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

 
Tic-Toc Club
Location: 634 N. 5th Street, Milwaukee WI

Opened:
Closed:

1940
1955
Clientele:

Male
Bar/ social

 

 
       
 

Little is known about the "TicToc Club". On March 30, 2021, Takach wrote the following summary of what he discovered of the business in a Facebook post:

    Sixty-six years ago today: the TicToc Club (634 N. 5th St.) is sold at auction for $14,000 when owner Al Tusa surrenders the property to the IRS. The TicToc, one of the city's first air-conditioned spaces, and one of the nation's top dinner theaters for over a decade, was also famous for igniting Milwaukee's midcentury drag craze.

    Facing a vicious divorce, 30 years of tax liens, pending assault charges, and the forced liquidation of his assets, the big-talking, high-rolling, heavy-spending Tusa moved out-- and Fazio's on Fifth moved in. Later, the space was occupied by Eddie Carroll's Casino Steakhouse (later, the Casino Cabaret) and Starship Nightclub, before the entire block was demolished in 1985.

    Tusa moved on to the Pink Pony (1834 W. North Ave.,) a high-end, ambient cocktail lounge that was really the At Random of its day. "If you’re one of those fellows who fancy Pink Squirrels, we hear they make them up nice at the Pink Pony," reads a nightlife column. "You’ll find it on the shady side of the street." This is definitely gay code-- as LGBTQ pioneers Josie Carter and Jamie Gays mentioned the Pink Pony frequently in interviews.

    The Pink Pony somehow remained open well into the 1970s. Today, it's a fenced-off surface lot, as the building was destroyed in 1976's arson spree.

More information about this business is welcomed from anyone who can contribute it.

 


Photo, 1954


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Credits: web site concept, contents, design and arrangement by Don Schwamb.
Major information contributed by Michail Takach.
Last updated: August-2023.

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