Sally's Cocktail Bar
Milwaukee
Summary
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 "unsavories," and the armed forces declared it off-limits to servicemen, citing it as a leading local source of venereal disease. The bar was the site of repeated disorderly conduct and solicitation arrests between 1941 and 1944, and Antross lost his tavern license in 1942 amid sustained pressure from reformers.
When he was granted another license in 1944, officials required that he change the name; the venue subsequently reopened as the Gaytime Bar.