Ricardo Gonzalez to reopen The Cardinal Bar in September
Nine lives of The Cardinal
Nine lives of The Cardinal
Ricardo Gonzalez first operated The Cardinal Bar in 1974
as a gay dance club.
as a gay dance club.
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 1 of 2
If only the walls could talk in the old gentleman that sits on the corner of Franklin
Street and E. Wilson Street, the Cardinal Bar for the history of modern Madison has walked
through its doors since 1908 when it was built and Madison’s population hovered near
30,000 people. Imagine the stories it could tell of railroad workers, salesmen, lobbyists
and legislators who made The Cardinal Hotel their home away from home and frequented
its bar.
Outside one would hear the train whistle as the train arrived at the main depot that is
now the headquarters for MG&E. That area was the gateway to Madison in those days and
The Cardinal Bar was one of its jewels with its wooden room length bar, tiled floor and
stain glass windows. The Cardinal Bar has lived several lives since 1908, its history
reflecting the history of that part of Madison.
Ricardo Gonzalez has been a part of The Cardinal’s rich and illustrious history,
purchasing the club in 1974 and selling it in 2004, only to become the owner once again
when the people he sold it to defaulted on their land contract style loan and closed the
Part 1 of 2
If only the walls could talk in the old gentleman that sits on the corner of Franklin
Street and E. Wilson Street, the Cardinal Bar for the history of modern Madison has walked
through its doors since 1908 when it was built and Madison’s population hovered near
30,000 people. Imagine the stories it could tell of railroad workers, salesmen, lobbyists
and legislators who made The Cardinal Hotel their home away from home and frequented
its bar.
Outside one would hear the train whistle as the train arrived at the main depot that is
now the headquarters for MG&E. That area was the gateway to Madison in those days and
The Cardinal Bar was one of its jewels with its wooden room length bar, tiled floor and
stain glass windows. The Cardinal Bar has lived several lives since 1908, its history
reflecting the history of that part of Madison.
Ricardo Gonzalez has been a part of The Cardinal’s rich and illustrious history,
purchasing the club in 1974 and selling it in 2004, only to become the owner once again
when the people he sold it to defaulted on their land contract style loan and closed the
doors earlier this month. Gonzales is planning to reopen The Cardinal one more time in September. The Cardinal has plenty of history, character and
staying power, that’s for sure.
As we sit in the darkened bar in the late morning, its interior eerily quiet as the occasional passerby peeks through the front windows, Gonzalez
talked about its illustrious history, something he has obviously researched — and lived. “It had a good run from 1908 to 1920 when Prohibition went
into effect,” Gonzalez said about the bar that shared to first floor of the hotel with a restaurant and the hotel lobby. “They shut down the tavern, but they
didn’t move anything. They left it empty. They continued with the restaurant. They kept the bar closed until Prohibition was abolished in 1933. When the
bar reopened, it was a whole different thing because by then, you had the Great Depression in full force. And although train travel was still in vogue,
the area began to decay.”
What was spurring the decay was that competition was springing up around the Capitol Square, hotels like The Lorraine and The Belmont, which
used to stand where the state office buildings GEF II and GEF II now stand at King and Webster Streets. The action was moving closer to the Capitol,
which was completed in 1917. “These smaller hotels like The Wilson, The Cardinal and The Washington on the other side of the square began to
decay,” Gonzalez said. “The decay accelerated after World War II when road travel took over and trains began to disappear.”
The E. Wilson Street corridor kept sliding until it became Madison’s skid row. “A lot of sleazy bars developed here,” Gonzalez said. “For about 20
years, people didn’t come down here. It was down and out folks who hung around. The old Millard’s Bar — which became O’Kay’s Corral — was an
18-year-old beer bar. It had a good run in the 1960s. Then with the lowering of the drinking age to 18 years old, the beer bars went out of business.
Then Millard’s underwent its own decay process. The Cardinal was not remodeled — thank God. They didn’t rip out the wainscoting or cover the tile
floor. They pretty much left it as it was.”
The Cardinal Hotel continued to decline — its restaurant folded in 1951 — until it closed its doors for good in 1973. A developer had plans for the
old hotel building, but wasn’t interested in operating a bar. He placed a want ad in the paper, which caught Gonzalez’s eye.
Next Issue: The Cardinal Bar: 1974-2009
staying power, that’s for sure.
As we sit in the darkened bar in the late morning, its interior eerily quiet as the occasional passerby peeks through the front windows, Gonzalez
talked about its illustrious history, something he has obviously researched — and lived. “It had a good run from 1908 to 1920 when Prohibition went
into effect,” Gonzalez said about the bar that shared to first floor of the hotel with a restaurant and the hotel lobby. “They shut down the tavern, but they
didn’t move anything. They left it empty. They continued with the restaurant. They kept the bar closed until Prohibition was abolished in 1933. When the
bar reopened, it was a whole different thing because by then, you had the Great Depression in full force. And although train travel was still in vogue,
the area began to decay.”
What was spurring the decay was that competition was springing up around the Capitol Square, hotels like The Lorraine and The Belmont, which
used to stand where the state office buildings GEF II and GEF II now stand at King and Webster Streets. The action was moving closer to the Capitol,
which was completed in 1917. “These smaller hotels like The Wilson, The Cardinal and The Washington on the other side of the square began to
decay,” Gonzalez said. “The decay accelerated after World War II when road travel took over and trains began to disappear.”
The E. Wilson Street corridor kept sliding until it became Madison’s skid row. “A lot of sleazy bars developed here,” Gonzalez said. “For about 20
years, people didn’t come down here. It was down and out folks who hung around. The old Millard’s Bar — which became O’Kay’s Corral — was an
18-year-old beer bar. It had a good run in the 1960s. Then with the lowering of the drinking age to 18 years old, the beer bars went out of business.
Then Millard’s underwent its own decay process. The Cardinal was not remodeled — thank God. They didn’t rip out the wainscoting or cover the tile
floor. They pretty much left it as it was.”
The Cardinal Hotel continued to decline — its restaurant folded in 1951 — until it closed its doors for good in 1973. A developer had plans for the
old hotel building, but wasn’t interested in operating a bar. He placed a want ad in the paper, which caught Gonzalez’s eye.
Next Issue: The Cardinal Bar: 1974-2009
