'A Hallowed Home for Heroes,' on historic Soldiers Home, will debut on Milwaukee PBS

Chris Foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read

A new documentary on the Milwaukee Soldiers Home will premiere on Milwaukee PBS next month.

"A Hallowed Home for Heroes," produced by Maryann Lazarski and Scottie Lee Meyers, traces the history of the Soldiers Home from its roots in the waning days of the Civil War to the recent $44 million effort to restore the 1867 building as part of a supportive housing development for veterans. The documentary also features some of the people and families who have lived at the Soldiers Home over the decades.

The documentary will debut on Milwaukee PBS' WMVS-TV (Channel 10) at 8 p.m. Nov. 6. It's expected to air several more times in November on both Channel 10 and WMVT-TV (Channel 36).

The historic Milwaukee Soldiers Home is the focus of the new Milwaukee PBS documentary "A Hallowed Home for Heroes," premiering Nov. 6.
The historic Milwaukee Soldiers Home is the focus of the new Milwaukee PBS documentary "A Hallowed Home for Heroes," premiering Nov. 6.

Before "A Hallowed Home for Heroes'" TV debut, the documentary will be shown in two in-person screenings, at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave., and at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at the Matousek Auditorium at the Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 5000 W. National Ave. Admission to each of the in-person screenings is free, but seating is limited and registration is required. Go to milwaukeepbs.org/screenings for details.

Lazarski and Meyers will be on hand for both screenings.

The Oct. 30 screening is hosted by the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance, which was actively involved in the effort to save and restore the Soldiers Home.

The Milwaukee Soldiers Home is the focus of "A Hallowed Home for Heroes." The documentary will debut on Milwaukee PBS Nov. 6.
The Milwaukee Soldiers Home is the focus of "A Hallowed Home for Heroes." The documentary will debut on Milwaukee PBS Nov. 6.

Located on the grounds of the Milwaukee VA Medical Center just west of American Family Field, the Soldiers Home began when a group of women in Milwaukee raised $100,000 in 1864 to create a temporary home to provide veterans with meals and medical care. The next year, a month before he was assassinated, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation to create a national system of homes for disabled veterans, and the local women turned over the money they'd raised to the effort, planned for a hill on the western edge of town.

The original Soldiers Home opened in 1867 and provided housing and other assistance to veterans for generations before it fell into disrepair and closed in 1989. Amid efforts to repair and preserve the site, the Soldiers Home grounds, including the original building and surrounding structures, were declared a national historic landmark in 2011.

A $44 million renovation and preservation effort, led by Madison-based Alexander Co., began in 2019 and opened in 2021.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Hallowed Home for Heroes,' on Soldiers Home, to air on Milwaukee PBS