beginning to end; we watched the whole thing from our front window. How brave do you have to be to storm a house of crack heads on a Thursday afternoon, not knowing who or what you are going to find on the inside? The Waukesha Police Department has our sincerest thanks.
However, it doesn’t end here. New issues will arise, but you can bet this community will be there to meet them along the way. It will be an ongoing effort for all those who call downtown their home, their workplace, or just their favorite place to hang out.
By the way, the house at 724 is for sale if anyone is interested. I’m pleas
