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 South 2nd Street, it reached its peak in the 1980s with an active dance floor, strippers, and occasional drag shows. Many patrons used it as an early-evening stop before moving on to nearby dance clubs. Lodging was available above the bar, and many young men got their start in the community working and living there.

After Germershausen died in 2005, management passed to Martin Belkin, but declining business and neighborhood gentrification took a toll. The bar closed in early May 2008.