Grady's New Sign

In 1902, Billy “Irish” Grady mounted a new sign over the door to his Cabinet saloon on Main Street. The sign extended from the doorway to the curb. And it glowed with incandescent bulbs that flashed CABINET all night long.

Grady's Cabinet near the corner of N. Main and Otter.

Grady’s friends were impressed. His enemies were repulsed. Grady was a lightning rod for the anti-saloon crowd in Oshkosh. They said the Cabinet was a hub for gambling and prostitution. Grady reveled in their indignation. He seemed to enjoy living up to his infamous reputation. The lurid sign only added to the Cabinet’s notoriety. What was The Cabinet saloon is now 206 N. Main Street. 

206 N. Main Street.

When Grady was there, this place was three doors up from the northeast corner of Otter and Main. But that corner has been reshaped. The property that was on the corner was shaved away and made part of Otter Avenue. Now Grady’s old place occupies what has become the corner lot.