The Blue Label Sample Room

Here we have Oshkosh's Blue Label Sample Room in a photo taken sometime between 1902 and 1905. We're looking at the west side of North Main in what is now the 100 block.

The proprietor, Leonard Michels, is the man on the left. He was born in Fond du Lac County in 1875, the son of German immigrants. Michels' saloon was tied to the Oshkosh Brewing Company. Signs for the brewery's beer fill the entranceway.

Michels died in Oshkosh in 1959. His saloon, and all the other older buildings along this stretch, was demolished in the early 1970s.

The 100 block of the west side of N. Main today.