Empire Lounge
Milwaukee
Summary
Empire Lounge was a small corner bar at 716 N. Plankinton Avenue in downtown Milwaukee, opened in 1940 and remodeled into a piano bar during the 1950s. Owned for many years by Alex Korchunoff, it developed a quiet reputation as a gathering spot for gay men. In 1975 Joseph Enea bought the bar, then known as the Airlines Empire Lounge, and briefly reopened it as a small disco. The venture was short-lived, and the Empire Lounge closed later that year.