A Pewaukee native, Anna Lardinois began her literary career as a high school English teacher for the School District of Waukesha. She taught at Waukesha West High School and IQ Academies of Wisconsin for 12 years. In 2012, while still teaching, she created Milwaukee’s popular Gothic Milwaukee walking tour, which showcases premier historic sites around the city. Three years later, Lardinois’ love of Milwaukee’s history and architecture led her to found Walking Milwaukee, a collection of self-guided walking tours of the city. She quickly made walking tours her full-time career and has since created a GPS-based, self-guided walking tour of Wisconsin Avenue to complement her other tours. Since starting Gothic Milwaukee and Walking Milwaukee, Lardinois has helped introduce Milwaukee’s history to thousands of visiting tourists. Her Gothic Milwaukee tour was named “Best Milwaukee Tour” by the Shepherd Express in its 2017 “Best of Milwaukee” list.

With a deep-seeded appreciation and passion for Milwaukee’s history, Lardinois will share her experiences at the hotel and interactions with guests on the blog and ongoing literary events. New this year, Lardinois also plans to begin quarterly walking tours and podcasts about The Pfister Hotel.