When you think of Milwaukee landmarks , a few probably come to mind: the Milwaukee Public Market, the Hoan Bridge, the soaring "wings" of the Milwaukee Art Museum.

But what about the odder, more arcane landmarks that once dotted the city? Do you remember the giant, prehistoric reptile that used to greet airport-goers? Or the nearly life-size whale mural papering the side of I-43?

As part of our What the Wisconsin? series, we set out to answer several reader questions about lost (or re-located) Milwaukee landmarks. You can check out past What the Wisconsin? stories or submit your own question here .

From Bernie's Chalet to Professor Stein, here's what happened to four Milwaukee oddities and where you can find them today.

Pterosaur (not pterodactyl) presiding over Milwaukee Mitchell Airport

Travelers through Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport may remember a particularly striking former fixture of the airport's second floor concourse: a life-size pterosaur replica that towered over airport-goers with its 20-foot wingspan.

The pterosaur was crafted in the late 1980s by Floyd Easterman, chief taxidermist of the Milwaukee Public Museum. With help from other museum staffers, Easterman spent nine to 10 months creating the furry replica for the Milwaukee Airport, said Madeline Anderson, the museum's director of communications, in an email.

If we're getting a bit more technical, Easterman's sculpture is of a Pteranodon, which is a type of pterosaur. Over the years, Anderson said, many have confused the sculpture for a pterodactyl, which is a smaller but perhaps better-known type of pterosaur.

"Interestingly, pterosaurs are not dinosaurs, but rather, are flying reptiles," Anderson added. "There are several key differences between the two, including that flying reptiles had fur while dinosaurs that could fly had feathers."

Unfortunately, the Pteranodon no longer lives at the airport to provide a proper Milwaukee welcome. Though it was created specifically for the airport, the model was sent to the Public Museum for repairs at some point and stayed there as part of the museum's exhibits after the repairs were complete. The specific date it was moved is unclear, Anderson said.

If you missed your chance when it was in the airport, you can still go see the Pteranodon hanging from the first-floor ceiling of the Public Museum, by the entrance of the Third Planet gallery of prehistoric life of Earth.

Mechanical bear tight roping over the Grand Avenue Mall

In 1982, downtown Milwaukee saw the opening of Grand Avenue Mall: a new retail center complete with shops, food and ... a mechanical bear tightroping over shoppers on a unicycle.

Professor Stein may have been an unexpected decor piece, but the seven-foot bear statue quickly became a beloved fixture of a now-defunct mall. Amid years of declining sales and eventually foreclosure , Grand Avenue was sold in 2015 to a group led by Milwaukee- and Minneapolis-based executives.

The bear, however, endured past the mall. After the mall shuttered, Professor Stein was on display in the Milwaukee Public Market for nearly a decade. Meanwhile, Grand Avenue was revamped into a combination of offices, apartments and the 3rd Street Market Hall , a food hall featuring local vendors.

But Professor Stein and Grand Avenue couldn't be kept apart for long. In 2022, the 3rd Street Market Hall owners worked with the Public Market to return Professor Stein home to the former Grand Avenue building.

Sadly, Professor Stein no longer cycles over a tightrope, but you can still glimpse him perched over the food hall, balancing two steins of beer and surveying passersby with his monocle.

Whale mural curved over courthouse parking garage

It used to be that as you sat in I-43 traffic, you could gaze up at giant dolphins and whales commuting alongside you in deep blue waters.

In 1997, Milwaukee debuted the "whale wall": a 76-feet long and 36-feet high mural wrapping around the Milwaukee County Courthouse Annex. The installation was part of Michigan-born artist Robert Wyland's global project painting 100 large-scale murals of underwater scenes to raise awareness of marine conservation.

The Milwaukee installation was the 76th one Wyland painted. He titled it "Whale Commuters," in a nod to how the mural faced the northbound lanes of 1-43.

Tom Ament, Milwaukee's then-county executive , dedicated the mural and hoped it would "draw attention to the idea that even a landlocked city can make a difference" in ocean conservation efforts, according to the Wyland Foundation .

The mural drew largely mixed reactions from the city. Some, including former Journal Sentinel art critic Jim Auer , lauded the tranquil glimpse of nature over the bustling, industrial freeway. Others questioned the relevance of the whales to Milwaukee and criticized the mural for obstructing the view of Milwaukee's eleven-story, neoclassical County Courthouse.

The mural ultimately met its demise in 2006, when the Courthouse Annex was removed to make way for the Marquette Interchange.

Still, if you're craving some deep sea sights on your commute, the city preserved a small portion of the mural depicting an adult and baby dolphin, along with the artist's signature. It is on display at the northern entrance of the Kilbourn Tunnel on the 1-43 northbound lanes, according to OnMilwaukee .

Bernie Brewer's Chalet at County Stadium

Bernie Brewer's Chalet has more than a half century of history in Milwaukee. Its story begins in 1973, when the Brewers opened their season at County Stadium with brand-new mascot and a mini, Bavarian-style chalet to house him.

Every time the Brewers hit a home run or won a game, Bernie Brewer would slide out of his chalet and into a 21-foot-tall stein of beer. As he landed, a cannon was set off and dozens of balloons were released.

For 12 seasons, Bernie Brewer and his chalet were a mainstay of Brewers games, until, in 1984, the stadium opted to pack up the chalet in favor of installing speakers in center field bleachers instead. For almost a decade, it seemed no one particularly missed the chalet and its schtick.

In 1993, however, Brewers fans voted by a landslide to bring it all back — Bernie, the chalet, the giant stein and the slide. The re-debut of the chalet in June 1993 also saw a revamp of Bernie himself, with the mascot sporting his now-signature giant foam head and swirling mustache.

Until County Stadium shuttered in 2000 to make way for American Family Field (then-Miller Park), Bernie Brewer delighted fans from his chalet during each game's most exciting moments. In 2021, American Family Field unveiled an upgraded version of Bernie's Chalet with elements inspired by the County Stadium chalet.

As for the original chalet, it found its (presumably) final resting place at Lakefront Brewery , another Milwaukee institution. The chalet is a key stop during the brewery's tour, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lakefront introduced date nights in the chalet to allow for a socially distanced dinner for two.

Visit Lakefront's website to book a brewery tour or reserve a date night in the chalet .

Chris Foran contributed to this report.