Milwaukee Eagle
Milwaukee
Summary
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 large dance floor, it was initially very popular and enforced a leather-or-Levi dress code, hosting major area leather contests. A smaller back bar opened in early 1998 as the Golden Shaft Club, soon shortened to the Shaft, with an adjoining cruise area.
Located across downtown from the city's other gay bars, the Eagle declined after about two years and a fire-related closure, and it shut its doors on New Year's Day, 2000.