Steampunk Cafe

The exterior

Not too long ago, I was wandering the city of Milwaukee in search of cool-looking old buildings, (What do you mean that's weird? Doesn't everyone do that? No?) when I discovered Alterra Coffee, and upon entering just about died from joy.

BEHOLD THE MACHINE! Erm, the sewage-pumping machine, that is.

The atmosphere of the place was incredible, all bricks and pipes and machines. Housed in an old Victorian pump house, this place oozed pure steampunk. By pump house, by the way, I'm not referring to a little shack that pumps toilet water. I mean that there's a giant machine that used to suck dirty water from the Milwaukee river and replace it with lake water. Though no longer functioning, the machine is still there for the purpose of looking awesome.
The bad news is that it's a small building in a fairly central location with good food and atmosphere--so parking and finding a seat is a nightmare. You have no idea how many times I've tried to go here only to find a line of cars battling over parking spaces.

An interior photo

Machine: A Steampunk Horror Show

"Machine" is a live steampunk walk-through built by two guys in a garage, which takes audiences into a time machine and on an adrenaline-filled romp through time. Sadly, the show isn't open to the public, but they did make a video for the rest of us steampunks to enjoy.
It's quite brilliant, especially taking into account the low budget--this is a product of ingenuity rather than money, and, judging by the video, it's far more interesting than the majority of commercial haunted houses. My only criticism is the use of such a cliche as Jack the Ripper, who seems to appear in every Victorian horror or mystery story ever written, but I was on the edge of my seat for the entire section of that video, so I can only complain so much.

Charles River Musuem of Industry

Big shiny machines. *drool*

As I've been traveling the East Coast and visiting various relatives, I absolutely had to drag my family to the Charles River Museum of Industry, given its fame in the steampunk community. At least once in the past, they have turned the entire town of Waltham, Massachusetts into a fantastic steam city with their Steampunk Festival, and, if I'm not mistaken, they frequently host steampunk-themed exhibits. Sadly, I missed these events, but I still found the museum to be worth a visit.

My hat. BE JEALOUS!

Remarkably, I managed not to drool on any of the machines in joy. I spent an hour or so staring happily at the multitude of brass gears, and then bought a nice hat in gift shop on the way out.

Whatpunking?! A Guide for Steampunk Newbs

            In short, it’s historical science fiction. From there on, the explanations get far more complicated.

            Typically, it centers on the technology of the Victorian Era, although hints of other time periods can acceptably be slipped in. It focuses on the time when the modern era was forming and machines were big and cool-looking. Make those machines so big and cool-looking that they appear to have come from a science-fiction novel, and you’ve got steampunk.



An example of steampunk fashion.
(CC Image by Kyle Cassidy)

           Think of the earliest science fiction, like the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. You know, airships, submarines, massive steam engines… That kind of fun stuff. That was the beginning of not only the steampunk genre, but of science fiction as a whole. 

            The second wave of steampunk came in the 1980s with writers like James Blaylock and Tim Powers. This was also the time when the term “steampunk” was initially coined. “Steam” refers to steam power, and the “punk” is a play on the name of the already-existing cyberpunk genre.

            The third wave is now. Yes, now—start getting excited. And this time, it’s more than just books. There’s steampunk movies, steampunk TV shows, steampunk fashion, steampunk art, steampunk architecture, steampunk music, and, of course, steampunk blogs. Not only that, but an entire steampunk subculture. Pretty much anything that exists can be steampunked, depending how creative you are.

            All in all, steampunk is a world of contrasts. It’s about elegance and refinement, and about adventure and bad-ass-ness. (Care to go werewolf hunting after, tea, good sir?) It’s often political, perhaps even radical, but still lighthearted and fun. Sometimes it's dark and gothic, and sometimes it’s pleasant and whimsical. The largest of these contrasts, perhaps, is its way of paying homage to the past, while still acknowledging the present and, of course, looking forward to the future.