Black Nite
Milwaukee
Summary
Black Nite was a downtown Milwaukee tavern that openly welcomed gay and gender-nonconforming patrons after Wally Whetham reopened the former Mary's Tavern under the new name in 1960. It is best remembered for the Black Nite Brawl of August 5, 1961, when a group of servicemen who had been ejected returned with reinforcements and were met by a packed bar of patrons who fought back, causing extensive damage. The brawl became an early rallying point for Milwaukee's gay rights movement.
After pressure to change the business name, the bar relaunched as the Bourbon Beat. Decades later the site was commemorated with civic recognition and, in 2023, Wisconsin's first LGBTQ-related state historical marker.