The opening of the Double Door, a new midsize live-music club at Wicker Park’s ground-zero intersection of North, Damen, and Milwaukee, both furthers the area’s transformation into the new Lakeview and provides more evidence that the local club scene is going crazy.
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While Wicker Park’s growth as a hipster hangout has been ferocious over the past five years, the Double Door is the first upscale live-rock venue at the area’s central intersection: the Czar Bar, at Wood and Division, books neighborhood bands and hosts the Homocore series, and the friendly, well-liked Empty Bottle in west Ukrainian Village has a knack for pulling in the occasional very hip show. The Double Door is a high-ceilinged room, running between Damen and Milwaukee behind Wild Cherry, that looks to hold 400 to 500 people. (There’s no official ruling on its capacity yet.) A 70-year-old, 55-foot walnut bar runs down one wall; behind it is a kitchen. The club’s main entrance will be on Damen, the stage backs up onto Milwaukee, and downstairs is a poolroom about half the main room’s size. The foursome plans to have live music Thursday through Sunday and some sort of theater or performance art the other nights of the week. They’re opening with a pair of acoustic shows by Lloyd Cole this coming Monday and Tuesday.
Until recently the site was occupied by a small liquor store on Milwaukee and a connected cowboy-biker bar called the Main Street Pub on Damen. It became available about the same time that the two sets of nightlife entrepreneurs were looking for some Wicker Park action. “We got a line on this place and approached Joe,” says Barrett.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photos/Peter Barreras.
