Frame Park Walking Tour

Rain Garden and Raised Bed Educational Gardens

1120 Baxter St.

In 2017, educational gardens were installed at the Schuetze Recreation Center in which preschoolers and seniors work together to grow and maintain the gardens. Interpretive signage highlights the Fox River watershed, stormwater management, rain garden and pollinator plants. The Educational Gardens create a greener Waukesha and healthier attitudes towards nutrition and the environment. The salamander art piece in the gardens was salvaged from previous Frame Park playground equipment.

Schuetze Playground

1120 Baxter St.

The Schuetze Playground in Frame Park is designated for children 2 to 12 years of age. The playground was built in 2015 with community support from The Park Foundation of Waukesha, Inc., Waukesha Elks Club, Waukesha CarMax, the Friends of WPRF and volunteers from the WPRF Pickleball group. 

Themed “Transportation”, the playground features include dramatic and creative early childhood learning opportunities, a Trike Track, balancing, climbing, swinging, sliding and cooperative play features. The playground also has an emphasis on physical accessibility with sensory stimulating activities creating a higher level of inclusion play, ramps and wheelchair adaptive glider play feature and two recumbent bikes for adults to utilize on site.

Rotary Building

1150 Baxter St.

In 1994, The City of Waukesha and Waukesha Rotary Club collaborated to build the Rotary Building in Frame Park. The Rotary Building services Waukesha residents and provides a meeting location for the Waukesha Rotarians. Rotarians helped fund the Rotary building that provides a beautiful gathering place for the community along the Fox River in beautiful Frame Park. This picturesque setting is a perfect place for receptions, parties, and meetings, and includes front door access to a 1.7-mile multi-use trail that loops around the river. Amenities include a caterer’s kitchen, bocce ball court, fireplace, air conditioning, tables and chairs, parking and a gorgeous view of the Fox River.

Kayak Launch

1150 Baxter St.

In 2019, driven by the desire for the Fox River to be enjoyed and explored by people of all abilities, the community came together to finance two kayak launches, including one ADA-accessible launch. Supporters of the kayak launches include Park Foundation of Waukesha, Inc., Waukesha Elks Lodge #400, We Energies Foundation, HyTec Powder Coating, Friends of WPRF, Generac, Underground Specialists, Able Distributing, St Johns Neumann Congregation, Bosco’s Social Club, Ford Construction Co, Inc and numerous community donors. Waukesha’s increased access to the Fox River was celebrated at a Kayak Launch celebration in June 4, 2019.

High Roller Fun Rentals

High Roller Fun Rentals is a locally and family-owned company located in Frame Park on the Fox River in Waukesha, WI. High Rollers rents a variety of specialty bikes, paddle boats, character floats, canoes and kayaks. Individuals, groups and families can rent the available equipment of their choice and spend a fun-filled day on the water or biking around the river. 

Frame Park Baseball Diamond

1150 Frame Park Dr.

Waukesha Baseball began in 1868 or 1869. Waukesha’s team, known as the Diamonds, was part of a league started by a gentleman named Walter Carlin who was attending Carroll College. Andrew Frame, who donated the funds for the park acquisition and development, was a member of the Waukesha Diamonds.  

Baseball has been a major part of Frame Park for all the Park’s history and is the longest standing recreational use at the park.

In 2020, the Frame Baseball Field received $1.4 million dollar upgrades through a joint venture between the City of Waukesha and longtime partner Carroll University. The facility upgrades include an all-artificial turf field, new dugouts, six bullpen mounds, two full-length batting cages and new fencing securing baseball play for many generations to come.  

Frame Park Festival Grounds and Outdoor Performance Amphitheater

1150 Frame Park Dr.

In 1990, festival grounds and an outdoor performance theater were constructed in Frame Park. A terraced viewing area is positioned to allow the audience to see the stage as well as the river. The amphitheater is rented for musical performances, theatrical presentations, as well as festival events. 

When the Fox River Corridor plan was developed in the 1990’s, one of the primary objectives was to become a more visible and more widely utilized community asset. The second objective was to link the riverfront improvement in Waukesha with regional efforts to clean up the watershed and provide a recreational corridor for the entire region. As a result of past and present efforts, Frame Park is a source of civic pride and identity. The Fox River is recognized as a recreation and aesthetic amenity which contributes to the overall attractiveness and quality of life of the Waukesha area.  

Frame Park Formal Gardens

1150 Frame Park Dr.

Welcome to Waukesha's botanical urban gem, ​the Formal Gardens at Frame Park. The park was dedicated on October 25, 1939, in honor of Andrew J. and Emma R. Frame who in 1928 donated land and funds to the City of Waukesha. In total, thirty-five acres of land, including the two acres of the Formal Gardens, had been donated to or purchased by the City of Waukesha park system. Over the years, the Gardens have had minor changes from the original design. Rose beds have always been a significant attraction in the gardens. The most significant change was the removal of the "fishpond" water feature located along the pergola in the sunken Gardens area. The fish head waterspouts are still visible on the limestone wall. The Formal Gardens consist of ever-changing annual flower beds, colorful perennial areas and fragrant rose beds.  

Hobo Spring

1150 Frame Park Dr.

Hobo Spring is one of the oldest features in Frame Park. This small spring was probably improved for greater accessibility to travelers who left the Soo Line Railroad going through town. There was a second spring in Frame Park called Orchard Spring, located near the current Formal Gardens. A century ago, Waukesha was known as “Spring City” because of its many springs. Several of the city parks have features or “treasures” relating back to the Springs era.  

Frame Park Playground

701 E. Moreland Blvd.

The first playground on this site was built in 1993. The current playground was a “Community Build” project in 2019, constructed with the support of 182 volunteers. Both playgrounds were made possible with generous donations from Bryce and Anne Styza.

The current Frame Park Playground is a community destination for all-inclusive family fun! Advancing play and recreation through best practices, the playground is recognized as a project of excellence, meeting the National Demonstration Site design criteria for inclusion, outdoor adult fitness, nature integration, and youth physical activity.  

Increase the playground value through games, check out the  Play On  book at the Waukesha Public Library.  

Click  here  understand how to use the fitness equipment and follow a workout.

Fox Statues

Moreland Boulevard Bridge

Fox Statues cast in concrete and approximately 13 inches by 20 inches are on display behind the Civic Theater, on the Moreland Boulevard Bridge and at the Library. Artist Johnson, Statuary out of Saint Charles Illinois, created the sculptures through the generous donation of Ralph North. The fox statues can be found in 4 different poses.

“Caras de Waukesha/Faces of Waukesha” 

Barstow Plaza

SHARP Literacy gifted this special piece to the City of Waukesha in 2019. “Caras de Waukesha/Faces of Waukesha” celebrates the Latino heritage of the community through this interactive sculpture. Alberto Villalobos, a Mexican visual artist, created ceramic masks that feature the faces of City of Waukesha Latino residents. Villalobos partnered with Waukesha-native Paul Mattek, founder of Design Fugitives, a high-tech architectural installation firm in Milwaukee to help create the sculpture. The sculpture project also involved Waukesha elementary students. Through workshops students worked with Villalobos and an educator from SHARP Literacy to draw images of what the City of Waukesha meant to them. These ideas are incorporated as cut out features on the sculpture. 

Barstow Plaza Bronze Map

Barstow Plaza

Beneath every location and institution there lies an untold, nearly forgotten history. It is the historic sense of place that informs artist Gregg LeFevre’s Barstow Plaza Bronze Map. Installed in 1992, this inlayed piece in Frame Park (in front of the State Building) is 12 feet in diameter.

Children Are Our Future

Barstow Plaza

SHARP Literacy gifted this special piece to the City of Waukesha in 2023.  “Children Are Our Future” was created by local artist Paul Bobrowitz as part of SHARP’s Art for All program. Students from Banting Elementary and Prairie Elementary participated in a series of sculpture design and creation workshops and toured Bobrowitz’s Spectacular Sculpture Garden. Using inspiration from the students’ work, Bobrowitz created “Children Are Our Future” conveying the collaborative nature of the project. Whimsical and kinetic, the artwork encapsulates the energy Bobrowitz witnessed in the classroom.

Dragon Fly

Barstow Bridge

The whimsical Dragon Fly is located on the Fox River on the Frame Park trail (by the Barstow Bridge). The piece was created in 1995 by the Larson Company from Tuscon Arizona. Made of concrete and steel the piece is 6 feet by 8 feet.

Fox River

The Fox River and mineral springs along the riverfront have historically been one of the primary physical features which have shaped the economy and character of Waukesha. In the late 1800’s, during Waukesha’s Spring Era, visitors flocked to the riverfront area for its miraculous waters. In later years, the riverbanks were the home of foundries, machine shops, breweries and other industries which prospered in Waukesha. Today, the Fox River is recognized as a recreational and aesthetic amenity which contributes in many ways to the overall attractiveness and quality of life in the City of Waukesha.