Wis. LGBT History-- Businesses

BUSINESSES in Wisconsin's LGBT History

Like virtually all cities, Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay all had "gay bars" as their first visible presence of a "gay and lesbian community". These were the early "public" gathering places to meet others, and the focal point of "gay life" to most members of the "straight" community. Over time, other types of businesses opened (bath houses, retail establishments, etc.), but bars were the first and still most visible presence of gay life in most cities.

Some of the more notable bars in Wisconsin's LGBT history (see details of these and more at the website):

Club 546

Milwaukee (c1935-1973)

Club 546 was the name used for this long-time bar in its final years in existence. Located in the Royal Hotel at the corner of 5th and Michigan, the bar had long been a gay and lesbian bar, cafe, and meeting place, and continued to hold a strong clientele to its final days.

This bar was known simply as the Royal Hotel Bar when it first began to be frequented by gay people. By about the mid-1930's it was already recognized as a popular meeting place for gay people in the Milwaukee area. By the late 1960's it was operating under various names, including "The Stud", "The Stud Club", and "Club 546".

In 1971, when the GPU News began publishing its monthly GPU News, the bar was first advertised as The Stud Club with a "large dance floor". But by late 1972 is was advertised as Michelle's Club 546, sometimes mentioning both a Gallery I and Gallery II, with the former being a 24 hour Cafe with more casual sandwiches etc., and the latter being a more formal Dining Room.

The end came with news that the Royal Hotel was to be torn down to make way for a new Red Cross Insurance building. According to an article in the September 1973 issue of the GPU News, Michelle's bar would be closing its door for the last time on Sunday, September 23, 1973, after some 40 years of being a haven for gay people to meet and socialize- surely the end of an era.

Mint Bar

Milwaukee (1949-1990)

The Mint Bar had one of the longest histories of a gay bar in the Milwaukee area. Opening in 1949 on State Street in downtown, 20 years before Stonewall, the bar was an early beacon for gay men in Milwaukee. In 1971, when the GPU News began publishing its monthly GPU News, the bar immediately began advertising, calling itself a "male bar". It was managed for many years by Angel (Angelo Aiello), until his death in 1978, when his wife Betty Aiello took over.

The August 1976 issue of the local "GLIB Guide" describes the business as follows: "Plain. One of the oldest gay bars in the city."

Very early in 1986, the area in which the Mint was located was targetted as the site for a new Bradley Center Complex (a new sports and entertainment arena), and the Mint Bar was forced to relocate.

The Mint Bar moved to the near south side, where gay bars were becoming more common. But it survived for just another 3 years on S. 2nd Street; other bars were becoming both numerous and popular, and the historical draw of the Mint no longer held sway with younger gays and lesbians, and celebrated its 40th anniversary there in May 1989.

Shortly after celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Mint became Angelos, and then was taken over by new management which first called it BJ's Mint Bar and finally just BJ's.

The River Queen

Milwaukee (c1968-1980)

One of Milwaukee's most legendary gay and drag bars, The River Queen bar was one of several gay bars housed in a building originally known as the Cross Keys Hotel (built in 1853). Opened by Al Berry who had run the Rooster bar, the River Queen was rumored at the time to be backed by Chicago mob money.

The River Queen had a relatively long life, and ranged from a dance bar to a popular hang-out bar, the bar in which everyone was seen at one point or another. In its later years it was often referred to as a drag bar, although it continued to draw a mixed group. The bar is generally accepted as being frequented by "gay" national celebrities when in town for local shows or performances: these include Liberace (actually a Milwaukee-area native), Milton Berle, Paul Lynde, and others.

The last half of the 1970s sees a succession of name changes to the bar. The August 1976 issue of the local "GLIB Guide" is seemingly a last mention of the River Queen, reading: "Another familiar bar, the River Queen closed, remodeled and reopened as the Side Door. The new bar is an expanded version of the old bar, with plus carpeting and a giant-size TV screen. The Side Door also features a disco." The Side Door is named because it advertises its address as the side entrance address, 212 E. St. Paul.

But by August 1978 the River Queen is to re-open as "The S.S. River Queen", reclaiming its "402 N. Water Street" address as well. But then in May 1979 it is advertised as yet another bar, Jocks, again using the side entrance address. The struggle to remake itself ends in May 1980 when the bulding was demolished.

The Factory

Milwaukee (1973-1982)

The Factory is THE Legendary Milwaukee Bar- it is remembered for its large size and high ceilings, innovative decorations and schemes, and was one of the first in the Midwest with a DJ and light show (this was pre-disco!). Thus The Factory was perfectly positioned to be a smash hit when the age of disco came. It opened with 2,400 square feet of public space, and about doubled over time. Its advertising originally read "If you want to make it, make it at The Factory".

During virtually its entire run, the main room of the bar featured a huge island bar with service on all four sides. At various stages of decoration, some of the legendary designs of the Factory included:

• Tables along the sides with phones to call any other table
• A canopy over the entire island bar
• A large devil's head extending over the dance floor and containing the DJ booth, nostrils snorting smoke
• Raised dance floor made of transparent plastic, lighted from below with flashing colored lights

During a time in the mid-late 1970's, the Factory was also known as The Inferno; this was the time when a large devil's head was suspended over the dance floor. (A January 1976 ad in GPU News calls the bar "Devilishly Devine". And the August 1976 issue of the local "GLIB Guide" describes the business as follows: "Boogie down with the snorting dragon and nightly gang. Weekends offer second dance floor.")

During a good part of its run, the Factory also included a side or back room used as a beer bar and game room. An attached annex, connecting through the beer bar, was used for additional dancing and quieter visiting during busy hours, and was also used to host meetings and had a stage for performances. This was an excellent venue for drag shows as well as musical performances. The annex was also temporarily called "The Loading Dock".

For a time, the owner (Chuck Cicerello) opened a men's health club/ spa (aka bath house), the Broadway Health Club, upstairs in the same building, which was raided on numerous occasions by the then notoriously homophobic Milwaukee Police.

There was a tragedy in this bar when, in December 1980, a patron returned with a pistol after an arguement, and after ordering all patrons and employees to the floor, then shot and killed the doorman/bouncer, Dennis Wesela. (Coincidentally, a previous doorman/ bouncer of the Factory had been found murdered elsewhere in the city about a year earlier.)

The Wreck Room

Milwaukee (1972-1994)

The Wreck Room was Milwaukee's first cowboy/ levi-leather bar. Opened July of 1972 by Wayne Bernhagen, the bar had a rustic but tasteful theme. Its first advertisement, appearing in the August 1972 issue of the GPU News, stated "Find the 'Wheel' Thing at the Wreck Room- Milwaukee's new fun spot!", and sported a drawing of the front end of a car. A visitor to the bar would find the entire front end of an actual car sticking out of one wall in the back room of the bar.

By June of 1973, the Wreck Room became home to a newly formed club, Silver Star Motorcycle/ Leather Club. Begun as a motorcycle club, it evolved into a combined motorcycle/ leather social group, for which the Wreck Room was its sponsoring bar and hangout.

The August 1976 issue of the local "GLIB Guide" describes the business as follows: "For those who think macho. Hunky numbers, lively bar, funky layout and even a T-bird's front end. Sound too good to be true? It is. Entertainment on Sunday and Tuesday."

In its heyday, the bar had three rooms plus a small outdoor patio. In addition to a large almost triangular shaped front room, there was a long and narrow back room with another bar; a small room with a store selling leather paraphanelia; and a dark and narrow outside patio used more for sex than anything else. Although the front bar was reasonably respectable most of the time, the entire back section was renowned for availability of sex, with its dark atmosphere and crowded space on Friday and Saturday nights. There are also many rumors of after-hours sex parties on the pool table and in the basement.

Over the years, the Wreck Room housed various interesting features. For a time the entire front end of a car was housed in the back room. The walls in the back room were covered with posters from other levi/leather bars around the country, and the wall nearest the pool table had several old hub caps mounted on it and was covered with a large section of chain link fence. A wooden cart with a front "yoke" carved in the shape of a large erect penis greeted visitors in the front room. (The cart was salvaged and later installed in Woody's Bar back room.

The Wreck Room was generous to its clientele. It was known to regulars for Wednesday pizza nights, where one got a ticket good for a slice of pizza with every drink. Many Sunday evenings had a variation of the then-new "Wheel of Fortune" TV game. The bar also had a variety of stage shows (bands or singing groups) as well as occasional contests. But the entire city looked forward to its legendary annual anniversary parties, when the two streets surrounding the bar were closed to traffic on a Sunday afternoon and the owner hosted a free corn roast and brat/ burger fry. (This tradition began at least by 1976: an ad for its 4th anniversary that year mentioned an outdoor party and food on Sunday Sept. 15th, and an indoor party with food on Sunday Sept. 22nd.)

Meanwhile, the owner of the bar, Wayne Bernhagen, was also extremely active outside the bar. Wayne and Tom Theis together were the force behind the Wreck Room Classic, a softball invitational tournament held every Memorial Day weekend and hosting teams from virtually every major city in the country during its heyday. The tournament went into decline when other cities also got into the tournament game; the draw of attending a Memorial Day tournament in Atlanta or New York was too much for Milwaukee to compete with. The tournament continues in reduced form, now sponsored by the SSBL, and usually held on a weekend with less competition.

Unfortunately, the owner Wayne Bernhagen was an early victim of the AIDS epidemic, and died in 1987. Although the bar carried on after his death, it began a gradual decline, partly as a result of his loss but also because the entire bar landscape was changing. The extremely popular Factory bar had moved away late in 1982, so the 3-bar triangle (Factory, M&M, and Wreck Room) was split up. Other levi/ leather bars opened, both the popular Boot Camp (which carried on into the 2000's), and another more short-lived bar in the Sydney Hih building. But above all, the bar was being crowded out: the building that once housed The Factory was converted to a theatre, and the industrial building right across the street from the Wreck Room was converted into MIAD, an art/ design school. Although the bar had a final large street celebration for its 21st anniversary in August-Sept. of 1993 and another more low-key celebration of its 22nd anniversary in 1994, the building was finally bought by the art/ design school MIAD and converted into a student center.

Links

Sidebar: Bars as meeting places

Sidebar: Bath houses or Spas