Photo Credit: Adam Levin
When you set your eyes on the Sen-Sen breath mint ghost sign on the north wall of the Broadway Theatre Center, at 158 N. Broadway in the Third Ward, it looks legit but it’s not. Invented by Thomas Dunn and allocated by the company bearing his name, Sen Sens were originally marketed as a breath perfume in the late 19th century and invented by the T. B. Dunn Company. It was then produced by F&F Foods until the products discontinuation in July 2013.
Sen-Sen had a strong resemblance to Vigroids, a liquorice sweet made by Ernest Jackson & Company Ltd. Ironically, for many years, they were sold as a cosmetic. It helped people hide cigarette breath. What is even more interesting, is the company still uses some of the original equipment in the manufacturing process. Today, Sen-Sen breath mints can only be found online.
As for the ghost sign, most people would assume there must have been a pharmacy or five-and-dime located here at one time. However, that’s not the case. This is a fake ghost sign. The Sen-Sen sign was painted as part of a backdrop on the set of the 1969 film Gaily, Gaily, a comedy set in 1910 Chicago starring Beau Bridges, Margot Kidder, Brian Keith, George Kennedy, Melina Mercouri, Hume Cronyn & John Randolph. I find it fascinating the building was allowed to become permanently altered by applying the lead-based paint, which can be very costly and labor intensive to re-create.
Image via YouTube
The Third Ward, where modern skyscrapers were less prevalent, looked more like turn of the century Chicago than did Chicago. As a result, the film was shot here in Milwaukee. Never were there more Hollywood stars in Milwaukee at one time than for the filming of Gaily, Gaily. While filming during June and July of 1968, the city anticipated that so many Milwaukeeans would come down to watch the filming, they set up bleachers along the West side of Broadway
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As for reception by critics, unfortunately Pauline Kael of The New Yorker wrote, "…..The director, Norman Jewison, tries hard, but he just doesn't have the feeling for Hecht’s Chicago; he uses huge mobs and big locations, but the whole movie seems to be on a musical-comedy stage." Regardless, Hollywood came to Milwaukee and enhanced our history even if via faux art.
Adam Levin is administrator of the Old Milwaukee Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmilwaukee/ ,and author of Fading Ads of Milwaukee.
