River Boat Lounge
The River Boat Lounge
It's hard to imagine that Commerce Street and the surrounding area on the Lower East Side wasn’t always as glamorous as it is today. It was once just a convenient way of getting Downtown from the East Side. Known at one time as Commerce Avenue, it was originally an industrial area of tanneries, factories and the Milwaukee Road’s Beer Line. By the 1980s, there were no other businesses operating in the area. A prison was proposed for one of the nearby vacant buildings because the area was so blighted.
Although the area was desolate, there was activity on the east end of Commerce Street at the River Boat Lounge (2178 N. Riverboat Road), built by onetime aldermanic candidate Tom Terris. In the 1970s the building was home to a music club called Dr. Feelgood’s Jazz Riverboat. In those years people launched their boats into Lake Michigan and went up the Milwaukee River as far as the Riverboat/Wheel House. With the North Avenue Dam still in place, it was as far as they could sail.
Dr. Feelgood's Jazz Riverboat menu
In 1982, Walter Chowanec and Tom Melor bought the place and—combining their names—called it Melanec’s Wheel House. Previously, Walter and his brother, Paul, owned the Strawberry Patch restaurant in the Belmont Hotel.
When you walked into Melanec’s Wheel House, you were welcomed by a huge stained-glass window called “The Fairy Queen,” created by Maria Herndl (1860-1912). The stained glass originally hung at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and was later gifted to Chicago’s Historical Museum, which loaned the work to the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows at Navy Pier.
At some point in the 1990s the restaurant’s name was changed to Melanec’s Wheelhouse Mystery Dinner Theater. It became popular for work and family parties. Audience members could participate and become actors and be part of the play for the night. The food was great, including fish fries, and the mystery was suspenseful. After dinner, you could walk a short distance and close Wolski's. “The Bowling Game” on Channel 18 featured a dinner at Melanec's Wheelhouse as a prize.
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In 2005 the restaurant shuttered its doors and the building sat empty until it was razed in 2010. The building and parking lot on the 2.8-acre property was removed as part of a plan to restore a more natural landscape with native trees and shrubs. After sitting vacant on the lot for years, it only took two-three days to demolish. Ninety-five percent of the building materials were recycled.
The site was regraded and seeded. Not a trace of the building exists today. Commerce Street and the area around the former restaurant has become one of the fastest growing parts of Milwaukee.
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Photo: Andy Kaiser
Melanec's Wheelhouse 2005
Melanec's Wheelhouse 2005
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Photo: Andy Kaiser
Melanec's Wheelhouse 2005
Melanec's Wheelhouse 2005
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Melanec's Wheelhouse ad
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Image: Google Maps
Commerce St. and Milwaukee River Satellite view
Commerce St. and Milwaukee River Satellite view
