Accessibility

Cactus Club is not ADA compliant at this time. There are 4.5 stairs to the main entrance of the building. There is presently a ramp to the live room from the driveway to the north of the building. The ramp is relatively steep and leads to a door that is 33″ wide. Both of our bathrooms are not wheelchair accessible. The floor plan below includes a ramp to the front door that we plan to add in Spring 2025. The rest of the floor plan depicts the first floor space as it presently exists.

We are fundraising for a two-phase Accessibility Initiative that goes beyond compliance and models a more inclusive future. The first phase is adding a ramp to the front door. We are planning to expand the club to the north, adding accessible bathrooms, better sight-lines, an accessible stage, and a lowered portion of the bar for accessible ordering. More information on these plans will be published as a timeline and layout take more shape.

Guests who require accommodations, mobility-related or otherwise, should reach out to the club in advance by phone during open hours or email kelsey@cactusclubmilwaukee.com.

Signs will be posted when strobe lights and/or fog/hazers are used in the live room. The volume of shows ranges drastically by artist and we encourage folks with sound sensitivities to bring protective gear. We do sell basic earplugs behind the bar and at the sound booth for $1.

We presently do not have deaf/hard of hearing accommodations available, however, we are working to improve this in the immediate future.

Our Website

As of January 2023, our web developer audited this website and took immediate actions to improve the website’s accessibility. After hours of testing, research and implementation, we believe this website to be WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliant to the best of our ability. The website has become a crucial part of our messaging, as it sometimes receives nearly 10,000 unique visitors accounting for 24,000 page views per month. We pledge to do our best to audit the site on an ongoing basis and continue accessibility enhancements when possible.

Small Win

July 28, 2022 – City of Milwaukee passed an ordinance change to support accessibility improvements for old buildings. Prior to this change, a special permit fee would have been about $400 annually for Cactus to have a ramp to the front door. Now that fee is waived for anyone making accessibility improvements to their entrance, eliminating one financial hurdle. Council File #220190 for sections 245-430;7;13.5

Many thanks to the City’s ADA Coordinator Rebecca Rabatin and Alderperson Marina Dimitrijevic for introducing this policy change and their advocacy.