CRUISING for SEX - The Battle for Juneau Park

Earlier today I saw a story in Urban Milwaukee from Apr 14 about the history of gay cruising in Milwaukee's Juneau Park. The last CFS Reviews were positive with action, but a they were a few years back in 2014 and 2007.

About the park, "It holds the historic distinction of being the only civic space ever defended against homosexuals by a public official. 'The park is hot!'"

Quote:

If not for the cruising arrests – widely publicized and certain to include their full names and addresses — we might never know that these meeting spaces existed. Milwaukee has exorcised many historic hotspots: the former "Fruit Loops" in Cathedral Square, the Third Ward, and Walker’s Point; downtown department stores; SRO hotels; university restrooms; and adult bookstores have all been either erased or cleansed of their former reputation.

This is why I, as the CFS Editor, think it's important to preserve a record of our cruising places here in the Sex Listings. In the future, I hope to make "deleted" places accessible in an archive while excluding them from searches for active places.

Back to the subject, by the early 1960s this park had an extended crackdown, The Battle for Juneau Park, in which at least one gay man was killed, dying of injuries in an arrest with excessive force.

Quote:

Judge Christ T. Seraphim called for a public “war on perversion” and pledged to “make the park safe for children.” Up to 24 undercover detectives patrolled the tiny park nightly, and their tactics often involved entrapment, coercion and violence. The park became a battleground with real life casualties.

One of those casualties was Elroy Schulz, brewery worker, who was arrested in Juneau Park after supposedly grabbing a vice officer and making an “immoral proposition.” A divorcee and ex-convict with sodomy charges on his record, Elroy had the misfortune of meeting the police department’s boxing champion.

Vice squad detectives claimed that Elroy resisted arrest. In the process of being “arrested,” Elroy suffered shattered dentures, diabetic shock, abdominal bleeding and a brain hemorrhage – although the officer claimed to hit him only once. He died before sunrise, less than five hours after his discharge. His killers were, remarkably, cleared of all charges of excessive force.

“The officer acted justifiably and excusably in the due process of the law and could not be held criminally responsible,” read the inquest. “No charges will be filed.” There were no protests, riots, or civil lawsuits for Elroy Schulz.

“People can’t understand a problem they don’t see. We see them – these men are predatory. They hang around theaters, stores and public restrooms. They are a threat to public decency,” said a veteran police officer.

The article also has a good overview of The Origins of Cruising Culture. As for Juneau Park,

Quote:

Under civic pressure to reduce excessive police costs, Judge Seraphim eventually abandoned his warfare. The LGBTQ community ultimately reclaimed Juneau Park, which hosted the city’s first “Gay In” in 1973 and PrideFest from 1991 to 1994. Many gentlemen of a certain age met their long-time partners and husbands in Juneau Park – even if few will openly admit that.

The park continued to thrive as a hookup hotspot well into the 1990s, despite endless cycles of police and media attention. Nothing could stop the night market: not locking the restrooms, not removing the hillside foliage, not even bicycle cops patrolling the paths. When cruising culture moved online, and later to apps, all twilight traffic vanished from the park.

This seems typical of many urban cruising grounds. From our Reviews, I'd say not quite all cruising vanished from Juneau Park. I'm will post a slightly different version of this on the Sex Listings page for the place to ask what's happening these days, if anything.

This and much more from Michael Takach, who wrote the article, including many photos, appear in LGBT Milwaukee on Google Books.

~ Bob S., Manager Editor