The Gobbler
Encyclopedia
The Gobbler was a unique motel
, supper club
, and roadside attraction
at the intersection of Wisconsin Highway 26 and I-94 (Exit 267) in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin, United States
. It was situated halfway between Milwaukee, Wisconsin
and Madison, Wisconsin
. The Gobbler was a popular roadside attraction. Dozens of websites have been erected as a memorial to The Gobbler, and to tell the tales of visits to the site. The former supper club was located at 43°5′4"N 88°46′15"W and the motel was located to the east atop a hill at 43°5′6"N 88°45′56"W.
architect Helmut Ajango for local turkey
farmer Clarence Hartwig and opened in 1967, the Gobbler Supper Club (later renamed the Round Stone Restaurant) was styled to resemble a turkey's head when viewed from overhead. The menu featured turkey, prime rib and steak. A rotating circular bar that completed one revolution every 80 minutes was a signature centerpiece of the building. After the original owner died in 1979, the building passed through several incarnations, including a roadside diner
; the last tenant went out of business in mid-2002.
Hartwig's poultry plant was located just south of the supper club and closed in 1971 after Hartwig announced that it was too costly to upgrade the plant to meet new USDA standards. At the time, the plant was the largest employer in Johnson Creek, employing up to 300 workers and processing 30 million pounds of poultry a year. Hartwig's other ventures, the Gobbler supper club, the Cackle Shack restaurant and Gobbler motel remained open.
In 1974, the State Equal Rights Division ruled that the restaurant violated the rights of two women by firing them for refusing to wear uniforms that were different from the uniform of male employees. Male waiters and bartenders wore tuxedos, while female waitresses were required to wear "black briefs, fishnet stockings and V-necked hunting jackets." The Capital Times reported it to be the first ruling to find "sex discrimination on the basis of uniforms."
In June 2008, the Frank Lloyd Wright
Wisconsin Tourism Program hosted "The Gobbler Gala" at the restaurant. The dinner featured talks by Gobbler architect Ajango and Wright historian Sidney Robinson.
The owners held an auction of the property and separate items, including the petrified wood exterior, in December 2009, hoping to recoup some of their costs.
Across the street from the supper club, The Gobbler Motel had an adventurous, futuristic Googie architecture
design that featured rooms with symbol-shaped waterbeds (such as a heart-shape), 8-track players, and differently colored shag carpet (which extended up the walls) in each themed room. After multiple changes in ownership (including a renaming to the King Arthur Inn Motel) and years of unrepaired wear, the motel was abandoned in 2001. Shortly thereafter, the Johnson Creek Fire Department burned the motel to the ground as a "practice fire" for their firefighters; however, the concrete slab on which the motel was built still remains.
and Lac du Flambeau Chippewa tribes in the 1990s to purchase the land for a multimillion-dollar casino
, hotel and convention center. The land was still for sale in 2007, the motel property for $6.2 million and the restaurant property for $2.3 million.
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
, supper club
Supper club
A supper club, in general, refers to a dining establishment that also functions as a social club. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselves as having a high-class image, even if the price is affordable to...
, and roadside attraction
Roadside attraction
A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road, that is frequently advertised with billboards to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere else, rather than being a final or primary destination in and of themselves. The modern...
at the intersection of Wisconsin Highway 26 and I-94 (Exit 267) in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was situated halfway between Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
and Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. The Gobbler was a popular roadside attraction. Dozens of websites have been erected as a memorial to The Gobbler, and to tell the tales of visits to the site. The former supper club was located at 43°5′4"N 88°46′15"W and the motel was located to the east atop a hill at 43°5′6"N 88°45′56"W.
Supper club
Designed in the late 1960s by Fort Atkinson, WisconsinFort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Fort Atkinson is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the Rock River, a few miles upstream from Lake Koshkonong. In 1996, Money Magazine named Fort Atkinson "One of America's Hottest Little Boomtowns." The population was 11,621 at the 2000 census.- History :Fort...
architect Helmut Ajango for local turkey
Domesticated turkey
The domesticated turkey is a large poultry bird. The modern domesticated form descends from the wild turkey , one of the two species of turkey ; in the past the ocellated turkey was also domesticated.The turkey is raised throughout temperate parts of the world and is a popular form of poultry,...
farmer Clarence Hartwig and opened in 1967, the Gobbler Supper Club (later renamed the Round Stone Restaurant) was styled to resemble a turkey's head when viewed from overhead. The menu featured turkey, prime rib and steak. A rotating circular bar that completed one revolution every 80 minutes was a signature centerpiece of the building. After the original owner died in 1979, the building passed through several incarnations, including a roadside diner
Diner
A diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
; the last tenant went out of business in mid-2002.
Hartwig's poultry plant was located just south of the supper club and closed in 1971 after Hartwig announced that it was too costly to upgrade the plant to meet new USDA standards. At the time, the plant was the largest employer in Johnson Creek, employing up to 300 workers and processing 30 million pounds of poultry a year. Hartwig's other ventures, the Gobbler supper club, the Cackle Shack restaurant and Gobbler motel remained open.
In 1974, the State Equal Rights Division ruled that the restaurant violated the rights of two women by firing them for refusing to wear uniforms that were different from the uniform of male employees. Male waiters and bartenders wore tuxedos, while female waitresses were required to wear "black briefs, fishnet stockings and V-necked hunting jackets." The Capital Times reported it to be the first ruling to find "sex discrimination on the basis of uniforms."
In June 2008, the Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
Wisconsin Tourism Program hosted "The Gobbler Gala" at the restaurant. The dinner featured talks by Gobbler architect Ajango and Wright historian Sidney Robinson.
The owners held an auction of the property and separate items, including the petrified wood exterior, in December 2009, hoping to recoup some of their costs.
Motel
Googie architecture
Googie architecture is a form of modern architecture, a subdivision of futurist architecture influenced by car culture and the Space and Atomic Ages....
design that featured rooms with symbol-shaped waterbeds (such as a heart-shape), 8-track players, and differently colored shag carpet (which extended up the walls) in each themed room. After multiple changes in ownership (including a renaming to the King Arthur Inn Motel) and years of unrepaired wear, the motel was abandoned in 2001. Shortly thereafter, the Johnson Creek Fire Department burned the motel to the ground as a "practice fire" for their firefighters; however, the concrete slab on which the motel was built still remains.
Casino efforts
There were attempts by the Menominee, PotawatomiPotawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
and Lac du Flambeau Chippewa tribes in the 1990s to purchase the land for a multimillion-dollar casino
Native American gambling enterprises
Native American gaming enterprises are gaming businesses operated on Indian reservations or tribal land in the United States. Indian tribes have limited sovereignty over these businesses and therefore are granted the ability to establish gambling enterprises outside of direct state...
, hotel and convention center. The land was still for sale in 2007, the motel property for $6.2 million and the restaurant property for $2.3 million.
External links
- Helmut Jango Architect’s website
- A detailed description of the property (with photos)
- Bredahl, Brenda K. Supper Club State: A Brief Cultural History of the Wisconsin Institution "Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine", Summer 2009. Interview with Gobbler supper club's most recent owners.