People Drinking Beer at Saloons in Oshkosh – Pre-Prohibition Edition

In the year 1900, Oshkosh’s population was 28,294. Those Oshkoshers were kept lubricated by 123 saloons. That’s one watering hole for every 230 souls. Sounds like a lot of saloons for a city that size. It wasn’t. The ratio was right on par with that of other Wisconsin cities (more about that at the bottom of the post).

But numbers add up to nothing without a visceral sense of what they represent. And that's the point of today's post. Here we have a few photos that give a glimpse into our city’s early and infamous saloon culture. The photos you see here can be enlarged by clicking on them.

I want to start with my favorite picture of this bunch. This was taken in the early 1900s at a saloon built and owned by the Oshkosh Brewing Company. It was operated by “Happy” John Wawrzinski. You’ll see him at the extreme right wearing a white apron.

Notice the dark beer and the spittoons. We’ll see plenty of each on this tour. Happy John’s was located at what is now the southwest corner of Oshkosh Ave. and N. Sawyer St. (think kitty corner from Repp’s). Unfortunately, the building no longer stands.

Next we head downtown. This shows the interior of Tom Ryan’s Clipper Club. This was a “sporting man’s” joint. Check out the pictures of race horses on the walls.

That picture may seem familiar. They have a copy of it hanging on the wall in Oblio’s. Tom Ryan’s place was just a couple blocks south of what is now Oblio’s. Ryan's was located on the east side of Main St. between Waugoo and Washington. If you want to dig deeper, there’s more on Ryan and his saloon here.

Next we’re off to the heart of the old Bloody Sixth Ward. We’re going to the northeast corner of Knapp and W. 6th streets. This is another saloon tied to the Oshkosh Brewing Company. We’re looking into the saloon operated by Joseph Koeck, seen behind the bar. This photo was taken about 1910.

Notice at the right edge of the picture you can see the horn of a gramophone. I’d love to hear what was coming out of that. Happily, Koeck’s old place still stands. It's now The Uptown. And you can still get a beer there.

We now stumble into the realm of the unknown. Maybe someone can enlighten me on this one. Believe me, I’d appreciate the help. I’m guessing this place may have been the saloon operated by Eber Simpson and Joseph Koplitz on N. Main St. Their bar was located on the east side of the street two doors north of the corner of Main and Otter.

Quit drooling over all that dark, foamy beer for a moment. Take a look at the man behind the bar. Here’s a better view of him.

Do you think he resembles the Joseph Koplitz shown in this ad from 1908?

I see a similarity, but I can't confirm he's our man. I'll see if I can turn up more.

I know where this next place is. We’re in the middle of the Highholder community. This is an undated photo of Joseph J. Nigl’s Gemütlichkeit Saloon. It stood at the northwest corner of 9th and Ohio. The building remains and it's still home to a bar. Today you know it as Ohio Street Station.

I think that's Joseph Nigl in the back row on the left with the mug of dark beer held high. There’s more on the old Nigl stand here.

Another mystery photo. I believe this may have been taken on the east side of town at the corner of Ceape and Rosalia – where Mick & Sue’s Tavern currently stands. The photo appears to have been taken in the early 1890s. The saloon at that corner was operated by Andrew Kuenzl. He was the brother of Lorenz Kuenzl, who owned the Gambrinus Brewery. First the picture, then a few more words about it...

What's not to love? A cop with a stogy... A dude rolling in another barrel of beer... The shield on the corner of the saloon reads “Oshkosh Gambrinus Lager Beer L. Kuenzl.” The man standing in the doorway with the beer raised to his mouth looks very much like Lorenz Kuenzl of the Gambrinus Brewery. I suspect it’s him. This is the only picture I have from the pre-prohibition era showing women with beer in their hands. Look to the right side. The woman in the white frock has three beers, two on a tray, one in her hand. The woman next to her in the dark dress has a foam-topped dark beer in her left hand. Wonderful!

On more. This is a picture you may have already seen if you ever been to Jeff’s on Rugby. That’s because this is now the home of Jeff’s on Rugby. It was Josef Fenzl’s saloon back when this picture was taken in the early 1890s.

That’s a delivery team for Horn and Schwalm’s Brooklyn Brewery coming into the picture. As usual, there’s dark beer galore.

Not to end on a down note, but I think it’s worth mentioning that every lively, happy, beer-drinking person in these photo’s is now dead. When their time came, I’ll bet the moments captured here were not regretted. This is the stuff that makes life worth living.

Finally, I mentioned earlier that Oshkosh was pretty much in-line with other Wisconsin cities when it came to saloons. Here’s proof of that. This is a chart from 1900 showing per-capita saloon ratios for Wisconsin cities with populations of 5,000 or more. And the winner is…. Manitowoc!

The Municipality, Published by League of Wisconsin Municipalities, 1901.

If you like this stuff, a couple more Oshkosh saloons photos from the era can be seen here. And the post-Prohibition companion to this post is available here. Prost!