Queer Wisconsin — A living history of LGBTQ+ life in Wisconsin

A living history of LGBTQ+ life in Wisconsin

Businesses (328)

Status
Bar / Club · Milwaukee 'New' Riviera The 'New' Riviera was the final, short-lived location of Tony Machi's gay-friendly Riviera bar, at 952 N. 3rd Street in Milwaukee. Machi relocated the business there after a March 1964 fire destroyed Bar / Club · Milwaukee 1100 Club 1100 Club was a Milwaukee bar that operated from 1994 to 2003 at the corner of First and East Washington Streets. Although it was not a traditional levi/leather venue like the Wreck Room or Boot Camp, Bar / Club · Appleton 1101 West 1987 or early 1988. 1101 West was for many years Appleton's most popular gay/ lesbian bar, and for a time its only bar. But you could never tell from its activities: they always acted as though they h Spa / Bathhouse / Health Club · Green Bay 1124 Club Baths The existing ad mentions a party on October 17, 1981 with "Free Food & Beer" and "Reduced Membership Fees". The ad mentions the business as "Green Bay's Finest" with Saunas, Showers, Movies and Cable Bar / Club · Milwaukee 27th Street Danceteria The 27th Street Danceteria opened in March 1985 under Chuck Cicirello, a prolific Milwaukee gay-bar operator whose earlier ventures included the Neptune Club and the Factory bars. The building had pre Bar / Club · Milwaukee 3B's Kinnickinnic Avenue that operated from May 1991 to May 1995. It was founded by four friends—Bob Schnicker, Bruce Lemke, Bobby Cole, and Patrick Prudlow—after one of them sold her interest in the prede Bar / Club · Madison 602 Club 602 Club was a Madison, Wisconsin tavern at 602 University Avenue, opened in 1951 by Dudley Howe in a former bar called "The House of Sparkling Glasses." Known for its tolerant atmosphere, it was supp Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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, Bar / Club · Oshkosh After Dark Lounge The After Dark Lounge opened at 2839 Harrison Street in Oshkosh in 1980. Located on the outskirts of town, the bar was prone to harassment and even a few physical altercations inside the bar and in th Bar / Club · Green Bay AJ's on Broadway AJ's on Broadway bar in Green Bay held their Grand Opening over May 2, 3 and 4, 2003 (with a full-page ad in In Step vol 20-8). Bar / Club · 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 Lodging · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Art Bar Art Bar opened in March 2004 in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, well outside the city's traditional LGBTQ bar district. Founded by partners Don Krause and John Tomlinson, it cultivated an artsy, w Bar / Club · Milwaukee Artony's Keefe Avenue that operated from roughly 1980 to about 1984. It is remembered as a venue frequented mainly by members of Milwaukee's Black LGBTQ community. Little documentation survives. The bar advert A Restaurant · 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 A Restaurant · Elm Grove Auctioneers Inn II / QuickSilver Nightclub Auctioneer's Inn II was owned by George Prentice (who the following year opened the wildly successful LaCage gay dance bar). The Inn had previously been known as the old Left Guard Restaurant. Bar / Club · Milwaukee B's Bar (also known as 3B's) B's Bar, also advertised as 3B's, operated at 1579 S. 2nd Street in Milwaukee from July 1995 to October 1997. Three of the four owners of the earlier 3B's tavern on South Kinnickinnic Avenue relocated Bar / Club · 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, Bar / Club · 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, Retail · 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?. Restaurant · Milwaukee Belmont Hotel Coffee Shop (As shown below, while the next-door Gaytime Bar was listed in nearly every national Gay Bar Guides only from about 1965 to 1967, the Belmont Hotel Coffee Shop was listed only off and on in national g Restaurant · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee BJ's Mint Bar / BJ's BJ's Mint Bar opened in December 1991 at 819 S. 2nd Street, when the establishment previously known as The Mint came under the management of Bob Dietz and Jim Jones. It was the third Milwaukee bar to Restaurant · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Black Nite 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 rememb Bar / Club · Sheboygan Blue Lite Blue Lite was a Sheboygan fixture for many years, and the go-to place for the area surrounding Sheboygan as well as a near-mandatory stop for guys driving between Green Bay and Milwaukee for gay bar s Bar / Club · Green Bay Body Shop Body Shop bar in Green Bay was opened when the owners of the Manhole (Joe Mallien and Mike Dziuba) decided to relocate and begin anew. It was an extremely popular bar in Green Bay. It was the "home" b Bar / Club · Milwaukee Bon Ton Bon Ton was a short-lived Milwaukee tavern that operated around 1932 to 1934 at 206 E. Juneau Avenue. During the city's brief early-1930s "Pansy Craze," it was known for its drag performances and unco Bar / Club · Milwaukee Boom / Club Boom & The Room Boom opened in 2000 at 625 S. 2nd Street in the space previously occupied by the gay bar In Between, after a new ownership couple took over the lease. Originally called Club Boom, it soon became known Bar / Club · Milwaukee Boot Camp Saloon Boot Camp Saloon was a Milwaukee levi/leather bar at 209 E. National Avenue, opened in 1984 and operated by Si Smits. Competing at first with the older Wreck Room, it grew into a leading leather bar a Bar / Club · Milwaukee Bourbon Beat The Bourbon Beat operated at 400 N. Plankinton Avenue in downtown Milwaukee from about 1961 to 1963 and appears in national gay bar guides of the period. It was a renaming of the Black Nite, whose rep Bar / Club · Milwaukee Boys Town Nite Club Boys Town Nite Club opened on June 11, 1993, when the existing Nitengales bar on West National Avenue was renamed by its owner, Carrie. The short-lived club appears to have closed in 1994. Bar / Club · Green Bay Brandy's Washington Street, owned by Jerry Hoffman and Duane and open from 1985 until a fire destroyed the building on February 27, 1989. Hoffman reopened in May 1989 at a new address as Brandy's II. Bar / Club · Green Bay Brandy's II Brandy's II opened in May 1989 at 1126 Main Street in Green Bay after the original Brandy's burned in February 1989. Owner Jerry Hoffman continued the country and leather bar tradition at the new loca Bar / Club · Green Bay Bridgeport Bar The Bridgeport is known primarily from being listed in several national 'Gay Bar Guides' from 1962 to 1966. Through extensive research, just two local references have been found thus far. First, a 'pe Spa / Bathhouse / Health Club · 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. Bar / Club · Milwaukee BTW Lounge Billing itself as a one-of-a-kind lounge, it offered events such as drag bingo, karaoke, brunches, body-painting parties, and go-go and swimsuit contests. Despite a prime location near downtown festiv Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Green Bay Buddies 1997 until unknown. Buddies' was a new lounge/bar that was opened in Green Bay by owners Phil and Don, in December of 1997. (ad Quest 4-24 pg 21) Bar / Club · Milwaukee Bull Ring Bull Ring was a discreet gay bar at 1250 N. 12th Street, near the former Mount Sinai Hospital, operated by Reginald LeClaire from about 1953 to 1962. The building, at the corner of 12th and McKinley, Bar / Club · 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 Restaurant · Milwaukee Cafe Melange Old World Third Street, owned and operated by Larry Krueger from 1987 to 1997. It offered a 1930s-style cabaret atmosphere with live music, and the John Schneider Orchestra served as its house band fo Restaurant · Milwaukee Cafe Phyllis Very little is known about Cafe Phyllis. We have two flyers (1994) one of which calls it "An Innovative Gathering Place" with "live entertainment Friday and Saturday". That flyer is for "Premiere Show Bar / Club · Milwaukee Captain's Cabin The Captain's Cabin operated at 400 N. 2nd Street in Milwaukee from the fall of 1963 to December 1966. Operator Wally Whetham opened it after closing his earlier bar, the Black Nite and Bourbon Beat, Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 C Bar / Club · La Crosse Cavalier Lounge We have identified that a bar named 'Cavalier Lounge' existed in La Crosse from about 1993 to 2001, based on listings in "Bar Guides" in various LGBT media in Wisconsin. However, thus far we have loca Bar / Club · Madison CE's Bar CE's Bar was a short-lived Madison, Wisconsin bar at 2415 Winnebago Street, open around 2000 and serving a mixed clientele of women and men. Very little is documented about it. It was run by an owner Bar / Club · La Crosse Chances R Chances R bar in La Crosse replaced 'Rainbow's End' in this location. Rainbow's End had been a popular bar in La Crosse since around 1994, then in either August or September 2008, its name was changed Bar / Club · Milwaukee Cheeks Disco Richards Street that appears to have operated for only a few months in 1981. Its existence was largely lost to history until 2022, when researcher Michail Takach located a single advertisement in a 19 Bar / Club · Madison Cheri's Back East Cheri's Back East, also advertised simply as "Back East," was a Madison, Wisconsin bar at 508 E. Wilson Street that operated from about 1984 to 1989 and drew a mixed clientele of women and men. Little C Bar / Club · Lake Geneva Christophers Christophers Bar was opened in May 1985 in a newly-built extension on the Georgian Guest House in Lake Geneva. It was called a "gay nineties club for country gentlemen". Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Clay's Castaways Kinnickinnic Avenue between 1984 and 1986. Described as a relaxed neighborhood bar, it went through a confusing series of names, appearing variously as "Clay's Castaways," "Castaways," briefly "Castaw Bar / Club · Milwaukee Clifton Tap Clifton Tap was one of Milwaukee's earliest known gay bars, operating as the tavern of the Clifton House Hotel at 336 W. Juneau Street through the 1940s and 1950s until about 1965. Run by William Mans Bar / Club · Sheboygan Close Encounter Close Encounter advertised as "Sheboygan's Only 'Real' Gay Bar" when it opened in June 1986, being welcomed in In Step's "Steppin' Out" column in the June 26-July 9, 1986 issue. But the bar was short- Bar / Club · Oshkosh Club 1226 aka 'Christopher Allan's Club 1226' "Christopher Allen's 1226" at 1226 Oshkosh Avenue in Oshkosh first appeared in the Bar Guide of Quest magazine vol. 12-issue 11 in June 2005. Almost immediately, the name was corrected to "Christopher Bar / Club · Milwaukee Club 200 East (Jack) Club 200 East opened in June 2008 at 200 E. Washington Avenue, in the building long known as the lesbian bar Fannie's. It was another effort by Sharon Dixon, who had run Fannie's and later Pulse at th Bar / Club · Milwaukee Club 219 The location had earlier housed the dance bars Gary's and Circus Circus, and emerged as Club 219 after a brief stint as a bar called Trash. For much of the 1980s it was the city's leading destination Bar / Club · Milwaukee Club 26 North Avenue that began as a jazz venue drawing nationally known performers and later embraced the 1950s drag floor-show craze. Among its featured acts, the international drag performer Billie Herrero Bar / Club · Madison Club 3054 Washington Avenue, named for its street address. It opened in February 1990 as the renamed successor to "Back East II" and offered a large space with a main bar, game and pool rooms, and a dance hall, Bar / Club · Madison Club 5 / FIVE Nightclub Club 5, at 5 Applegate Court in Madison, Wisconsin, opened in September 1998 as a large LGBTQ entertainment complex created by Ed Grunewald to replace his smaller Manoeuvres bar. The venue combined se Bar / Club · Kenosha Club 94 The Club 94 consisted of two rooms: the left (north) side was the original bar building, which had existed for some time. To the right (south) was an addition which housed two additional bar counters, Bar / Club · Kenosha Club 94 North The venue drew a Male, female bar, social crowd. Spa / Bathhouse / Health Club · Milwaukee Club Bath Milwaukee View the Images & Articles Gallery page. View the Club Milwaukee Wall Art Collection. Bar / Club · Kenosha Club Capers/ Illusions We have found 'Club Capers/ Illusions' listed in media "Bar Guides" from about May 1999 to September 2001, although more exact dates we have thus far been unable to fix due to limited media mention. W Bar / Club · Green Bay Club Cheeks Club Cheeks appears to have been open only very briefly in 1996. We have found 3 advertisements in a single issue of Quest magazine (in September 1996), one of which advertises their 'first show', but Spa / Bathhouse / Health Club · 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 Bar / Club · Kenosha Club ICON In April 2016, Club ICON celebrated 10 Years in business. An article in Quest magazine (volume 23-04), which featured a photo of the staff, read: ICON has hosted events featuring JujuBee, Jackie Beat, Bar / Club · Kenosha Clubhouse Filling Station Capers/ Illusions The first mention of Clubhouse Filling Station found is an advertisement in 'Wisconsin Light' newspaper (volume 10-issue 18) reading "Coming Soon", and refering to "The house with the mouse on top". ( Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Conversations Vliet Street that first appeared in LGBTQ bar listings in April 2004. Based on its limited advertising and location, it is believed to have catered primarily to Milwaukee's Black LGBTQ community. Its Bar / Club · Appleton Crossroads Bar aka L.D. CrossRoads Drinking Emporium With Rascals bar also on Wisconsin Avenue, some customers jumped back and forth. When Appleton passed a smoking ban in bars, business began to decline- and while other businesses quickly recovered, Cr Bar / Club · Milwaukee D's Place Port Washington Road. It opened on August 2, 1997, advertising itself as "a bar for women," and appeared in local LGBT bar guides with daily drink specials. The bar lasted less than a year, with its l Bar / Club · Milwaukee D.I.X. Milwaukee D.I.X. Milwaukee, commonly called DIX, occupies a corner building at 739 S. 1st Street that had long operated as the straight bar Timers. Elizabeth Kujawa first opened the space in October 2007 under Bar / Club · Milwaukee Dance, Dance, Dance 2nd Street in Milwaukee, opening in late 1987 or early 1988. It hosted shows and pageants and provided a raised platform for go-go dancers at other times. Over time the space was gradually absorbed in Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Oshkosh Deb's Spare Time Bar & Grill aka Spare Time "Deb's Spare Time Bar & Grill" bar at 1303 Harrison Street in Oshkosh first appeared in the Bar Guide of Quest magazine vol. 16-issue 19 in November 2009. However, the site 'HubBiz' lists the business Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Deja-Vu 2nd Street in Milwaukee, open from August 1993 to about May 1994. It occupied a corner space that had previously housed the Oregon House and the Phoenix, part of a cluster of gay bars in the South 2nd Retail · Milwaukee Designing Men Designing Men at first occupied just the ground floor, with regular gifts in the front and a smaller room in the back with leather geer. Later also opened the upstairs for additional display room, and Bar / Club · Milwaukee Diplomat Musical Lounge The Diplomat Musical Lounge opened in August 1958 in a former Pabst tied-house saloon on Milwaukee's West Juneau Avenue. After new operators redecorated the space in vivid colors, it became a flashy, Bar / Club · Milwaukee DISH 2nd Street that operated from October 1997 to January 2003. Billed in its early advertising as a bar "for Women," it was the second lesbian-oriented bar to occupy the space, which over the years hoste Bar / Club · Milwaukee DK's Tavern National Avenue, operating from about 1985 to 1988. Run by an owner known as Dotie, it occupied a building that had been home to the popular lesbian bar Sugar Shack since 1976, and for a time it held Bar / Club · 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 Restaurant · Milwaukee Doubleday's Pub & Restaurant Doubledays was yet another attempt to bring an LGBT restaurant into this space. But it was apparently extremely short-lived. Bar / Club · 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 D Bar / Club · Eau Claire Downtown Express Downtown Express at 101 Graham Street in Eau Claire was a combined bar and restaurant that opened in January 1988 after a sale in late 1987. The venue drew LGBTQ patrons until the building owner lost Bar / Club · Milwaukee Emeralds Bar & Lounge Emeralds Bar and Lounge opened in April 1997 on East Hadley Street and operated as a bar and dance club. It advertised only a few times in the LGBTQ press and, based on its location and the events it Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Essinger's Essinger's was a West Side Milwaukee tavern that operated as a gay-and-straight bar for under a year, first appearing in bar listings in December 1984 and last listed in September 1985. An older famil Bar / Club · Milwaukee Factory "3" Broadway. Set in a downtown warehouse building with 6,000 square feet of space and high ceilings, it was designed as a large dance and show venue echoing Cicirello's original Factory bar. Despite earl Bar / Club · Milwaukee Factory II Factory II was a Milwaukee gay dance bar at 130 E. Juneau Avenue, open from December 1982 to September 1984. It was opened by Chuck Cicirello following the success of his original Factory bar, though Bar / Club · Milwaukee Fannies Washington Street, opened in September 1983 by Sharon Dixon, a former partner in the lesbian bar Sugar Shack. Known for theme parties, drag shows, a fenced outdoor patio and sports leagues, it raised Bar / Club · Sheboygan Filibusters aka Club Nautilus Filibusters bar in Sheboygan was the city's second LGBTQ bar when it opened in late summer/ early fall of 2013. According to an article in the October 2013 issue of "Wisconsin Gazette" newspaper (vol. Spa / Bathhouse / Health Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee First Street Tavern First Street Tavern, also known as 1st Street Tavern, opened in late 1981 or early 1982 on South 1st Street and was run by owners Larry Fleege and Leroy Stern, who lived behind the bar. It catered lar Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Fluid Fluid is a Milwaukee martini bar opened on July 26, 1998 by two former bartenders of the Triangle, Bill Wardlow and a partner known as Jimmy. It was popular from the start, drawing customers with an e Bar / Club · Milwaukee Forum Forum was a Milwaukee gay bar at the northwest corner of 12th and Vine Streets, recalled by contributors as a crowded and lively spot. Locals often referred to it simply as "12th and Vine" so that out Bar / Club · Green Bay Fox River Lounge Cricket's Fox River Lounge started out as "Sorry We're Closed", a bar opened in 2002 by owner Paul "Cricket" Jacob. The name was changed to Cricket's Fox River Lounge one year later, in 2003. Accordin Bar / Club · Milwaukee Frankie's Cabaret 1st Street that opened in November 1986 with heavy advertising and fanfare. Despite its promotional push, it operated for less than a year, closing at the end of May 1987. Bar / Club · Milwaukee French Quarter French Quarter was a Milwaukee bar at 1634 N. Water Street that opened in 1966 and is believed to have closed around 1969. City directories list Milton Rickun as its owner or licensee. Little is docum Bar / Club · Milwaukee Friendly Bar The Friendly Bar at 819 S. 2nd Street appears to have been the earliest of many LGBTQ-friendly bars to occupy its building. Originally opened by Croatian immigrants Mike and Julia Stjepanovic, it pass G Bar / Club · Green Bay Gail's Bar Gail's Bar is the earliest documented bar acknowledged as "gay" in the Fox Valley area of Wisconsin. It was run by Gail Rachels, wife of former Green Bay mayor Otto Rachels. The Spartacus American Bic Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Gargoyles National Avenue, open for roughly two years from 1995 to 1996. It billed itself as a social club and promoted its location between the Wreck Room and the Boot Camp to attract the area's Levi/leather c Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Gay 90's Gay 90's was a Milwaukee bar that operated from 1945 to 1968 across three successive locations, ending at 433 W. Michigan Street next to the Royal Hotel. A contributor remembered the "Old Gay 90s" as Bar / Club · Milwaukee Gay Street Station Gay Street Station opened in mid-1986 at 1637 W. Pierce Street, holding its grand opening on August 1, 1986. Decorated in a turn-of-the-century railway-station style and billed as a beer saloon with a Bar / Club · Milwaukee Gaytime Bar Gaytime Bar was a Milwaukee tavern at 731 N. 4th Street that operated from the mid-1940s until 1968. It opened as a renamed successor to Sally's Cocktail Bar, a venue popular with gay men that had dra Lodging · Lake Geneva Georgian Guest House Georgian Guest House was first advertised in 'In Step' vol 1-issue 10 and in the Classifieds in vol 1-11 (June 1984). Advertisements outlined its features as being a European Style Mansion 'bed and br Bar / Club · Milwaukee Ginger 2nd Street in Milwaukee's Walker's Point, open from about 2008 to 2015. Though it placed little advertising in LGBT print media, it was well known in the community and hosted gatherings such as a Guer G Restaurant · Milwaukee Glorioso's The August 1976 issue of the local "GLIB Guide" describes Glorioso's as follows: "Gay crowd gathers after bars close." Bar / Club · Milwaukee Godfrey's 1800 Club Godfrey's 1800 Club appeared in select national gay bar guides from 1965 to 1969, described as a mixed bar with a predominantly Black clientele. It was notably absent from the Bob Damron guides of the Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Grand Avenue Annex Grand Avenue Annex was a Milwaukee bar at 746 N. 7th Street, opened in August 1986 by the owners of the nearby Grand Avenue Pub during a period of uncertainty over the Pub's lease. Both bars were clos Bar / Club · Milwaukee Grand Avenue Pub The Grand Avenue Pub, also known as "The GAP," operated on Milwaukee's West Wisconsin Avenue from June 1982 to July 1988. Functioning equally as a bar and restaurant, it served a busy lunch trade for Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Green Bay Grand West It first appeared in the Bar Guide of 'In Step' magazine vol. 3-12 (June 1986). Sources indicate it was owned by Michael DeGrand and Tim Westland. Tim had previously been a manager of the Napalese Lou Restaurant · 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: Bar / Club · Milwaukee Grubb's Pub Grubb's Pub was a pub and grill that operated from 1990 to 1996 in the basement of the La Cage complex, with its own separate entrance on Second Street. Patrons used it variously as a restaurant, a st Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Harbor Room The Harbor Room opened in July 2000 at 117 E. Greenfield Avenue, founded by Gregg Fitzpatrick as a levi and leather bar a few blocks south of the main bar district. It occupies a 1907 building that ha Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Hot Legs Video Nite Club Hot Legs Video Nite Club opened in late 1984 in the former Shadows bar space on South 2nd Street, run by co-owners Kathy and Karen. For a time it was Milwaukee's leading lesbian bar, fielding a softba Bar / Club · Milwaukee Hot Spot Night Club Hot Spot Night Club was a Milwaukee dance club at 2249 N. Humboldt Avenue that operated briefly in 1991. It sought to fill the gap left by earlier disco clubs such as Park Avenue and Papagaio but did Bar / Club · 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. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Hybrid Lounge Brady Street in Milwaukee, open from March 2010 to February 2017. Co-owners Nate Fried and Bill Lison, who had both worked at the LaCage dance club, designed it as a "hybrid" gay-and-straight neighbor Bar / Club · Milwaukee In Between A popular neighborhood watering hole, it featured a small dance floor, a good sound system, and decor that included antique items, some playing on the bar's name and bee motifs. The bar was especially I Bar / Club · Milwaukee Intermezzo 2nd Street, in the same building that housed the Q-Life newspaper and the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center. It likely grew out of the limited drink service offered during intermissions and after performances Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Green Bay Java's Java's at 1106 Main Street in Green Bay continued the coffee-lounge side of the Za's operation and remained a social hub for LGBTQ patrons in Green Bay. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Jazz 2nd Street in Milwaukee, opening in October 1988. Promoted as a calmer adult retreat, it offered wine, imported beer, ice cream and blended drinks, along with weekend appearances by local singer Charl Bar / Club · Milwaukee JC's Pub & Grill It did not market itself as a gay bar and sought a mainstream crowd, though its busiest nights coincided with LGBTQ events such as drag shows and fundraisers. The bar never advertised in the gay press Bar / Club · Milwaukee JC's Rainbow Bar C., and managed by Wade Twamley. It operated for only about five months, closing in May 1991 due to the owner's health problems; many of its staff and patrons moved on to the new Rainbow Revue. A phot Bar / Club · Milwaukee Jet's Place Kinnickinnic Avenue, open from 1986 to June 1991. Opened by a woman known as Jeanette ("Jet") primarily as a women's bar, it drew a broad following and was known for its Sunday afternoon parties. The J Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Racine Jo'Dee's International JoDees was a fixture in Wisconsin's gay/lesbian bar scene for nearly as long as any other LGBT bar, starting at least in 1970. It was a Racine and southeastern Wisconsin tradition as well, continuing Bar / Club · Superior JT's Bar & Grill View PDF of "JT's Bar & Grill" web site as it existed December 2006. We are still searching for more information about JT's Bar & Grill in Superior. It is listed in the Bar Guides in various Wisconsin Bar / Club · Milwaukee Just Us Just Us was a Milwaukee bar open from September 1994 to July 1998, remembered as one of the city's most evenly mixed gay and lesbian venues. Opened by Kenosha attorney Steve Byers and Milwaukee busine Spa / Bathhouse / Health Club · 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. Bar / Club · 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 Restaurant · 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: Bar / Club · Madison Kollege Klub Kollege Klub was founded in 1953 by Jack Meier and his sons at 714 State Street in Madison, Wisconsin, on the site of the earlier Campus Soda Grill. While primarily a student beer bar, it was listed i Bar / Club · Milwaukee Kruz Kruz opened in late 2006 on E. National Avenue, founded by longtime gay-bar bartender and manager Jerry Breiling together with his partner Serge Bellitelli. It took over a building that had previously Bar / Club · Milwaukee La Cage La Cage (also styled La Cage Aux Folles and, for a period, simply "Cage") is a Milwaukee dance club at 801 S. 2nd Street that opened in 1984. It quickly became the city's dominant gay dance venue, aid Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Lampost Bar The Lampost Bar operated at 440 W. Michigan Street in downtown Milwaukee from about 1946 to 1963. Owned by brothers Charles and John Piscuine, it was a long-standing underground gambling venue that dr Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Leaded Shade II Leaded Shade II opened in November 1990 on South 1st Street as a renaming of the bar previously called The Alternative. Its owner revived the name of the original Leaded Shade, a women's bar she had r Bar / Club · Milwaukee Legion Bar The Legion Bar stood at 745 N. 6th Street in Milwaukee and operated through the 1940s, run by Nicholas Marmigas, before closing by 1949. Long known mainly through oral histories, it has been documente Restaurant · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Loose Ends Loose Ends opened in February 1986 on Fond du Lac Avenue on Milwaukee's north-central side, in a space formerly known as Gloria's Place. Opened by Karen, Harry, and Loren Buettner, it drew a steady mi Bar / Club · 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 L Bar / Club · La Crosse Loveboat Bar We have almost no information about The Loveboat Bar in La Crosse. Listings in early "Gay Guides": (For more information on the Guides, click here.) Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee M's 2nd Street, open from 2007 to early 2010. It was opened by former staff and patrons of the M&M Club after that bar closed, and sought to recreate its predecessor's atmosphere in an L-shaped, wood-trim Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Eau Claire Maggie's Maggie's at 505 West Barstow Street in Eau Claire operated as a restaurant by day and gay bar by night from roughly the mid-1980s until December 1988, when competition from Downtown Express contribute Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Mama Roux Bar Americain & Grill Mama Roux Bar Americain & Grill opened in March 1994 on Milwaukee's near east side, a few blocks south of Brady Street, and was believed to be owned by Jim Rodell. Advertising as 'Your Eastside Altern Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Madison Manoeuvres Blair Street, run by Ed Grunewald. It opened in January 1995 under the name "Allegre," was remodeled and renamed Manoeuvres later that year, and operated as a dance video bar with an associated venue Bar / Club · 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. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Mary's Tap Mary's Tap, also called Mary's Tavern, was an early Milwaukee tavern at 400 N. Plankinton Avenue that counted gay patrons as a significant part of its clientele in the late 1950s. Previously known as Bar / Club · Wausau Masquers Masquers opened in December 1989 by 'David and Dan', whose previous bar, the R-Bar, had been destroyed by fire in August 1989. They held a Grand Opening late in February 1990. The bar was rather short Bar / Club · Milwaukee Matisse The only known record is a single advertisement in a June 1996 issue of In Step magazine promoting a "SUNdays Synergy" event. Supporting business · Milwaukee Medical College of Wisconsin "20 Giving 20" was part of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin's commemoration of its 20th anniversary combating the AIDS epidemic. View all 20 of those honored on the ARCW "20 giving 20" page. Bar / Club · La Crosse Memories Memories in La Crosse first appeared in Wisconsin LGBT media in 'In Step' magazine vol. 4-20 (November 1987), appearing regularly in the In Step "Guide' listings through v10-01 (December 1992), after M Bar / Club · La Crosse Michael's We have limited information about Michael's bar in La Crosse. A contributor has shared to the Facebook group that Michaels' was the first gay bar opened in La Crosse by Michael Hanson. He relates the Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Mickey's Dynasty 7th Street for less than a month in early 1987. The space had previously been a gay bar called the Grand Avenue Annex. Its main draw was proximity to the established Grand Avenue Pub and a nearby bath Spa / Bathhouse / Health Club · Milwaukee Midtowne Spa Midtowne Spa was a spa / bathhouse / health club in Milwaukee at 315 S. Water Street, operating from approx 2000 until approx 2018. Supporting business · Milwaukee Miller Brewing Company "20 Giving 20" was part of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin's commemoration of its 20th anniversary combating the AIDS epidemic. View all 20 of those honored on the ARCW "20 giving 20" page. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Milwaukee Eagle The Milwaukee Eagle opened on November 22, 1997, in the basement of the Sidney Hih building, a space that had previously held the gay bars Golden Shaft and the Unicorn. A leather and Levi bar with a l Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Restaurant · Milwaukee Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge was another attempt to bring an LGBT restaurant into this space. But it was apparently extremely short-lived. Restaurant · Milwaukee Mr. Ric's Mr. Ric's was a restaurant in Milwaukee at 714 N. Broadway, operating from approx. 1980? until unknown. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Music Box Music Box opened in October 1984 on North 27th Street in the former site of the Lost & Found bar, advertising itself as being under new management. The bar offered dancing, a video system, and a mix o Bar / Club · La Crosse My Place 'My Place' in La Crosse apparently opened in June 1999, based on its scheduled 3rd anniversary party in June 2002. It advertised itself often using terms such as "Where fresh Iowa Farm Boys, Wisconsin Bar / Club · 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. Bar / Club · Fond du Lac Myrna's Placealso Sabrina's and Carry's Lounge For as long as the webmaster can remember, Fond du Lac has had trouble keeping a 'gay' bar in operation. In the early 1980s an attempt was made in the building at 2 N. Main Street at Division St. EVen Bar / Club · Green Bay Napalese Lounge View Images & Articles- Broadway location (1983-1999). View Images & Articles- Cedar St. location (1999-2022). Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Niko's 2nd Street opened around 1982 by owner Niko Stathis. Accounts of it vary widely, with patrons remembering it as a blue-collar neighborhood bar, a punk club, or a restaurant; it is most often recalled Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Nitengales National Avenue in Milwaukee, opened in September 1989 by co-owners Linda and Carrie following a series of teaser advertisements. Billed as the city's newest women's bar, it became popular for its rec Bar / Club · Milwaukee Nitro Nitro was a large tri-level discotheque on North Water Street, reopened in 1992 after a major renovation of the Sunday-only gay bar previously known as Park Avenue. It billed itself as 'Milwaukee's Pr N Bar / Club · Milwaukee Non-Sequitur It appears in the bar directories of several Wisconsin LGBTQ periodicals between October 1981 and May 1983. No advertisement or other mention of the bar beyond these listings has been located. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Nut House Nut House was a downtown Milwaukee venue at 623 N. 6th Street, operating around 1933 to 1935 and known for its female-impersonator revues during a flourishing era of drag entertainment in the city. Th Bar / Club · Milwaukee Nut Hut The Nut Hut, long known as Kathy's Nut Hut, was a Milwaukee tavern on West Scott Street that became the city's longest-running women's bar. It grew out of a neighborhood bar that Sharon Dixon opened i Bar / Club · Milwaukee Off The Tracks Grant Street, taking over a space that had previously housed the lesbian bar Station 2. Little is known about its ownership, and it appears to have had a minimal advertising budget, with only a single Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Racine Our Place Early in October 1998 the partners split up, and Darren reopened the bar a month later as the single owner. Darren also announced plans to open another bar, "Miss P's", down the street, but we have no Bar / Club · Milwaukee Out 'N About Out 'N About opened on South 1st Street in August 2003, in a building that had long held a popular straight bar and near the leather bar Harbor Room. It featured a sizable dance floor, a long bar, an Retail · Milwaukee OutWords Books, Gifts & Coffee previously AfterWords Bookstore & Espresso Bar Outwords Books, Gifts & Coffee was opened on July 9, 1993 by Carl M. Szatmary. It was a natural for Szatmary, who had been writing book reviews for both In Step magazine and Wisconsin Light newspaper Bar / Club · Wausau OZ The former 'Mad Hatter' bar reopened in July 1997 as OZ, with an ad reading "David and Kevin would like you to join them in their new venture, and to watch for the upcoming changes". In 2022 the bar's Bar / Club · Milwaukee Papagaio Papagaio was a Milwaukee dance club opened on North Broadway in December 1981 by Bobby Bell, who had previously run the Red Baron disco. Inspired by Rio nightlife, it became known for booking groundbr Bar / Club · 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. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Park Hotel / Hiawatha Bar The Park Hotel and its Hiawatha Bar stood at 549 N. 4th Street in Milwaukee, across from the Union Depot train station. Little is documented about it, but it was recalled as a cruising hotel whose cir Bar / Club · Milwaukee Partners Partners operated from 1989 to 1992 at 813 S. 1st Street, in a space that had long housed the popular Your Place bar. After Your Place was sold in June 1989, it reopened in July 1989 as Partners under Bar / Club · Milwaukee Passion Washington Street, the third such venue in the building best known as the lesbian bar Fannie's. It operated from roughly December 2004 to about November 2005. The bar left little trace beyond listings Restaurant · Milwaukee Peter's On 4th Peter's On 4th was a restaurant in Milwaukee at 748 N. 4th Street, operating from c1984? until c1985?. Bar / Club · Madison Phaze II Owned by J.J. O'Connell, it was intended as a dance bar in contrast to the more laid-back Shamrock. After September 1994 the venue reverted to the Shamrock name, which it kept thereafter. Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Pink Glove Pink Glove was an exceptionally short-lived Milwaukee gay bar at 631 N. Broadway, open for just 67 days in 1958. Opened by Marvin and Harold Klein in a remodeled former cocktail lounge, it is believed Bar / Club · Milwaukee Pink Pony Pink Pony was a men's cocktail lounge on West North Avenue, remembered as a gay-friendly bar from the mid-1950s into the early 1970s. Opened in 1953 in a former delicatessen, it was taken over by Albe Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Appleton Pivot Club Opened early in 1986 as one of the largest gay bars in the state, and located on Highway BB just off I-43 in Appleton, the location had a sizeable parking lot and no nearby businesses or residences to Bar / Club · Oshkosh PJ's The bar "PJ's" at 1601 Oregon Street in Oshkosh first appeared in the Bar Guide of Quest magazine vol. 17-issue 6 in April 2010. An early listing on Facebook read "We are a new bar here in Oshkosh. We Bar / Club · Milwaukee Plains Hotel Bar The Plains Hotel Bar appears in a single national gay bar guide from 1964, suggesting it was either only briefly in business or not especially welcoming to gay patrons. No local documentation of the b Bar / Club · Stevens Point Platwood Club Little is documented about it, but it hosted events for the Mid-Wisconsin Gay Alliance and appeared in LGBT media bar guides through October 2002. A 1998 account noted that its longtime manager, Todd Bar / Club · La Crosse Players They appear to have done most of their advertising in the short-lived 'G-Street magazine' (2001-2002). But because the bar doesn't seem to have advertised much (or at all) in state-wide LGBT periodica Restaurant · 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 Bar / Club · Appleton Pulse Pulse nightclub in Appleton may be one of the shortest-lasting clubs with the biggest start-up media splash. First appearing in the Bar Guide listings of Quest magazine in January 2008 (vol.15-01), th Bar / Club · Milwaukee PUMP! PUMP! was a Milwaukee promotional venture in the 2000s that ran weekly one-night gay club events hosted at various non-LGBTQ venues, typically on nights when the host bar was otherwise slow. It advert Bar / Club · Milwaukee PumpHouse 1st Street in Milwaukee's Bay View, opened in fall 2006 by Michael Murray and David Skwarek in a converted 1931 water pumping station. Aiming to recreate a Chicago-style video bar, it offered a marina Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Wausau R-Bar R-Bar opened early July of 1986 by 'David and Dan' in the ground floor of a 3-story building in Wausau. They advertised as "Central Wisconsin's ONLY gay-owned and operated nightspot". In January 1989 Restaurant · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Rainbow Revue The Rainbow Revue opened on South 1st Street in September 1991, operated by Wade Twamley, and directly succeeded the Leaded Shade II in the same space. Its grand-opening weekend featured drag entertai Bar / Club · Madison Rainbow Room Rainbow Room was a Madison, Wisconsin LGBT bar and dance club at 121 W. Main Street, opened in October 1999. It was the most successful of a rapid succession of bars at this downtown address and opera Lodging · Wisconsin Dells Rainbow Valley Resort Captain Dix Bar Artist Glen Restaurant This Wisconsin Dells resort and bar opened in March 2003 and closed in 2016. While it was offically called the 'Rainbow Valley Resort', with the bar being dubbed 'Captain Dix' and the restraurant 'Art Bar / Club · La Crosse Rainbow's End Rainbow's End at 417 Jay Street in La Crosse succeeded Chances R as a gay bar on the same block, continuing LGBTQ nightlife in downtown La Crosse. Retail · 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 Bar / Club · Appleton Rascals Bar & Grill View View Rascals' Web Site as it existed June 2006 Rascals Bar & Grill has been the Fox Valley's steady rock in gay/ lesbian bars from November 1992. Bar / Club · Madison Ray's Bar & Grill Over roughly fourteen years it operated through a complicated series of relocations and name changes across three east-side locations, variously known as Geraldine's (named for Jacobson's mother), the Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Red Room Bar The Red Room Bar operated in the Plankinton Arcade at 161 W. Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee from about 1935 into the 1950s, and is remembered by many older gay men as a longtime hangout. It was earlier Bar / Club · 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 Retail · Milwaukee Rhubarb Bookstore Rhubarb Bookstore advertised briefly in the 'GPU News' in the early 1970s. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Riviera Riviera was a Milwaukee cocktail lounge and restaurant at 401 N. Plankinton Avenue, occupying a pre-Civil War warehouse that had earlier housed a gay-friendly tavern called the Anchor Inn. Reopened as Bar / Club · 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 R Bar / Club · Madison Rod's It became an LGBT landmark, at one point housing three LGBT businesses within the hotel: two bars and a cafe. Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Oshkosh Rosie's Bar "Rosie's Bar" was first mentioned in Wisconsin LGBTQ periodical 'In Step' magazine in January 1999, when columnist Jamie Taylor in his "Keepin' In Step" column mentioned: "...in Oshkosh a new gay-frie Bar / Club · Green Bay Roxy Lounge Roxy Lounge was opened by Robert Foley and Kelly Shaw. Bar / Club · Janesville Runway 51 Runway 51 was a bar near Janesville, Wisconsin, that opened in February 1993 in the former location of The New Leaf, taken over by operators known as Al and Roger, who reworked the interior. It served Bar / Club · Milwaukee Sailor Ann's Sailor Ann's, originally the Sail & Rail Hotel & Buffet, was a Milwaukee dockside tavern opened in 1900 by Anna Gravelyn near the Reed Street Yards in Walker's Point. Serving Great Lakes sailors, dock S Bar / Club · Milwaukee Sally's Cocktail Bar Sally's Cocktail Bar operated from 1941 to 1944 at 731 N. 4th Street in Milwaukee, directly across from the USO office. Owned by Peter Antross, it was popular with gay men and others the press labeled Bar / Club · Madison Sam's Regent Street, operating from about 1979 until May 1984. Little is documented about it beyond a 1984 remodeling and a recurring "Sunday Night Satin Show" drag revue. The bar closed in May 1984 when it Bar / Club · Green Bay SASS SASS bar was opened in Green Bay in December 1992 by owners Sally and Sue, and manager Carole. While generally considered a Lesbian bar, a mention in In Step's "Steppin Out" column stressed that the b Bar / Club · Madison Scandals Main Street, two doors from the popular Shamrock Bar. It opened on March 1, 1997, operated by Mike and Nancy Newman after the previous bar at the location (R Place) lost its license when its license-h Bar / Club · Eau Claire Scooters Scooters opened at 411 Galloway Street in Eau Claire on January 3, 1997 under owner Wayne Marek, who also operated venues elsewhere in the state. Early ads sometimes shared space with the Trading Comp Bar / Club · Eau Claire Scruples Scruples opened at 411 Galloway Street in Eau Claire in August 1992, continuing LGBTQ nightlife in the same building as the earlier Back Door. Listings in Wisconsin LGBTQ media sometimes lagged addres Restaurant · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Seaway Inn Seaway Inn was a popular Milwaukee gay bar and restaurant at the corner of Jefferson and Wells Streets, near the Pfister Hotel. Otto Schuler opened it in 1959 in a former vegetarian restaurant buildin S Restaurant · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Shadows 2nd Street in Milwaukee, opened by Frank Thalacker in February 1980. The 45-seat establishment served old-fashioned American food and quickly earned a strong reputation among locals and traveling gay Bar / Club · Milwaukee Shadows II- The Top Shelf Shadows II- The Top Shelf opened on December 11, 1987 in the former Hot Legs space on South 2nd Street, operated by Dan Hewett and co-owned with Matthew Gorden, who owned the building. A news account Bar / Club · Madison Shamrock Bar & Grille The Shamrock Bar & Grille at 117 W. Main Street is one of Madison, Wisconsin's longest-lived LGBT bars, opened in 1986 just a block off the Capitol Square. For much of its existence it was the only do Bar / Club · Green Bay Shelter Club Shelter Club was a fairly popular Green Bay LGBT destination for about 12 years. opening in 2004 in a nondescript building, largely lacking effective signage (see photos), it waas nevertheless a popul Bar / Club · Sheboygan Sherlock's Home Sherlock's Home, owned and operated by Gordy Bourret, opened in April 1981, in the German-styled rathskellar tavern building which has occupied the corner of South 8th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue i Bar / Club · Milwaukee Short Circuit Lounge Short Circuit Lounge was a Milwaukee bar on West National Avenue that opened in September 1988, advertising a comfortable atmosphere and neighborhood-bar prices. Little else is documented about the bu Retail · 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 Restaurant · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Something Different bar Something Different was a bar on North Teutonia Avenue in Milwaukee that became a mixed gay and lesbian establishment in December 1987, when ownership passed to the previous owner's daughter, Kim, who Bar / Club · Milwaukee South Water Street Docks National Avenue, situated between the Wreck Room and the Boot Camp. Operating from about 1997 to 2003, it sought to attract the levi, leather, and biker crowd that frequented those neighboring venues. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Station 2 - The Eastern Connection Station 2 - The Eastern Connection opened in late October 1987 at 1534 W. Grant Street, established by owners Lois and Sheri as a larger and more successful follow-up to their first bar, Gay Street St Bar / Club · Racine Stealers They first appeared in media in the April 23, 1982 issue of 'Escape' magazine with the ad "Racine's Newest, Hottest Disco". In the next (May 7, 1982) issue of Escape, the bar listed opening times and S Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Studio 200 Washington Street, open from about 2011 to 2018. It was the last in a long line of LGBTQ bars at the address run or originated by Sharon Dixon, who first opened the space in the early 1980s as the les Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Switch Switch opened in May 1999 on West National Avenue, converted from a straight bar by its owner, Craig. It was known for large west-facing windows overlooking the Walker's Point bar district, a sizable Bar / Club · La Crosse Tattoo's Tattoo's II Tattoo's in La Crosse opened as primarily a lesbian bar. It is believed to have opened sometime in 1982, first being listed in 1983 national Gay Guides. It was then listed in the Bar Guide listings of Bar / Club · 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 Retail · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee TempT Mason Street, next door to Karl Ratzsch's restaurant. Promoted as combining the intimacy of a lounge with the energy of a nightclub, it was well appointed and advertised heavily, frequently taking the Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee The Alternative 1st Street that opened in July 1988 under co-owners known as Pete (also called Pat) and Beverly. Marketed as an Art Deco-styled venue, it served a mixed crowd of women and men and later added a disco Bar / Club · 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, Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee The Fox (Fox Bar) The Fox opened in December 1948 at 455 N. Plankinton Avenue, at Clybourn, in an old saloon formerly known as the Clybourn Inn. Long and exceptionally narrow, it was sometimes nicknamed "the Skinny Fox Retail · 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. Bar / Club · Green Bay The Loftaka MJR's Loft The Loft (also known as MJR's Loft) at 2328 University Avenue in Green Bay was a gay bar and dance venue serving college-age and adult LGBTQ patrons in the Fox Cities area. Bar / Club · Wausau The Mad Hatter 'The MadHatter' bar opened in Wausau when Ann Brunow took over the bar Masquers from David and Dan, who had previously also operated the R-Bar in Wausau. The bar was variously referred to as two words T Bar / Club · Green Bay The Mayfair Lounge Very little is known about The Mayfair Lounge. It is believed to have opened as early as 1961, as the earliest national gay bar guides all were listing it in 1963 and 1964 guides (Lavender Baedeker Gu Bar / Club · Milwaukee The Next Stop Chambers Street about which little is documented. Known records consist of a single 1991 advertisement in In Step magazine promoting a Halloween party and a photo from its grand opening celebration he Bar / Club · Milwaukee The Orbit The Orbit operated from February 1999 to August 2003 at 739 S. 2nd Street, in an early-1900s building that had previously been a pharmacy and later an organ-piper nightclub with hand-painted murals. T T Bar / Club · Milwaukee The Other Place Greenfield Avenue, operating around 1991 to 1992. According to a contributor's recollection, two men ran it as a gay bar with a white-tablecloth restaurant, adding a kitchen and updated interior befor Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Milwaukee The TAZZbah Bar & Grille The TAZZbah Bar & Grille operated at 1712 W. Pierce Street in Milwaukee from December 2004 to September 2007. Its principal owners included a former Boot Camp Saloon bartender known as Steve and Don M Bar / Club · 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 Retail · Milwaukee Thinking of You Thinking of You, On Broadway occupied the building just north of the Wreck Room bar. The corner presence with large windows featured miscellaneous gifts (candles, cards, etc.) Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Madison Three Bells Owned by Melvin Andre and managed by Ken Burns, it was popular with former servicemen after World War II and drew a mixed crowd that included gay men, lesbians, and college students. It appeared in na Bar / Club · Milwaukee Tic Toc Club Tic Toc Club was a Milwaukee nightclub at 634 N. 5th Street, opened in 1940 by Albert Tusa. One of the city's first air-conditioned nightclubs, it was nationally noted for its Gardenia Room dinner the T Bar / Club · Milwaukee Tina's / Tina's RTI Tina's was a series of Milwaukee bars run by Ilet "Tina" Terry that served the city's African American LGBTQ community for well over a decade. Operating from a succession of north side locations, the Bar / Club · 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 Retail · Milwaukee Tool Shed Tool Shed was a retail in Milwaukee at 804 E. Center Street, operating from 2004. Bar / Club · Eau Claire Trading Company The Trading Company at 304 Eau Claire Street opened in September 1995 from a concept by Vern Knox and grew to three floors of bar space by 1996. It operated alongside other Marek-owned nightlife in th Bar / Club · Milwaukee Triangle Triangle was a Milwaukee bar on East National Avenue that opened in June 1988 after Al Thomas bought the former lesbian bar D.K.'s and reopened it as a gay bar. Situated amid a growing concentration o Bar / Club · Milwaukee Unicorn Unicorn was a short-lived Milwaukee gay bar that opened in early 1984 in the basement of the Sidney HiH building at 300 W. Juneau Avenue. It was owned by Gus Hosseini, who also managed the building an Bar / Club · Milwaukee Visions Video Night Club First advertised in August 1991, it opened only after several delays on November 23, 1991, and even then was reportedly still unfinished. It appears to have closed within a week or two, as it received Bar / Club · Milwaukee Vuk's Place / Vuk's II Vuk's Place was a friendly neighborhood bar on Milwaukee's near south side, run by an owner named Tom. It held its grand opening in December 1992 and drew a loyal but relatively small following. The b Bar / Club · Milwaukee Walker's Pint Walker's Pint opened on July 12, 2001, at 818 S. 2nd Street in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood, founded as a women's bar by Elizabeth "Bet'z" Boenning with co-owner Becky Persin. Boenning, who Restaurant · Milwaukee Walker's Point Cafe The business briefly (in 1991) advertised it as "Walkers Point Cabaret.. and Cafe". W Bar / Club · Racine What About Me? What About Me? was a lesbian bar in the near downtown area of Racine for some 14 years. It closed early in 2006. W Bar / Club · Milwaukee White Horse Inn White Horse Inn was a Milwaukee bar near the intersection of McKinley, 11th, and Winnebago Streets, documented in city directories from roughly the mid-1950s. It is chiefly remembered through oral his Bar / Club · Green Bay Who's Bar Who's Bar in Green Bay was the successor to the Body Shop bar when owner Mike Dziuba transformed it late in 1984. (A June 1985 advertisement in 'In Step' magazine vol. 2-12, pg 31, advertises their '3 Bar / Club · Milwaukee Wildwood The Wildwood, also known as German's Wildwood, was a women's bar at 1430 W. Walnut Avenue on Milwaukee's near north side, operating from October 1959 to 1964. Remembered as a hangout for very butch le W Bar / Club · Eau Claire Wildwood Club Jodi's Wildwood Club at 2112 Esmond Road in Eau Claire was a primarily lesbian bar open briefly around 1990–1991 during an early-1990s wave of Chippewa Valley LGBTQ venues. Bar / Club · Milwaukee Wizard's Pub It was notable as one of the farthest-west gay bars in the Milwaukee area, and little else about it has been documented. Bar / Club · Eau Claire Wolfe's Den Wolfe's Den (also Wolfie's) at 302 East Madison Street in Eau Claire was a neighborhood bar from the early 1980s or before, known to LGBTQ regulars. Owner John Wolfe died in 2005 and the space was lat Bar / Club · Milwaukee Woody's Bar Woody's Bar opened on November 14, 1997, on South 2nd Street, in a building that had previously housed the gay bar B's. Founded by Steve Behl and Ray Arce, it quickly became a hit and established itse Bar / Club · Green Bay XSaka Club XS Club XS (also listed as XS) at 1106 Main Street in Green Bay grew out of the Za's complex and operated as a dance-oriented gay club serving northeastern Wisconsin. Bar / Club · 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 Bar / Club · Green Bay Za's (on Bodart) ZA's Videobar opened on Thursday, July 20 1989, by Mark 'Za' Mariucci (who went on to open several other bars as well, and also founded and ran 'Quest' magazine, a Wisconsin LGBT periodical for 25 yea Bar / Club · Green Bay Za's Historic West Theatre Za's Historic West Theatre was another in a line of popular bars owned by Mark 'Za' Mariucci, who in addition to owning and running various Green Bay bars, was also active in various Pageants, and fou Bar / Club · Green Bay Za's Video Bar & Java Lounge Za's Video Bar & Java Lounge at 1106 Main Street in Green Bay combined a video bar with a coffee lounge and was a central LGBTQ gathering place. The business later spun off related venues on the same Bar / Club · Milwaukee Zippers 2nd Street, part of a long line of LGBT establishments to occupy the location. It operated from 1993 to the late 1990s, following the earlier BJ's Mint Bar in the space. The location's LGBT history re