Kalamazoo's "Saloon Row"

Pre-Prohibition "Thirst Parlors" on East Main Street

Today, we tend to associate the prohibition movement with the gangsters and speakeasies of the 1920s and 30s, but in fact, the crusade against the consumption of alcohol (known as temperance) began in the United States nearly a century beforehand, during the 1820s. Despite certain setbacks and widespread defiance, the push to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol, “except for medicinal, mechanical, scientific and sacramental purposes” (Gazette), continued to gain slow but steady momentum.

When Carrie Nation visited Kalamazoo in 1908, the well-known “saloon wrecker, temperance worker and self-styled defender of the home” (Gazette) spoke highly of the local saloonkeepers. Rather than attacking their establishments with a hatchet as she was famous for doing, Nation pled with the proprietors to pursue business interests of another sort. But while activists like Nation continued to gather support for the temperance movement, the number of local “thirst parlors” grew as well, especially along Main Street.

Warner-Cramton Act

In 1901, there were some 40 saloons operating within Kalamazoo’s city limits. By 1910, Kalamazoo had become the fifth largest city in Michigan, with a population approaching 40,000. By then, the number of saloons had grown to at least 59, including 26 on Main Street alone.

With city ordinance number 158 (passed in April 1909 without a dissenting vote), the number of saloons within the city limits was capped at 58, or roughly one for every 650 inhabitants. At that time, a liquor tax bond and a $5 municipal license fee were the existing requirements to operate a saloon.

The statewide Warner-Cramton Act, approved in June 1909, amended existing laws by placing yet stricter limits on the sale of alcohol while strengthening the ability of local authorities to control the proliferation of saloons. The law imposed an additional $500 annual state tax on saloon operators and limited the number of liquor licenses available for saloons within the city to one per every 1,000 inhabitants.

“No Free Lunch”

The new law banned saloons from offering free lunches (commonly used to attract customers, especially the working class) and it imposed tougher penalties for violations. Initially, the law prohibited proprietors from using the words “saloon,” “beer,” or “whiskey” on their signs, although that soon changed. In modified form, the law allowed such words, but the name of a specific brewer or distiller could not be used. There were stipulations about where saloons could be located (e.g., not within 400 feet of a church, etc.). The law also forced saloon owners to modify their storefronts to offer unobstructed views of the interior from the street during times of mandated closure (after hours, holidays).

The movement to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol had gained significant momentum by 1910. Twenty Michigan counties had gone “dry” by then, including neighboring Allegan (1909), Van Buren (1907), and Calhoun (1910). A year later, that number increased to 39, while larger urban centers like Kalamazoo and Kent counties remained among the “wets” for the time being.

“The first great reform in the handling of the saloon business in Kalamazoo must be the removal of saloon row from Main street.”

—Kalamazoo Gazette, 6 April 1911

“Saloon Row Must Go”

By 1911, Kalamazoo mayor Charles Farrell had taken it upon himself to “clean up” the first block of East Main Street between Burdick and Portage streets, the long-established commercial center of the city that was commonly known as “Saloon Row.” Many agreed that the area had become an eyesore and a deterrent to commerce, thanks to the row of saloons that lined the block and the resulting clientele that congregated around them.

“The presence, in the heart of the city, of so many saloons of the character of those which make up the principal business of one side of Main street from Burdick to Portage is like a red rag to an infuriated bull.”

—Kalamazoo Gazette, 6 April 1911

In an April 1911 election, Kalamazooans voted to support saloon licensing as opposed to going “dry.” The city would cap the number of saloons at 47 and increase its saloon licensing fee from $5 to $500, which would raise the overall cost of operating a saloon in the city to $1,000 per year (roughly $36,000 today). Along with the new restrictions, the saloon owners on East Main Street agreed to move their establishments according to the mayor’s plan.

By May 1st, Saloon Row was “but a faded memory” (Telegraph). Albert Doll, William Forler, Goddie Phillips, Edgar Yates, Almeron Murphy, and James Woodward agreed to move their establishments to new locations where they could operate within the law. Louis Werstein would close his shop instead and return to Battle Creek.

By 1912, there were 40 saloons operating within the city limits as the law allowed, and all had vacated the first block of East Main Street. By then, the vast majority were concentrated on East Main, east of Portage Street, and North Burdick. The remaining few were scattered along North Rose and Portage streets, and elsewhere.

Local Option

In April 1915, Kalamazoo County voters elected to outlaw the production and sale of alcoholic beverages under local option, more than a year ahead of statewide prohibition and still five years ahead of the nationwide 18th Amendment. On 1 May 1915, sixty-five business establishments across Kalamazoo County closed their doors, including 34 saloons within the city of Kalamazoo.

Michigan was not only the first state to implement statewide prohibition, but it was also the first state to ratify the 21st Amendment in December 1933, which brought an end to nationwide prohibition. Still, certain forms of prohibition would linger in Kalamazoo for decades. While beer and wine sales were legalized, the sale of liquor by the glass was banned in Kalamazoo until 1964. Sunday afternoon by-the-glass liquor sales were prohibited until 1970, and in 2010, a change in state law finally allowed retail sales of alcohol on Sunday mornings.

Written by Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, February 2026