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 workers, and railroad men, it was a rough, lively "sailor bar" presided over by its colorful proprietor, who became known as "Sailor Ann." Like sailor bars in other port cities, it quietly offered a meeting ground for men seeking other men.

The bar survived Prohibition-era raids and gambling crackdowns, and after Anna's death in 1944 her family kept it running. A 1958 remodel turned it into an upscale steakhouse, ending its era as a cruising spot. The business closed on July 1, 1962, and the building was later demolished.