IV-A-Go-Go

Bar Dance | Cruising | Teen Nights | Organized Crime | Live Music

151 N. Jackson St.
Milwaukee, WI 53203

State Region

Southeast WI

Neighborhood

Historic Third Ward

Year Opened: 1884
Year Closed: 1949

Exact Date Opened: Friday, July 16, 1965
Exact Date Closed: Sunday, November 26, 1972

Clientele Primarily Identified As

Mixed

Logo:

The I.V. A Go Go, a well-known 1960s go-go bar located in the Italian Village supper club, was a popular hookup spot for the Baby Boomer generation. Managed by Jimmy Zingale, IV defied liquor laws by allowing teenagers into a "dry" bar space. It was famous for exotic go-go dancers, live music, DJs, and marijuana. Zingale cleverly created a space for underage, closeted gay men to dance in an era when it was still illegal. Despite frequent police raids, drug busts, and obvious ties to the Balistrieri crime family, the IV continued until a November 1972 destroyed half the bar.