Gimbels Parking Pavilion

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Gimbels Parking Pavilion is an Art Moderne parking ramp in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Built in 1947 for the Gimbels Department Store, it was designed by architect Frank Drolshagen with engineer V.K. Boynton. The curved corner entrance once housed Electric City, a shop selling electrical appliances. Valets parked cars, sold gas, and washed cars for shoppers.

The Gimbel family opened a four-story department store in Milwaukee in 1887 after moving from Vincennes, Indiana. The store expanded over the years, offering goods, credit, and free delivery. As cars became more common, Milwaukee faced parking shortages. In 1947, Gimbels built the parking pavilion across the street to help.

The pavilion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as number 01000310, added March 29, 2001. It stands as a surviving example of attendant-staffed parking designed in the Art Moderne style, and it is the only such parking garage in Milwaukee. Other buildings, like the Exton Apartments Building at 1260 N. Prospect, are in the same style.