The King Drive BID neighborhood has a long rich history beginning in the mid-1800s when German settlers migrated to Milwaukee and built homes, churches and schools, establishing a neighborhood.
The area quickly became a self-contained economic zone as retail businesses opened up shop on Downtown 3rd Street, the street
that is now known as Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Drive.

The community continued to grow and by the early 1900s, the northeastern section of the community became a large-scale industrial district, much as it remains today. With a location at the edge of the city and easy access to the
Milwaukee Road rail line and the
Milwaukee River system, block after
block the neighborhood was occupied by manufacturers pro-
ducing shoes, beer, pianos,
wooden toys and more. The largest
of the factories was an auto body plant built in the 1920s that later became an American Motors manufacturing facility.

In the 1920s, the founding German families began moving to newer neighborhoods, making room for a new diversity that filled the district. New ethnic groups moved into the neighborhood and among them were the first African-American families. These new African-American families followed the community-building pattern of their pre-decessors, establishing new churches, establishing new businesses, and creating a neighborhood with a new distinct cultural flavor.

Today the diverse neighborhood is experiencing an unprecedented growth in commercial and housing development. And the quality of life just keeps getting better.