Milwaukee Recreation cuts ribbon at renovated Modrzejewski Playfield
Photo by MPS
On Tuesday, July 8, 2025 Milwaukee Recreation celebrated the grand reopening of Modrzejewski Playfield alongside community members and local leaders.
The completion of Modrzejewski Playfield (1020 W. Cleveland Ave.) marks Milwaukee Recreation’s 11th full-site renovation throughout the city, in addition to a 2020 tot lot renovation at Ohio Playfield. With each renovation, Milwaukee Recreation works to prioritize the needs of the surrounding community first, ensuring that each playfield leaves a lasting impact on community members for years to come.
“This is truly a welcoming space for everybody, all ages and abilities – a wonderful creation right in the heart of the city,” Milwaukee Recreation senior director Brian Litzsey said. “This reopening is a significant step in our ongoing journey to renovate the 52 playfields.”
As with previous playfield renovations, Milwaukee Recreation relied heavily on community feedback. Thanks to the input of members of the surrounding community, Modrzejewski Playfield now features a variety of essential upgrades, including modern playground equipment, a splash pad, new basketball courts, upgraded walking paths, comfortable plaza seating, and shade structures. Community members can also look forward to beautifully painted play spaces, a multi-purpose field, improved lighting, an updated fieldhouse, renovated restrooms, and a remodeled community room.
Community leaders and key project contributors were in attendance for the ribbon- cutting ceremony, with many noting the powerful implications of providing Milwaukee neighborhoods with safe, accessible, and inclusive recreational spaces.
“This is more than just a playfield; this is really a promise to our neighborhoods and a promise to our community that every child, every family, every neighbor will have a safe and welcoming space to play, to relax, and to come together to build memories,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said. “It is parks like this that are really essential to the health and well-being and the vitality of our city.”
The revitalized play space represents the rich history of Modrzejewski Playfield. Originally named Cleveland Avenue Playfield, the site was rededicated in honor of Robert Modrzejewski, a Milwaukee native who grew up on Cleveland Avenue Playfield before attending Pulaski High School. Modrzejewski later was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor following the Vietnam War. Modrzejewski recently turned 91 years old, and was represented at this ribbon-cutting ceremony by many of his family members, including nephew Gary Wrotecki.
“One of [Robert’s] basic things was recreation and the ability to play with other people and to meet other kids,” Wrotecki said. “It’s a great learning process.”
