A Bay View front yard has turned into Hogwarts. A&J's Halloween House at 2943 S. Clement Ave. has spread this year across three homes with Hagrid's hut, a Gringotts facade, a Hogwarts Express train car, and a dragon — the largest version of the display its creators have ever built.
A Wizarding World Built From Scratch
According to TMJ4 News, the display includes the Sorting Hat, the Great Hall, Dobby the elf, a giant spider, a troll, and figures of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, along with moving portraits of Snape, Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall — and, for good measure, Dolly Parton. A video monitor on site shows Milwaukee passing by with dementors in the sky, TMJ4 reports. Co-creator Andy Reid told the station that a large amount of building, engineering and design went into this year's set pieces.
Reid and Jamie Beauchamp have been building Halloween displays together for more than two decades, and TMJ4 reports this year's Harry Potter theme is the biggest one yet, built with help from friends. Reid was inspired to start decorating by his mother's elaborate Halloween displays, per the outlet. The pair told TMJ4 they plan to avoid setting visitor expectations for an even bigger display next year, while leaving room to make it better in other ways. The house sticks strictly to Halloween and does not put on a Christmas display, and materials are stored in the creators' garage between seasons, with some eventually donated to local schools, according to the station.
A Decade of Themes on Clement Avenue
The Harry Potter build follows a string of elaborate themes that TMJ4 says have included Scooby-Doo, Wheel of MisFortune, Ancient Aliens, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice and a scary circus. Last year's 10th-anniversary display, themed around Scooby-Doo, featured a two-story haunted mansion facade, a Mystery Machine replica, and a pirate ship built with lumber donated by local supplier Bliffert Lumber, according to Urban Milwaukee. Earlier themes included an Ancient Aliens display with UFOs and pyramids in 2024, a Wheel of MisFortune theme with a changing puzzle in 2023, and a Wheel of Fortune scene in 2022, the outlet's earlier coverage notes.
The Bay View attraction has drawn national attention over the years, with features on ABC's Live with Kelly and Ryan and Good Morning America, according to Urban Milwaukee's reporting. It isn't the neighborhood's only philanthropic holiday display, either — Bay View is also home to The Nightmare Before Christmas House at 2752 S. Logan Ave., created by Paul J. Tennessen, which spans multiple homes and collects donations for the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission, per the same outlet.
Fundraising Tops Six Figures for Youth Shelter
TMJ4 reports the display has now partnered with Pathfinders for 11 official years and has raised $102,000 over a decade for the organization, which provides housing support, shelter for runaway and homeless youth, anti-sexual violence services and other assistance. Donations are accepted at multiple collection points around the display, according to the station, and the house does not disclose what it costs to build each year. The milestone follows a goal set last year, when Reid and Beauchamp-Reid had raised $84,000 and hoped to raise $16,000 that year to reach $100,000 — a mark TMJ4's report says has since been passed.
Pathfinders was founded in 1970 by members of Plymouth Church, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee faculty, and local residents as a shelter for runaway youth, and it now operates Milwaukee's only dedicated youth street outreach team, according to Pathfinders. The nonprofit serves about 5,000 young people each year, while nearly 1,000 access intensive on-site services, per the organization's case statement.
Why the Money Matters Now
A May 2025 report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, cited by the Wisconsin Justice Initiative, found that Wisconsin K-12 student homelessness hit a record 20,195 students in the 2023–2024 school year, with Milwaukee accounting for more than a quarter of the state's homeless students and 40.7% of its unaccompanied homeless youth.
TMJ4 Milwaukee Tonight reporter James Groh, who has covered A&J's Halloween House for about seven years, reports the Hogwarts-themed display will remain up through October and, true to form, comes down immediately after Halloween.
