Owner Chuck Cicerello opened this bar shortly after closing his previous venture, the Neptune Club. An Advertisement for The Factory first appeared in the April 1973 issue of GPU News.

The Factory is THE Legendary Milwaukee Bar- it is remembered for its large size and high ceilings, innovative decorations and schemes, and was one of the first in the Midwest with a DJ and light show (this was pre-disco!)- and thus was perfectly positioned to be a smash hit when the age of disco came. It opened with 2,400 square feet of public space, and about doubled over time. Its advertising originally read "If you want to make it, make it at The Factory".

During virtually its entire run, the main room of the bar featured a huge island bar with service on all four sides. At various stages of decoration, some of the legendary designs of the Factory included:

• Tables along the sides with phones to call any other table
• A canopy over the entire island bar
• A large devil's head extending over the dance floor and containing the DJ booth, nostrils snorting smoke
• Raised dance floor made of transparent plastic, lighted from below with flashing colored lights

During a time in the mid-late 1970's, the Factory was also known as The Inferno; this was the time when a large devil's head was suspended over the dance floor. (A January 1976 ad in GPU News calls the bar "Devilishly Devine". And the August 1976 issue of the local "GLIB Guide" describes the business as follows: "Boogie down with the snorting dragon and nightly gang. Weekends offer second dance floor.")

The Factory is also remembered as generous in specials and giveaways. For example, at New Years Eve parties, there were frequently handouts to each patron (such as the plastic hats given away for New Years 1981 and 1982, shown here.)

During a good part of its run, the Factory also included a side or back room used as a beer bar and game room. An attached annex, connecting through the beer bar, was used for additional dancing and quieter visiting during busy hours, and was also used to host meetings and had a stage for performances. This was an excellent venue for drag shows as well as musical performances. (See sketch of layout.) The annex was also temporarily called "The Loading Dock".

For a time, Chuck opened upstairs in the same building a men's health club/ spa (aka bath house), the Broadway Health Club, which was raided on numerous occasions by the then notoriously homophobic Milwaukee Police.

There was a tragedy in this bar when, in December 1980, a patron returned with a pistol after an arguement, and after ordering all patrons and employees to the floor, then shot and killed the doorman/bouncer, Dennis Wesela. Coincidentally, a previous doorman/ bouncer had been found murdered elsewhere in the city about a year earlier.

This bar was followed by two other Factory bars opened by Chuck: the Factory II in 1982 at 130 E. Juneau; and the Factory 3 opened on North Broadway north of the expressway. While both popular in their day, neither matched the long-term appeal of, and no bar in Milwaukee has ever come close to the legendary status of, the original "The Factory".

The Factory bar was the inspiration for a disco in chapter 10 of a running story, The Beef Matson Mysteries written some years later by R. Chris, a prominent national artist who grew up and came out in Milwaukee.

Early ad- May 1973
(GPU News, May-June 1973 issue)

Recollections: The following are recollections of others who have been kind enough to submit their personal memories to the webmaster. You are welcome to do the same!