History of Gay and Lesbian Life in Wisconsin - Businesses - Bars and Clubs

 
Captain's Cabin
Location: 400 N. 2nd Street, Milwaukee WI

Opened:
Closed:

Fall 1963
December 1966
Clientele:

Male/ Female
Bar/ social

 

 
       
 

When the bar known as the Black Nite and later Bourbon Beat closed, owner Wally Wetham relocated to a building at the corner of 2nd and Florida (400 S. 2nd Street) and opened "Captain's Cabin".

According to folklore, he completely refurnished the bar- a former "Gay 90s" saloon- with artifacts from the old "Sailor Ann's" bar, bought at rock bottom auction prices.

Unfortunately, the Captain's Cabin closed in Whetham's December 1966 bankruptcy proceedings, and the whereabouts of those furnishings is long unknown. The location has been a vacant lot since 1975 used for parking by the adjacent Tony's Tavern (412 S 2nd St.) which is now also closed.

We have been unable to find any photos of the Captain's Cabin. More information about this business is welcomed from anyone who can contribute it.


Listings in early "Gay Guides":
(For more information on the Guides, click here.)

1967 International Guild Guide
    Title pg
1968 Bob Damron's Address Book
    Title pg   Editors note   Codes
1969 International Guild Guide
    Title pg   Editors note   Codes
 

Credits: Web site contents, design and arrangement by Don Schwamb.
Historical research and references by Michail Takach.
Last updated: February-2024.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.