QWERTYFest: Kleinsteuber Pizza Party

UWM English Prof. Jason Puskar and OnMilwaukee journalist and historian Bobby Tanzilo will kick off QWERTYFest 2025 with two talks at the location of the original Kleinsteuber’s machine shop, where the Milwaukee inventors of the QWERTY keyboard worked. Puskar will speak on “German Engineering and the Making of the Modern Keyboard,” about the “maker space” that networked Milwaukee innovators in the 1860s. Tanzilo will present “A Look at Milwaukee’s Tied House Saloons,” related to the current building on that location.

The Kleinsteuber Pizza Party is the kickoff event for QWERTYFest, a three-day celebration of Milwaukee’s founding role in the history of modern writing, featuring live music, presentations, workshops, tours and camaraderie for anyone who cares about writing. Free and open to the public at State Street Pizza, 322 W. State St., in Milwaukee. See the QWERTYFest schedule for the full lineup of weekend events.