Espionage-themed Club Is A Hidden Treasure In Milwaukee.
-- Spy novelist John Le Carre
A good word among spies travels far, deep within the dark and murky world of international intrigue. Dave Baldwin knows. He has probably heard it thousands of times: Once someone discovers he owns the world-renowned and one-of-a-kind Safe House, they inform him that it's the first place they bring out-of-town friends or clients.
"We're an institution," Baldwin said about his espionage-themed nightclub cleverly hidden in the historic riverfront district one block west of City Hall and underneath the looming shadows of the Pabst Theater. "It's an enviable position to be in, and we guard it jealously so that nothing happens to spoil our image. People are proud to have this in Milwaukee."
Forty years after Time magazine called it "irresistible and inexhaustible," this three-story sanctuary -- jam-packed with spy-related paraphernalia, gimmicks and gadgets -- annually entices about 125,000 operatives from all over the globe into its impenetrable quarters and grants them diplomatic immunity.
"Spies from all countries should feel secure and at home here," Baldwin said.
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, he and his wife, international award-winning author Shauna Singh Baldwin, hosted a private party on Oct. 9. Featured speakers included Gaston Vandermeerssche, leader of the Dutch underground in World War II; Werner Juretzko, a former U.S. Army Intelligence agent who survived six years in a Stasi prison during the Cold War and Raymond Benson, acclaimed author of six James Bond novels. A party for Very Important Operatives and the public followed on Oct. 10.
"We're still very much alive and vital," Baldwin said about the Safe House milestone.
Advertising is almost all by word-of-mouth. A bumper sticker reads "Whereinthehellzthesafehouse?" Assistant bar manager Mark Peternel said people have to find it. Besides, they're not supposed to know it's there.
"I wish I made a quarter every time I had to give somebody directions," said Brian Varick, general manager and admitted Safe House lifer. "I'd be a rich man. People tell us, I've driven around for two hours looking for this place. Why don't you have a sign?'"
To accept your mission, enter through the red door tucked underneath the two gas lights on the stately International Exports Ltd. facade in the alley around the corner from the Newsroom Pub & Grille. If you don't know the secret password, switchboard operator Miss Moneypenney will have you perform a little song or dance in a dinky Prohibition-era office.
Then the phony bookcase swings open. Cautiously proceed through a dimly lit corridor. Two panels slide back and agents at the Interpol bar cheer or heckle. They've just watched your interrogation on closed-circuit television.
Baldwin calls this local version of the reality TV trend the "single, biggest attraction" of the Safe House.
"There are 2,000 bars in Milwaukee County and there's only one Safe House," he said.
Covertly concocted specialty drinks include "Double Agent," "Spy's Demise" and "The Silencer" served in signature glasses designed by Safe House artist-in-residence Carl Ruppert. (He once found himself stranded in New York City with 73 cents in his pocket after a deal to paint a portrait of baseball legend Mickey Mantle fell through.) More than one million souvenir glasses have been sold since 1966.
"People are here to celebrate and have a good time," Peternel said while serving mugs of Code Beer from a tap with a World War I German luger for a handle.
Tiny red lights blink intermittently on a huge U.S. Air Force world map hanging behind the bar. They represent actual safe houses in all the espionage hotspots such as Cuba, Istanbul and Moscow found in spy novels by the late master of pulse-pounding suspense Robert Ludlum.
"We threw in Milwaukee which technically isn't part of the same list but it is in our minds," said Scott Elliott, former director of special operations at the Safe House and a huge fan of the visually stylish and skillfully crafted "Mission: Impossible" TV series.
Baldwin tightly guards a three-inch thick black binder full of Safe House propaganda while sitting at the Square Bar. It's the most revered spot in the Safe House and where many of the innovative ideas for the nightclub originated.
John Lorang, personal computer representative for Lockheed Martin Corp., in Owego, N.Y., engineered the CIA cover phone booth, "Hail to the Chief" elevator chair and secret escape route among others.
"I've always liked to tinker," he said.
Baldwin attributes the longevity of the Safe House -- constructed from distinguished parts of historic buildings torn down in Milwaukee and encompassing about 5,500-square-feet -- to the timelessness of its motif.
"Espionage strikes a universal chord," he said. Ultimately, every spy novel that Tom Clancy writes reaches No. 1 on the bestseller lists. "People love mystery and intrigue."
Not all of Baldwin's employees have a clue as to who he is, though. This modus operandi enables him to discreetly monitor the place. Baldwin may even send a complimentary drink over to a fellow spy courtesy of his employer, the mysterious and unseen CONTROL.
"CONTROL gave me this ring, see?" he said, displaying the silver metal band with the intersecting hemispheres logo on his left hand.
Peek into his dossier from the dusty stack of Safe House files, and you'll uncover a shady past: Arthur Murray dance instructor. The original Maytag Man. Lawyer.
"Let's just say I'm younger than Sean Connery but older than Pierce Brosnan," Baldwin said, laughing.
The license plates on his 1995 white Lincoln Continental Mark VIII read "007" after Ian Fleming's semi-autobiographical British Secret Service agent and quintessential spy Bond ... James Bond.
Baldwin's wife Shauna -- "an amazing woman" -- trained the polo ponies featured in the 1983 film "Octopussy."
During the Cold War and the 1960s national spy craze, Baldwin decided that adding an Oh Oh Seven room to his Whiskey a-go-go discotheque, on the south end of Front Street, deserved more space. So he, along with partners Jim Endicott, Bill Stippich and Ken Dillard, bought out the legendary Tunnel Inn jazz club and remodeled. The Safe House opened on Oct. 8, 1966.
Baldwin gradually expanded by knocking down walls. The split-level design with its maze of abrupt turns, tight nooks and crannies and cramped passageways adds to the espionage aura. They're also perfect elements for romantic rendezvous or plotting that clandestine caper.
"It's difficult to get through the small hallways when it's busy and waitresses are carrying trays but it's part of what makes the Safe House cozy and unique," Varick said. "People explore and they're constantly on the move."
\ Information
For Safe House details (released on a need-to-know basis) dial 414-271-2007 or spy at www.safe-house.com.