Locksmith in Shorewood, WI

Locksmith in Shorewood, a square mile by the lake

A locksmith in Shorewood works in a very densely built suburb: about one square mile between the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan, with apartment buildings, duplexes, family homes, and big houses on the bluff. We are a mobile locksmith, so we come to the apartment door, the house, or the parked car. Opening a door usually takes a few minutes once we arrive, and a rekey or a lock repair takes 15 to 60 minutes. Shorewood is about 3.5 miles north of downtown Milwaukee, in Milwaukee County. A house lockout starts at $69 (house lockout).

From East Milwaukee to Shorewood

The village began as farmland north of the city. In early 1900, a group of residents met in the back of a tavern on Oakland Avenue and petitioned to incorporate, and in August 1900 the Village of East Milwaukee was born with about 300 people. In 1917 it changed its name to Shorewood. Streetcar lines on Oakland Avenue and on Atwater Road, now Capitol Drive, turned it into a commuter suburb, and the population peaked at 16,199 in 1950. In 2020 the village had 13,859 residents, close to 8,700 people per square mile.

Apartments, duplexes, and keys that change hands

With close to 8,700 people per square mile, Shorewood has many apartment buildings and upper and lower duplex flats. Units turn over often, and every move-out leaves the same question for the owner: how many copies of the key did the last tenant make? A rekey answers it. We change the pins inside the lock so the old keys stop working, from $59 for the first lock and $20 for each additional lock (rekeying). For owners with several units, we key each unit differently and give the owner a key that opens all of them (property managers).

Apartment buildings also have mailboxes, and mailbox keys get lost more often than door keys. We replace the lock on a tenant's mailbox from $69 (mailbox locks), so the new tenant gets a key that nobody else has.

Older houses on the side streets and on Lake Drive

Shorewood grew from about 300 people to more than 16,000 in the first half of the 1900s, and many houses from those decades still carry their original hardware. Early in the village's history, wealthy Milwaukee families built large homes along Lake Drive and the bluff over Lake Michigan. Old mortise locks, worn cylinders, and deadbolts that only turn when you lift the door are common sights on these streets. We repair a sticking lock from $79 (lock repair), replace a worn one from $99, and install a new deadbolt from $119. When a key snaps inside an old lock, we remove it from $99.

Shops on Oakland Avenue and Capitol Drive

The intersection of Oakland Avenue and Capitol Drive sits near the point where four sections of the 1830s federal land survey meet, and it grew into the village's commercial center. The two streets are lined with locally owned shops, restaurants, and offices. For these businesses, we open a locked storefront from $89 (business lockout), rekey after a staff change from $79 for the first lock, repair door closers from $99, and replace worn storefront locks from $129.

Parks, the beach, and car lockouts

Atwater Park has a wide beach below the bluff, and Hubbard Park and Estabrook Park sit along the river, with access to the Oak Leaf Trail, which runs on a former railroad corridor through the village. Parking is tight near all of them, and keys locked in a car near the beach are a common summer problem. Tell us the street where you parked, and we come to the car. A car lockout starts at $69 (car lockout). When the key is gone, we make a new one at the car from $119.

Driving to Shorewood

Shorewood borders the city of Milwaukee on the south, where the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee campus begins, and on the west across the Milwaukee River. Whitefish Bay is to the north, past Kensington Boulevard, and Glendale is to the northwest. We cover all of them at the same prices.