Milwaukee realtor and developer Beechie Brooks encountered his fair share of doubters when he sought to create a suburban-style subdivision for the Black middle class in Milwaukee. But his persistence paid off and the naysayers were silenced when Halyard Park, an area spanning four city blocks and encompassing 44 homes, came to fruition in 1976.
It changed the character of a neighborhood on the decline and set the standard for central city residential redevelopment. The new development replaced 150 dilapidated homes and offered individuals a chance at an affordable home with an expansive yard while in close proximity to Milwaukee’s downtown amenities.
Brooks’ daughter and Greater Milwaukee Foundation donor, Cassandra Brooks, and the Halyard Park Neighborhood Association Foundation are spearheading an effort to make sure his legacy will forever be preserved. They are raising $125,000 to install a life-size bronze statue of Brooks at North Sixth and West Lloyd streets that will face south toward his home. The statue, which will be created by Vanguard Sculpture Services, will include a plaque that will detail the history of the neighborhood and its founder, who died in 2017.
“He poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this project,” said Brooks, who lives in the house her father built, which was the first home in the subdivision. “This statue is part of helping to preserve the history of Halyard Park and the vision of my father. I want the community, the city, the state, the world to know what my dad did for the city of Milwaukee and the residents here.”
In addition to its staff providing guidance to Brooks as to how to best fundraise for the project, the Foundation was one of the project’s early major supporters with a $50,000 grant. Brooks and the association have leveraged that grant to encourage other contributions from the community.
Her father was a modest person, Brooks said, but she thinks he would appreciate the effort underway.
“He was a humble person, but I can see him grinning,” she said. “He would be tickled to see this.”