The Flower Lounge

The Flower Lounge is a historic site in Milwaukee's Riverwest Neighborhood. It is located on the 2800 block of North Booth Street. The Lounge is a single room constructed in the attic of the house standing at 2831 N. Booth St. The "Milwaukee Sentinel" in its 1972 metro expose declared the lounge a "Diamond in the Rough", and the December 1981 issue of Midwestern Digest Monthly gushed "The Flower Lounge is a jewel of the midwest, a must see attraction."

History

The house was constructed around 1911. The Flower Lounge was not constructed until the Prohibition act was written in 1920.

During the years of civil unrest and protest in the 1950's through 1970's the Lounge served as a meeting point for activists and organizers. During the summer of 1967, hippies and beatniks held a summer long sit-in inside the attic known as "Loungin' for Peace" during which several youth were treated for heat stoke and dehydration. In 1969, while Woodstock raged on, the Flower Lounge became known as the Wisconsin Woodstock. During this week of attic concerts, Jimi Hendrix made an uninvited appearance just days after his famous Woodstock appearance. As a result of this, throngs of teens swarmed the attic, exceeding fire code. Some remnants of the Wisconsin Woodstock remain in the attic, mud can be found on the base of the chimney, from the massive amounts of mud which were installed specially for the festival. Some say many of the flowers present in the lounge were added during the summers of '69 and '70. In 1971

Television Appearances

* "NOVA"
* "Laverne and Shirley"
* "X-Files"
* "National Geographic Explorer"
* "Happy Days"
* "That 70's Show"
* "Jeopardy"
* "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?"
* "COPS"

Critical Acclaim

* "Christian Science Monitor"
* "Rolling Stone"
* "The London Chronicle"
* "Milwaukee Journal"
* "Milwaukee Sentinel"
* "Midwest Digest Monthly"
* "UWM Post"
* "Wisconsin Weekly Reader"

References