Last updated: October 27, 2023
Place
Kegel's Inn
Photograph by Traci E. Schnell, courtesy of the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office
Quick Facts
Location:
5901-5905 W National Ave, West Allis, Wisconsin
Significance:
Architecture
Designation:
Listed in the National Register - Reference number 10000823
MANAGED BY:
Kegel's Inn in West Allis, Wisconsin, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. It is locally significant as an example of Tudor Revival architecture, featuring local craftsmanship on the exterior and a number of murals painted by German-born artist Peter Gries on the interior.
Kegel's Inn was opened in 1925 by Austrian immigrant John T. Kegel as a "soft drink parlor." While business was initially slow, the bar gained popularity as word spread that bootleg beer was being brewed in the property's basement. While both John and his wife, Anna, were arrested at different points during Prohibition for selling liquor, their bootlegging business remained popular through the end of Prohibition. Just two weeks after beer was legalized, John took out a permit to renovate an enlarge Kegel's Inn, hoping to welcome in a deluge of new, legal customers. It became known as "the largest tavern built since the return of beer."
The building was renovated in the Tudor Revival style, featuring leaded and stained-glass, casement windows, and a slate roof. The interior walls are dominated by a number of murals painted by German-born artist Peter Gries, completed between 1933 and 1947. Some of the murals feature fanciful scenes with German phrases about drinking, including one with monkeys featuring the words, “Trink’ dein glas heute’ ohne sorgen” (“drink your glass today without worry”), and one with a black cat with his back arched (a symbol of a hangover) with the words “Denn der kater kamt erst morgen” (“the hangover doesn’t come until the next day”). Other scenes include a hunting party, dancers, and musical instruments.
Today, Kegel's Inn continues to be operated by a fourth generation of Kegel family, and still serves beer and German food.
Kegel's Inn was opened in 1925 by Austrian immigrant John T. Kegel as a "soft drink parlor." While business was initially slow, the bar gained popularity as word spread that bootleg beer was being brewed in the property's basement. While both John and his wife, Anna, were arrested at different points during Prohibition for selling liquor, their bootlegging business remained popular through the end of Prohibition. Just two weeks after beer was legalized, John took out a permit to renovate an enlarge Kegel's Inn, hoping to welcome in a deluge of new, legal customers. It became known as "the largest tavern built since the return of beer."
The building was renovated in the Tudor Revival style, featuring leaded and stained-glass, casement windows, and a slate roof. The interior walls are dominated by a number of murals painted by German-born artist Peter Gries, completed between 1933 and 1947. Some of the murals feature fanciful scenes with German phrases about drinking, including one with monkeys featuring the words, “Trink’ dein glas heute’ ohne sorgen” (“drink your glass today without worry”), and one with a black cat with his back arched (a symbol of a hangover) with the words “Denn der kater kamt erst morgen” (“the hangover doesn’t come until the next day”). Other scenes include a hunting party, dancers, and musical instruments.
Today, Kegel's Inn continues to be operated by a fourth generation of Kegel family, and still serves beer and German food.