Diplomat Musical Lounge

Built in 1916 by Gustav Frey,  701 W. Juneau Ave. spent its earliest years as one of the last Pabst Brewing Company tied saloons.  After Prohibition and the tied-house ban, the tavern began a 50-year journey through almost endless name and format changes.

During the 1940s, the bar was a popular live music venue called "Thelma's Back Door."

On August 16, 1958,  Milwaukee Journal columnist Jim Koconis noted in "Nightlife Chatter" that new owners Ed and Karen Gray had redecorated the old bar in flamboyant colors - purple, orange, white and green -- making a bold -- even loud -- fashion statement. Former customers described the Diplomat Musical Lounge as "peak midcentury kitsch."

Opening a high end cocktail lounge in this neighborhood was a gamble for 1958. At the time, West Juneau Avenue was a tired, rundown and slightly rough stretch of taverns, stretching all the way from Water Street to the Pabst Brewery.  In turn, the Milwaukee County Expressway Commission targeted  many nearby properties -- even those outside the freeway's path -- for "blight removal." 

Thanks to aggressive advertising, the bar was an immediate, tremendous success. Unfortunately, it lost its license within two months.  Why?

Police testified that Ed Gray was a resident of Detroit, not Milwaukee, and was allowing "unlicensed persons" to operate the bar. The real story was that the Diplomat welcomed homosexual customers in large numbers -- and police suspected the local operators were "aunties" hired to bring in gay business. (At a time when word of mouth was the only "gay guide," someone sure got the word out to the gay community that a new bar was opening.)

The bar reopened as the Aristocat Musical Lounge in February 1959. However, police soon discovered the new licenseholder was Adam Lisheron, brother of Ed Gray's lawyer, Frank Lisheron. The license was revoked again in January 1960, as the committee "feared a subterfuge operation." On March 1, 1960, the Common Council finally ordered Adam Lisheron to sell the business or lose his liquor license.

The Diplomat / Aristocrat was cited several times for serving diluted liquor-- something commonly done at gay bars of this era, because gay clients were unlikely to complain. When inspectors found three diluted bottles of whiskey during a January 1960 visit, bartender Frank Lisheron was charged $150 for "mixing drinks in the bottle."

The location reopened in July 1960 as Mr. Kelly's, featuring brass jazz bands for several years. It was later known as Gallery Lounge (1961) and Rickey's Yum Yum (1963) with long periods of vacancy in-between and afterwards.

While brief, the Diplomat/Aristocrat era was a very significant one. The Pink Glove was during this same timeframe and usually gets all the credit for being the first "deliberate gay bar," i.e., a bar that specifically marketed to gay clientele.  By all accounts, something similar was going on with the Diplomat as well. 

Note: MATC students may remember 701 W. Juneau as the "Z-Building" (1976-1996.)