Every Friday, female impersonators show off their talents.Īlthough not officially a "gay bar," this Riverwest classic is a With six bars and numerous dance floors, La Cage's lively dance music and various video screens makes for an invigorating night of body moving. It's Milwaukee's oldest gay dance club and it's a good time for anyone, regardless of sexual orientation. It's a fun, lively place to have a drink with friends, play pool or, in the warmer months, grab a seat around the outdoor fire pits on the patio. Plus, shirtless men always get rail drinks and domestic beers for half price!Ī new establishment on the East Side, offers a kitchen with healthy offerings in a smoke-free environment (ahead of the state-wide ban). Beautiful decor, a delicious martini menu and a friendly atmosphere make the bar a great place.Īnother Walker's Point hangout known for leather penchant. The corner location (in a building that long housed Timer's) makes it a good spot to start or finish the evening.įluid is a fashionable, straight-friendly bar with comfortable love seats nestled in the back of the room.
Here you'll find two adjacent gay bars within the same building: Club Boom, the fast-paced, dance-y, more traditional gay bar and The Room, the posh bar that attracts more of a mixed crowd.įormerly known as The General's, this club has undergone a transformation in the past few weeks and is now catering toward a male clientele. This South Side spot is a destination for sandwiches and snacks, in addition to great drink specials. It's also got a great patio open in summer. The front lounge features retro-style leather chairs and memorabilia from films like "Animal House" and "Psycho." Pool, darts and other diversions available, too.Īs the name might suggest, this Walker's Point bar is a meeting place for the leather / Levi's crowd. Drink prices are up to a lottery system on Tuesdays and Thursdays and, if you're lucky, cocktails can cost as little as 25 cents. With rotating, provocative art shows, a full-service cafe and live music, Art Bar draws an eclectic group of people for coffee, happy hours and late-night entertainment.īoasting the longest cocktail hour in town and opening at 2 p.m., this classic gay bar offers nightly drink specials. This Riverwest bar welcomes a mixed crowd of men and women, both gay and straight. If you don't see your favorite spot listed here, use the Talkback feature to let us know about it.
#Charlies gay bar full
With PrideFest in full swing (June 12-14), we thought it was a good time to revisit out LGBTQ lineup.
Now, these bars house eclectic and diverse crowds of patrons who enjoy dancing, karaoke, pool, shows or simply drinking and being sociable. If you go inside you just might see a few familiar things and remember some good memories.While many of Milwaukee's gay and lesbian bars were once exclusive single-sexed joints unfriendly to outsiders, times are changing. Today, the Irish pub and restaurant Fiddlesticks occupies the legendary Uncle Charlie’s Downtown space at 56 Greenwich Avenue. The reason? A drop in customers as Chelsea was gaining popularity as the “new” destination for gay men, along with a 50 percent increase in rent. In 1997, Uncle Charlie’s was forced to close its doors, ending an era in Greenwich Village gay history. Taken over by a new owner, Gary Davenport, Uncle Charlie’s was revamped and remained a popular hotspot throughout the late 1980’s and 90’s. After a hung jury in 1988, and awaiting a re-trial, he sold everything and disappeared to Panama–until he was nabbed. Scandal hit when the bar’s owner was charged with the 1986 stabbing murder of a 37-year-old man who had a relationship with his former 20-year-old lover. Maybe people needed something light during that time of tragedy. Born at the same time as MTV, it was one of the first video bars, and soon earned a reputation as a place where nobody spoke, but just stood and watched, a so-called “S&M” bar, for Stand and Model.ĭuring the AIDS crisis, Uncle Charlie’s Downtown became one of the most popular gay bars of the 1980s with one of the busiest happy hours, packing them in with screenings of Dynasty Wednesdays & Golden Girl Saturdays. Uncle Charlie’s Downtown opened in the early 1980s in Greenwich Village, part of a popular chain of gay bars in New York City. The following is a guest post by Charles Cosentino, who runs the Original Uncle Charlie’s Downtown Facebook page: