Entertainment in the Downtown Area

From Old City Hall, walk east down Main Street towards the corner of Main and Columbus Street.

The buildings you pass were constructed by Alfred Johnson (108/110 E. Main) in 1896 and George Maloney (114/116 E. Main) in 1904.^[1] The buildings were operating as saloons by 1899 and 1905, respectively, two of the 9 operating in the town by 1906.^[2] When Madison voted in July 1917 to become a “dry” town, prior to nationwide prohibition in 1920, the “Sun Prairie Special” train service was heavily used by Madisonians seeking traditional tavern services. One tavern owner boasted of taking in "$4 per minute" before the the train returned back to Madison. As one might expect, there were some behavior issues on the return train that were the subject of a petition to the Wisconsin railroad commission by the local Women's Club in 1918.^[3]

Stop at the end of the block.

The parking lot area of this property originally held a two-story building constructed in 1893. The structure across the parking lot was added in 1914 and by 1917 housed a four-lane bowling alley, pool hall, snack bar and barber shop.

Scroll down for more detail on these buildings.

104 E. Main​

Historic Name: C.L. Long Block Building​

Constructed: 1899​

2023 Business: Board & Brush Creative Studio

Construction of Charles Levant Long’s grocery store building began in 1897, replacing his earlier store on the same site. Following Long’s ownership, the space continued as a grocery store under various proprietors including Schey’s Grocery (1919),^[4] Mautz’s Food Shop (1933), and Blaschka’s Grocery (1945).^[5] In the early 1950s, Rodney and Isabelle Fehrman opened the Knotty Pine Restaurant, which operated in this location for over 30 years.^[6]

108-110 E. Main, 112 E. Main, 114-116 E. Main​

Historic Names: A. Johnson Building, F.J. Oehrlein Building, George Maloney Investment Building​

Constructed: 1896, 1927, 1904​

2023 Businesses: Wagner’s Bar, Pitstop Pub

Alfred Johnson constructed 108-110 E. Main in 1896 as a furniture store, while George Maloney built 114-116 E. Main as an investment in 1904.^[5] The buildings were operating as saloons by 1899 and 1905, respectively. When Madison voted in July 1917 to become a “dry” town, prior to nationwide prohibition in 1920, the “Sun Prairie Special” train service was heavily used by Madisonians seeking traditional tavern services.^[4] The small infill building at 112 E. Main was built for F.J. Oehrlein in 1927 and housed Barney’s Lunch Diner in the 1960s. Barney's was owned by the same Rodney Fehrman (nicknamed Barney) that operated the Knotty Pine a couple doors down.

120 E. Main​

Constructed: 1914​

2023 Business: This address is not currently in use as a commercial business. Mr. Rudd’s Barber Shop operates in the building with an address of 110 Columbus Street.

The parking lot area of this property originally held a two-story building constructed in 1893. The current structure was added in 1914 and by 1917 housed a four-lane bowling alley, pool hall, snack bar and barber shop. In 1927 the 1893 building was demolished and a service station - the Home Oil Company, managed by Felix Oehrlein, Winfred Rutlin, and Reinhold Klein - was added to the 1914 building. From 1935-1941 Joseph and Carl Conrad operated Conrad Lunch and Alleys. In 1950 the structure was remodeled into​ the Home Appliance Company and by 1959 the business converted to Klein’s Marine and Sporting Goods. From 1981 to 2003 Dean’s Liquor Store occupied the building.

^[1] Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) January 31st, 1896.

^[2] Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) December 7th, 1906.

^[3] Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) December 10th, 1918.

^[4] Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) September 17th, 1919.

^[5] The Capital Times (Madison) November 2nd, 1945.

^[6] Sun Prairie Star-Countryman (Sun Prairie) February 9th, 1951.