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Smith Bros. "Fish Shanty"
"Smith Bros. 'FISH SHANTY' Restaurant
Famous for Fish Dinners
Port Washington, Wis. On Lake Michigan
This unique restaurant, located on highway 141,
25 miles north of Milwaukee and near Smith Bros.
fish docks, reproduces the interior of a Great Lakes
fisherman's shanty. Five artesian cooled dining rooms,
with nautical furniture and the knotty pine walls,
hung with relics of the sea, lend a distinctive marine
atmosphere. The 'Fish Shanty' restaurant serves fish
exclusively. Each guest order is specially prepared
from fish direct from Smith Bros. fishing fleet. During
summer months cabin cruisers for deep sea trolling
are available for charter. Free parking.
Official AAA Restaurant
Recommended in 'Adventures in Good Eating'"
Unmailed, but 1941 is written on the back.
The Fish Shanty is gone and a Duluth Trading Co. store occupys its former location. However, that structure was built in 1954 to replace the one featured in this card, which burned down. From the Duluth Trading Co. website:
""Fire!" someone yelled. But it was too late. The Smith Bros. Fish Shanty Restaurant — one of the most famous buildings in Port Washington, WI — went up in flames in 1953. But that was far from the end of the story. By 1954, on the same site at 108 N. Franklin St., the new Smith Bros. restaurant was completed, a two-story Colonial Revival style building clad in red brick, designed by Milwaukee architect William J. Ames....
Throughout most of its 177-year history, Port Washington was the hub of a vibrant commercial fishing industry. In 1935, nearly one million pounds of whitefish, perch, herring, chubs and lake trout were caught. Quite a few of those were fried up into sandwiches at Smith Bros. Fish Shanty. The restaurant was so popular in the 1930s through the 1950s that tourists arrived by the busload.
In 1924, the restaurant consisted of just one fryer in the corner of a fish market shack. By 1940, it had 250 seats and 13 fryers. Six artesian-cooled dining rooms on two levels had nautical furniture and knotty pine walls hung with maritime memorabilia.
Twice gutted by fire and even rammed by a derailed trolley in 1930, the restaurant survived to take a central place in the civic life of Port Washington."
Smith Bros. "Fish Shanty"
"Smith Bros. 'FISH SHANTY' Restaurant
Famous for Fish Dinners
Port Washington, Wis. On Lake Michigan
This unique restaurant, located on highway 141,
25 miles north of Milwaukee and near Smith Bros.
fish docks, reproduces the interior of a Great Lakes
fisherman's shanty. Five artesian cooled dining rooms,
with nautical furniture and the knotty pine walls,
hung with relics of the sea, lend a distinctive marine
atmosphere. The 'Fish Shanty' restaurant serves fish
exclusively. Each guest order is specially prepared
from fish direct from Smith Bros. fishing fleet. During
summer months cabin cruisers for deep sea trolling
are available for charter. Free parking.
Official AAA Restaurant
Recommended in 'Adventures in Good Eating'"
Unmailed, but 1941 is written on the back.
The Fish Shanty is gone and a Duluth Trading Co. store occupys its former location. However, that structure was built in 1954 to replace the one featured in this card, which burned down. From the Duluth Trading Co. website:
""Fire!" someone yelled. But it was too late. The Smith Bros. Fish Shanty Restaurant — one of the most famous buildings in Port Washington, WI — went up in flames in 1953. But that was far from the end of the story. By 1954, on the same site at 108 N. Franklin St., the new Smith Bros. restaurant was completed, a two-story Colonial Revival style building clad in red brick, designed by Milwaukee architect William J. Ames....
Throughout most of its 177-year history, Port Washington was the hub of a vibrant commercial fishing industry. In 1935, nearly one million pounds of whitefish, perch, herring, chubs and lake trout were caught. Quite a few of those were fried up into sandwiches at Smith Bros. Fish Shanty. The restaurant was so popular in the 1930s through the 1950s that tourists arrived by the busload.
In 1924, the restaurant consisted of just one fryer in the corner of a fish market shack. By 1940, it had 250 seats and 13 fryers. Six artesian-cooled dining rooms on two levels had nautical furniture and knotty pine walls hung with maritime memorabilia.
Twice gutted by fire and even rammed by a derailed trolley in 1930, the restaurant survived to take a central place in the civic life of Port Washington."