Cultural treasures, like the Pabst Theater (7 above) and the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts (3 above) thrive in a neighborhood once known for an abundance of brothels, saloons, cheap hotels, gambling dens and dance halls.
During the late 1800s, the center of Milwaukee's red-light district was one block west of Water Street on River Street, now called Edison Street. The district's other boundaries were Wells Street, Juneau Avenue and Market Street, placing Milwaukee's seediest enterprises squarely in the shadow of City Hall (6 above).
Vice flourished and convention business boomed under the flamboyant and notoriously corrupt Mayor David Rose, first elected in 1898. "All the Time Rosy," as he was known, refused to enforce anti-prostitution laws and supported gambling houses and all-night saloons, so long as their business didn't spill out of the River Street District.
Rose survived a decade in the mayor's office, even after 83 cronies were indicted. Milwaukeeans finally got fed up, electing the first majority Socialist government in a major American city in 1910. Soon after, Milwaukeeans sent the nation's first Socialist congressional representative to Washington. By 1912, the River Street District was effectively shut down.
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