Where good times are brewing
By
Jeff Balk
Note: see our updated Milwaukee article in our new format, at Guidemag.com - click bar at the top of this page.
Milwaukee is a city where a variety of
cultures come together; from quaint
neighborhoods rich with ethnic heritage, to
restaurants that tantalize the taste buds, to
diverse
lake-front attractions. Wisconsin's largest city is
the meeting place of three
rivers: the Milwaukee, the Kinnickinnic, and
the Juneau. There are things to do all day
long as well as through the
night. Spend a day on the beaches of Lake
Michigan or a night on the town.
Milwaukee celebrates its cultural
diversity throughout the year with a
procession of festivals. International Arts
Festival, Asian Moon Festival, Cajun Fest,
Polish Fest, Bastille Days,
Festa Italiana, Mexican Fest, Indian
Summer, and Oktoberfest are just a few of
these tributes.
When is comes to arts and
entertainment, Milwaukee offers up many
options.
The Marcus
Center for Performing
Arts, the Riverside
Theater, the
Milwaukee Repertory Theater, and
the
historic Pabst
Theater offer symphony,
ballet, opera, Broadway shows, and theater.
The city has a number of art museums,
including the Milwaukee Art
Museum, the
Charles
Allis Museum, and
the
Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Museum.
And don't forget America's Black Holocaust
Museum and the Milwaukee
Public Museum.
Accommodations
In the heart of downtown and one
block from the Midwest Express Center Best
Western Inn Towne Hotel (710 N.
Old World Third St;
414-224-8400) is a 667,000 square-foot
hotel with rainbow flags flying on the lampposts at
the corner.
Parking is available and you
can tour downtown through the skywalk
located across the street from the hotel.
Restaurants
The Boulevard
Inn (925 E.
Wells) offers fine dining for both lunch and dinner,
great lakefront views seafood, chops, steaks, and
German fare.
Pasta Tree
(1503 North Farwell)
with garden patio has been serving Milwaukee for
over 26
years with fine Italian cuisine.
City Lights Chill &
Grill (111 W Howard Ave) is a new south
side gay-frequented spot with good sandwiches on
the menu.
Health clubs and bathhouse
Milwaukee's Midtowne
Spa (315 S. Water St)
Milwaukee's premiere gay men's health and
recreational facility has regular party events with
Squirt, Manhunt and BoyzParty. They
offer lockers, private
rooms, sauna and whirlpool, steam room
patio, exercise and weight equipment, a
tanning deck, and hot music. Open 24 hours a day.
Bars and Clubs
With many gay clubs in the
Walker's Point and Third Ward area,
Milwaukee has more gay bars, per capita,
than San Francisco. Most of them mix right in with
the city's
finer straight clubs. Pride flags fly high on
lampposts in the club district as well as in
downtown Milwaukee, making this
city very friendly and comfortable to visit.
You can park your car and walk to most of them.
Fluid
(819 S. 2nd St) at the heart of Walker's Point,
is known for the
largest selection of martinis and signature drinks in
the area.
People fill the place early to see and
be seen.
La Cage (801
S. 2nd) video multi-bar club with a young mixed
crowd
who come for the dancing and drag
cabaret shows.
Club Boom
(625 S. 2nd St) has regular
underwear parties. Wearing your underwear gets
you $1 off of drinks that night, and they have
visting porn star appearances here too.
The
Harbor Room (117 E. Greenfield),
is Milwaukee's premiere leather club. With
one of the city's largest outdoor patios they lay
claim to being the friendliest bar in the Midwest.
Weekend nights are wall-to-wall
men and their drink prices are some of the cheapest
around. Shirtless men always drink for half-price
on rail and domestic drinks. On Tuesdays, wear
a nipple ring and let the bartender give it a gentle
tug for a second drink on the house.
Other clubs include Ballgame
(196 S 2nd St) a quiet neighborhood bar;
Boot
Camp (209 East National Ave) a very
male establishment for leather and fetish guys;
Jack (200 E
Washington), a new mixed
dance club;
Kruz (354 E
National Ave) a new locals' favorite mixed bar;
M's (1101 S
Second St), piano bar;
Tracks
Tavern (1020 E Locust) a neighborhood
sports bar with big screen TVs, sand volleyball
courts and summertime patio;
the Triangle
(135 East National Ave) video bar;
and Woody's
(1579 2nd) sports bar with big screen TV,
softball teams, bowling and dart leagues, pool
games and beer busts.
This is
It! (418 East Wells) is in
downtown Milwaukee, minutes from
Lake Michigan. Milwaukee's oldest
existing gay bar still has an entrance in the back as
they did years ago, when people
were afraid to be seen walking into a gay bar. Many
locals stop here
after work for happy hour.
Purr Night
Club (3945 N 35th St) is a Milwaukee
dance club favorite for gay African-American
women.
Pump!
Sundays @ Decibel (1905 E North Ave) is a one gay
night a week dance event with top quality DJs,
music and lights.
Art Bar (722 E
Burleigh St) is a new gallery and bar in Riverwest
with spoken word and live music events. Nearby
Two (718 E Burleigh St) is a non-smoker's
"make-out bar" from the same folks.
After 9
years serving the gay community, Switch
closed this year.
Media Covering
all of Wisconsin.
Quest,
based in Green Bay, features information on all
Wisconsin bars and events. Download a pdf copy of
their latest issue from their website.
Events
Pridefest
Milwaukee
Took place this year in Henry Maier Festival Park in
mid-June.
Gay
Softball World Series
Coming to
Milwaukee. August 31 through September 5th with
the participation of 37 cities and over three
thousand players. Opening ceremonies are at Henry
Maier Park and the bars will have lots of parties
too.
Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival
Takes place October 15-25 2009. Click the hot-
link for schedules and venues.
Places to See
Fond of motorcycling? One of
Milwaukee's attractions is the
Harley-
Davidson Museum, in this company's
home town, with exhibits that tell the story of the
people, products, history and culture of the iconic
motorcycle maker.
| Author Profile: Jeff Balk |
|
Jeff Balk hails from St. Louis, Missouri, and lives in Rehoboth Beach when not travelling for The
Guide.
|
|
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