1970s (102)

Business · Milwaukee Ad Lib Nightclub The Ad Lib Nightclub operated at 323 W. Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee from 1966 to 1975. It opened as an upscale cabaret and supper club that booked nationally known jazz musicians, then shifted Business · Milwaukee Advent A local guide of the period described it as a large, typical south-side tavern that served food after hours. According to research drawn from a 1975 GPU News notice, the bar was owned by John Clayton, Business · Milwaukee Alex's It is documented in a single national gay bar guide from 1970, which suggests it opened around 1969 and operated for only a year or two. No local references to the bar have been located, and little el Business · Milwaukee Antlers Hotel Antlers Hotel was a large downtown Milwaukee hotel that became a well-known cruising destination for gay men. Opened in the 1920s as an eleven-floor, men-oriented establishment with hundreds of rooms A Business · Kansasville Auctioneers Inn The Colonel was a singer as well as an auctioneer, and entertained weekly in the dining room. The old saloon style restaurant was filled with antiques from the Colonel's auctioneer days (the prefix of Business · Madison Back Door Its opening was advertised in the April 1973 issue of GPU News, which promoted "three levels of entertainment" and named proprietors Rodney and Jack. Over its run the venue served variously as a bar, Business · Milwaukee Ball Game Ball Game was a long-running Milwaukee gay bar at 196 S. 2nd Street, open from 1974 until 2012. It was founded by Gene O'Brien and Rick Kowal in a building that had previously housed earlier gay bars, Business · Milwaukee Beck's Books& Beck's Books West Beck's Books& Beck's Books West was a retail in Milwaukee at 753 N. Plankinton, operating from 1975? until 1978?. Business · Milwaukee Bill Coerper's 5 O'Clock Club The sole known reference in local gay media is a full-page advertisement in a November 1979 periodical, which listed cocktails, sample menu items, live entertainment, and a party room. The placement o Business · Milwaukee Black Forest Inn Black Forest Inn was a combined bar and restaurant at 814 S. 2nd Street in Milwaukee, opened in August 1976 and run by a same-sex couple. Its decor evoked an Old World, Black Forest theme, with tree t Business · Milwaukee Broadway Health Club Broadway Health Club was a gay "bath house", the type of establishment widely accepted as being a place for consenting men to find anonymous sex. Business · Milwaukee Buckskin Inn Buckskin Inn was the name adopted for the bar at the former Royal Hotel after financial difficulties prompted a new owner to attempt to rebuild its reputation. It appeared under this name in a handful Business · Milwaukee C'est La Vie C'est La Vie was a long-running Milwaukee gay bar founded in December 1974 by Clarence Germershausen, known throughout the community as "John Clayton." Located amid a dense cluster of gay bars on Sout Business · Madison Cardinal Bar The Cardinal Bar at 418 E. Wilson Street was opened in 1974 by Ricardo Gonzalez in the former Cardinal Hotel, and for many years it was Madison, Wisconsin's leading gay dance bar. Conceived in part to Business · Milwaukee Casablanca Disco Its opening was announced in a local calendar in mid-1979, but it had vanished from bar guides by April 1980. The same building later housed a succession of other LGBTQ bars, including Clay's Castaway Business · Milwaukee Castaways It appears in the earliest national bar guides located by researchers, indicating it operated at least as early as 1961, and a 1969 guide praised it as one of the city's most fashionable spots for dan Business · Milwaukee Castaways South 2nd Street, opened around late 1970 or early 1971 when the earlier Castaways bar relocated from 424 W. McKinley. It advertised one of the largest dance floors in the Midwest and drew a mostly male cro Business · Milwaukee Circus (Planet Circus / Club Circus) Circus opened in July 1976 at 219 S. 2nd Street, billed as a disco and dance club, in a space that had recently housed the short-lived bars Gary's Dance Club and Mister Z's. Founded by George Prentice Business · Milwaukee Club Bath Milwaukee View the Images & Articles Gallery page. View the Club Milwaukee Wall Art Collection. Business · Milwaukee Club Health Spa Club Health Spa was founded at a time when many gay men's spas, or bath houses, were opening and enjoying success in the U.S. It advertised itself as "the Midwest's most elaborate bath, featuring priv Business · Milwaukee Columns Columns was a Roman-themed cocktail lounge that opened on June 16, 1961 in the lobby of the Pfister Hotel at 424 E. Wisconsin Avenue. Inspired by the film Spartacus, it featured toga-clad and shirtles Business · Madison Dangle Lounge The Dangle Lounge, at 119 E. Main Street in Madison, Wisconsin, was opened in 1966 by brothers Al and Thomas Reichenberger. Originally a piano bar, it became the first all-nude go-go bar in Wisconsin Business · Milwaukee Decision 2nd Street, documented chiefly by a single advertisement in the April 1976 issue of GPU News. Surviving references suggest it operated for only a month or two in early 1976. By August 1976 the locatio Business · Appleton Doris' Super Bar At the time, there was no gay/ lesbian bar in the Fox Valley area. In October of 1974, a group of members of the Fox Valley Gay Alliance (FVGA) walked into Doris� Super Bar; they were looking for a ga Business · La Crosse Down Under Club The bar's success appears to have been very short-lived (about 6 months). The bar was gutted by fire on the last Sunday of April 1977 (April 24)-- just 3 weeks after its extravaganza weekend. Accordin Business · Milwaukee Empire Lounge 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 deve Business · Milwaukee Finalandia Health Spa aka The Finlandia Health Spa is the first men's bath house documented thus far in Milwaukee. Listed in national Gay Guide books as early as 1970, it also advertised throughout the publication of the Milwa Business · Milwaukee Finale Finale was an east-side Milwaukee gay bar opened in 1975 by partners Earl and Frank Thalacker. Remembered as a friendly neighborhood bar that also drew patrons citywide, it expanded into the rear of i Business · Milwaukee Flame Flame was a Milwaukee gay bar that operated briefly in 1973 at 181 S. 2nd Street. Little documentation of the bar survives. It is reported to have closed after a fire. The building later housed anothe Business · Milwaukee Gallery Lounge Gallery Lounge was a Milwaukee bar on South 2nd Street advertised in 1974 as a "Bar, Lounge, Game Room." Its earliest notices appeared in GPU News that September, with interior photographs published i Business · Milwaukee Gary's Dance Club Gary's Dance Club was a short-lived gay disco that opened on South 2nd Street in late June 1975, occupying a space that had recently held the Gallery Lounge. Arriving at the height of the disco era, i G Business · Milwaukee Glorioso's The August 1976 issue of the local "GLIB Guide" describes Glorioso's as follows: "Gay crowd gathers after bars close." Business · Madison Going My Way? Going My Way? opened on July 1, 1977 at 111 W. Main Street in Madison, Wisconsin, in a remodeled and enlarged former venue (the Turtle Club). Promoted as Madison's largest gay bar, it offered multiple Business · Milwaukee Grand Prix The Grand Prix, often listed as the Grand Prix Lounge, was a Milwaukee bar on East Juneau Avenue whose name derived from an earlier racing-themed incarnation. By the late 1960s its interior featured r Business · Milwaukee Granfalloon Coffee House Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project historian Michail Takach write the following summary of the gathering place for the 'Milwaukee LGBT History' Facebook group in February, 2022: Business · Racine Gus's Bar Gus's Bar advertised briefly in the GPU News from mid-1973 into early 1974, repeating the same ad for all but two issues. But after this brief time, no further mention of the bar can be found in Wisco Business · Milwaukee Hideaway Hideaway was a short-lived Milwaukee gay bar at 819 S. 2nd Street, open for roughly six months in 1976. Hosted by two young owners known as Mike and George, it reopened a space that had briefly operat Business · Milwaukee Hunter's Club It is documented by a single advertisement in the October 1971 issue of GPU News. No other advertisements or mentions have been located, and how long the bar operated and served gay men is unknown. Business · Milwaukee Jamie's 2nd Street in the early 1970s, briefly known at the outset as "The New Seaway." It was owned by Otto Schuler, who relocated the bar portion of his Seaway Inn to this site after that business was force J Business · Wauwatosa Jimmy's Hi-Fi Lounge Jimmy's Hi-Fi Lounge, later known as Swittel's, was a bar near 68th and State Streets in Wauwatosa, just outside Milwaukee. Jimmy Swittel ran the gay bar on the upper floor, reached through a green do Business · Kenosha Kenosha Steam Baths Kenosha Steam Baths first began advertising in gay media in about 1970. The last known listing for this business in any gay media (national or local guides or publications) is approximately 1976. Business · Milwaukee Kisses Its bar and dance floor occupied two levels connected by an open stairway, and the space featured brick walls and small nooks, giving it a lively if somewhat cramped feel when busy. The location later Business · Milwaukee Knight Owl The Knight Owl Restaurant apparently operated briefly as a gay restaurant. They advertised in the new publication GPU News starting with its first issue in October 1971. That first ad reads: Business · Appleton Lambda Lounge Lambda Lounge was opened in mid-1977 by Gene Koenke and Paul DeBruin. Its advertisement in the August 1977 issue of GPU News reads that this bar was "Formerly Doris' Super Bar" and was now "Under new Business · Milwaukee Leaded Shade The Leaded Shade operated on South 1st Street from late 1973 to late 1977. It opened as a new kind of women's bar, owned and operated by Pete and Bev Nilsson and managed by Sharon Dixon, catering to a Business · Milwaukee Loop Cafe Loop Cafe was a downtown Milwaukee diner at 5th and Michigan that served as an after-hours gathering spot for gay patrons from roughly 1964 to 1971. Listed in several national gay travel guides betwee Business · Milwaukee Lost & Found The Lost & Found opened in late 1978 at 618 N. 27th Street, just south of Wisconsin Avenue, and was promoted as Milwaukee's first women's disco and later as Wisconsin's largest women's bar. Owned by P Business · Racine Lydia's Bar Very little is known about Lydia's Bar. The first known advertisement, appearing in August 1972 issue of GPU News, says that "Lydia's Bar, formerly in Kenosha, has reopened in Racine". That seems to m Business · Milwaukee M & M Club M & M Club was one of Milwaukee's most beloved LGBTQ destinations, operating for nearly thirty years from its opening on July 4, 1976, by community activist Bob Schmidt with partners Leo Peters and Ji Business · Milwaukee MacArthur Park Disco Lounge Kinnickinnic Avenue in Bay View, opening in June 1979 with a grand opening on July 10. The same location had previously been known to the gay community as the Red Corvette. The spacious, newly decorat Business · Superior Main Club Main Club was first listed in Bob Damron national Gay guides starting in the 1971 issue (which means the bar likely opened in 1970 or prior), as "Main Nite Club" on "N. 3rd St" in Superior. It was a m Business · Green Bay Manhole Manhole was opened by Joe Mallien and Mike Dziuba, as probably the first gay leather bar in Northeastern Wisconsin. The DJ was Mark 'Za' Mariucci, who went on to open several bars of his own, and also Business · Milwaukee Martin's Arlington that operated for about a year in 1975-1976. It advertised in the local GPU News and appeared in a national bar guide of the period. Little additional documentation of the bar survives. Business · Milwaukee Michelle's Club 546 Located in the Royal Hotel at 5th and Michigan in downtown Milwaukee, this bar was a gathering place for gay and lesbian patrons from about the mid-1930s. Known first as the Royal Hotel Bar, it later Business · Milwaukee Mickey's Cove 1st Street that appears in a single national gay bar guide in 1972, suggesting it operated only briefly. No local documentation of the business is known to survive. Business · Milwaukee Mint Bar The Mint Bar had one of the longest histories of any Milwaukee gay bar. Opened by Christ Mares on New Year's Day 1949 at 422 W. State Street, two decades before Stonewall, the small, cozy tavern was a Business · Milwaukee Mister Z's Mister Z's opened around December 1975 on South 2nd Street, the third gay bar to occupy the location in less than 18 months, following the Gallery Lounge and Gary's Dance Club. Its sole known advertis M Business · La Crosse Mother's The contributor further relates the following information: In 1966, La Crosse's gays and lesbians became more visible to non-queers thanks to the first gay bar, "Michael's" which operated until 1969 o Business · Milwaukee Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge was another attempt to bring an LGBT restaurant into this space. But it was apparently extremely short-lived. Business · Green Bay My World My World occupied 409 S. Washington Street in Green Bay, the former Brandy's site, and operated as a gay bar after Brandy's closed. It served the local LGBTQ community in the late 1980s and 1990s. Business · Milwaukee Neptune Club The Neptune Club opened in May 1972 at 1100 E. Kane Place in Milwaukee, in a building that had previously been Fish's Harbor Tavern. It served food and was popular for drag shows and dancing. The Nept Business · Milwaukee New Yorker Lounge The New Yorker Lounge operated at the northwest corner of 5th and Michigan in downtown Milwaukee from 1952 until July 1975. Originally run by former Milwaukee police officer George Bemis, it appeared Business · Milwaukee Nite Beat Nite Beat was an early Milwaukee lesbian bar, considered the first such bar on the city's south side. Over roughly twelve years it occupied three locations—on West National Avenue and then two sites o Business · Milwaukee Oregon House Oregon House was a Milwaukee gay bar at 235 S. 2nd Street, open from 1976 to 1978. Opened by Sam Mazur, it was the first of many LGBTQ businesses to occupy this Fifth Ward address and helped establish Business · Milwaukee Park Avenue With a multistory dance floor, towering light displays, and an opulent interior, it catered to a mostly straight crowd except on Sunday nights, when it operated as a gay night under the name "Sundays. Business · Milwaukee Phoenix Phoenix was a Milwaukee gay bar at 235 S. 2nd Street that operated from 1978 to 1993, occupying the remodeled space of the former Oregon House. For years it served as the southern anchor of a cluster Business · Madison Pirate Ship Surviving documentation is limited; it appeared in regional bar listings and was briefly described in a 1976 article as a large downtown bar with rustic decor. Recollections describe a dark, wood-pane Business · Milwaukee Pirate's Den Contributors recalled it as a crowded, lively spot, and locals often referred to it simply as "12th and Vine" to keep outsiders from recognizing the reference. National gay guides listed it as "Pirate Business · Milwaukee Prologue A single 1970 national gay guide listed two locations, a "Prologue" at 2690 S. 9th Street and a "Prologue East" at 1962 N. Prospect Avenue, both noted as restaurants, making the precise arrangement di Business · Racine Puss 'n' Boots Puss 'n' Boots is largely a mystery. The single reference we have to it are two advertisements and a listing for it in the single issue of a short-lived magazine called 'Milwaukee Gay Guide' issued in Business · Milwaukee Rainbow Grille Rainbow Grille opened shortly after the closing of another gay restaurant/ bar in the same location, the Black Forest Inn. We are not aware whether it was run by the same owners or how the change occu Business · Milwaukee Ramie's Adult Books and Novelties Ramie's Adult Books and Novelties advertised the first several years that the 'GPU News' was published. They wrote a "Feedback" letter to the magazine at that magazine's 1-year anniversary thanking th Business · Milwaukee Red Corvette Nightclub The Red Corvette was a straight bar on South Kinnickinnic Avenue that, from about 1976 to 1979, welcomed gay and lesbian patrons on Sunday "gay nights." As disco grew, the downtown Park Avenue bar ove R Business · La Crosse Red Lion The contributor further relates the following information: In 1966, La Crosse's gays and lesbians became more visible to non-queers thanks to the first gay bar, "Michael's" which operated until 1969 o Business · Milwaukee Regency East Regency East was a Milwaukee bar that operated from 1965 to 1970, remembered as a semi-elegant venue in a rough neighborhood along North Water Street. Its address appears inconsistently across the sca Business · Milwaukee Rhubarb Bookstore Rhubarb Bookstore advertised briefly in the 'GPU News' in the early 1970s. Business · Milwaukee Riviera Show Lounge The Riviera Show Lounge, located on South 2nd Street in the former Nite Beat space, held its grand opening on June 30, 1972 with a female-impersonator revue called 'The Dolly Review.' The lounge promi Business · Milwaukee Rooster Rooster was a men's bar on South 2nd Street in Milwaukee, listed in a few national gay guides between 1971 and 1973 and advertised in GPU News in December 1971. Its advertising of that period named pr Business · Green Bay Roxy Lounge Roxy Lounge was opened by Robert Foley and Kelly Shaw. Business · Milwaukee Seaway (Restaurant and Bar) The Seaway opened in July 1972 at 173 S. 2nd Street, in a space formerly occupied by the Knight Owl Restaurant, after the earlier Seaway Inn was evicted from its Jefferson Street location. Owner Otto S Business · Milwaukee Seaway Restaurant Seaway Restaurant was opened by owner Otto Schuler in July 1972, after the Seaway Inn was evicted from its Jefferson Street location. This space had formerly been occupied by the Knight Owl Restaurant Business · Milwaukee SisterMoonFeminist Bookstore& Art Gallery Sister Moon Feminist Bookstore & Art Gallery in 1977 had one store, at 1625 E. Irving, later advertising (approx. 1978) listed a second location at 2128 E. Locust in Milwaukee. At that time, their ad Business · Milwaukee Ski Glow Cafe and Laundry Ski Glow Cafe and Laundry is an unusual name and combination of businesses, gay or straight. It advertised "Good Food & Prices 24 hours", saying "Do your wash while you have lunch". S Business · La Crosse Stoddard Hotel Bar Like so many Hotel bars of the era, the Stoddard Hotel Bar in La Crosse was a typical hotel bar- but due to proximity and other factors, often was at least accepting of "gay" business. According to th S Business · Madison Stop Lite Wilson Street, operating from about 1969 to about 1975 and owned by Jack McManus. According to recollections it drew lawyers at lunchtime and lesbians in the evening, and was profitable enough to no l Business · Milwaukee Sugar Shack The Sugar Shack, at 135 E. National Avenue in Milwaukee, was the city's first lesbian bar owned by and for women. Opened in May 1975 by JoAnn Kilsdonk with business partner Sharon Dixon, it advertised Business · Milwaukee Teddy's Teddy's was a Milwaukee bar and discotheque on North Farwell Avenue run by Tony Machi, who opened the venue as The Barn in the late 1960s and renamed it Teddy's in 1973. After a substantial 1975 inves Business · Milwaukee Telephone House 1986. The Telephone House was a telephone business owned and run by Jimmy O'Conner. It was located on the north-east corner of 2nd and National (diagonal from the LaCage Aux Folles gay dance bar), and Business · Milwaukee Ten Hundred East The earliest located advertising dates to January 1973, but patrons recalled it being open several years earlier. Before the 1973 arrival of the city's first large gay disco, the Factory, it was widel Business · Milwaukee The Beer Garden Widely regarded as a lesbian bar, it also drew a strong male crowd and was known for dances, contests, softball teams and food, including a popular Sunday brunch. The original owners, Roger and Sally, Business · Milwaukee The Cove 1st Street in the early 1970s. It first advertised in early 1972 as "Mickey's Cove," was soon shortened to "The Cove," and briefly operated as "The Backroom" before reverting to "The Cove." Promoted a Business · Milwaukee The Factory Bar The Factory was a landmark Milwaukee dance bar at 158 N. Broadway, opened by Chuck Cicirello (also known as Chuck Balestreri) in March 1973 shortly after he closed his earlier venture, the Neptune Clu Business · Milwaukee The Lib Bookstore The same building had previously held two other LGBT landmarks: the The Loop Cafe from 1963 to 1970, and next door in the same building the New Yorker Lounge from about 1952 to 1975. Business · Milwaukee The Red Baron Bar The Red Baron, also called "The Baron," was a Milwaukee disco that opened in June 1977 with three main-floor bars, a central dance floor, elaborate disco lighting, and a lower-level lounge. Shortly af Business · Milwaukee The River Queen (also Side Door and Jocks) The River Queen was one of Milwaukee's most legendary gay and drag bars, operating from 1971 at 402 N. Water Street in the historic Cross Keys Hotel, a building dating to 1853. Opened by Al Berry, who Business · Kenosha The Shack (Hwy 32), open from September, 1972 until July 11, 1985. There were some holes and odd openings in the building in later years, and one recalls it was sometimes possible to see into the rest rooms fro Business · Milwaukee The Sidedoor St. Paul Avenue that opened in June 1976 in the remodeled space of the former River Queen. It featured a wood parquet dance floor, a large-screen television, and a disco. The bar appears to have close Business · Milwaukee The Wreck Room Bar The Wreck Room was Milwaukee's first cowboy and Levi/leather bar, opened in July 1972 at 266 E. Erie Street by Wayne Bernhagen and his partner Bill Kindt. Known for its rustic decor, including the fro Business · Milwaukee This Is It This Is It opened in 1968 at 418 E. Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee, founded by June Brehm, who reportedly named the bar on first seeing the location. It became Wisconsin's longest-running LGBTQ ba Business · Milwaukee Tiny's Waterfront Disco A single advertisement promoting its upcoming opening has been found. The plans were cut short by the April 1979 disappearance and presumed murder of the proprietor known as Tiny, and the bar appears W Place · Milwaukee Walker's Point Walker's Point is Milwaukee's historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood on the city's near south side. From the mid-twentieth century onward, South 2nd Street and surrounding blocks became the densest concentratio Business · Milwaukee Your Place Your Place, widely known as "The Y.P.," was a highly popular Milwaukee gay bar from May 1965 to July 1994, and was the first gay bar in what became the city's primary gayborhood. Opened by Jim Dorn an