From its beginnings as a venue for boxing and roller skating, Dreamland evolved in the early 1900s into a ballroom, the elegance of which, the management suggested, made it Milwaukee’s “College of Deportment.” Proprietor A.C. Wirth is shown in the inset photo on this postcard. Carl Swanson collection
If you were out and about in Milwaukee in the early 1900s, you probably knew—or knew of—Andrew Charles Wirth. With his magnificent moustache and his elegant, if eccentric, habit of dressing in white tie, black tailcoat and ballet slippers, “Professor” Wirth was certainly easy to recognize.
He owned a statewide chain of dance studios, including several locations in Milwaukee, and he was the proprietor of Dreamland Ballroom on Wells Street between Sixth and Seventh.
A biographer described Wirth thus: “Agreeable in manner, an enthusiast in his vocation, popular with those with whom he comes in contact, he is a good example of what one may accomplish with energy and a definite purpose.”
At Dreamland, in 1911, Wirth made a remarkable offer. He would teach anyone to dance—free of charge. Wirth’s newspaper advertisement explained the offer:
Milwaukee Notebook 