Staff from Venue 404 cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening, outside the former First National Bank building, where Venue 404 now stands.
The building has stood as the anchor of the historic district in downtown Oshkosh since 1926.
It is also featured on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building was featured prominently in the 2009 movie “Public Enemies,” which was largely filmed in downtown Oshkosh.
Venue 404 has held weddings and other large events for two years, but staff say they didn’t have a chance to celebrate with the public, until now.
“With COVID and whatnot, we never felt really quite ready to have a big, public celebration, so this is that, our welcome to the community and thankful for everybody that has been supporting us on our journey,” says Kevin McHugh, Venue 404’s events director.
He says the owners made some changes to turn it into an event venue.
For example, part of the ballroom was converted into a bar, which has some of the old bank’s original marble flooring re-purposed in its design.
McHugh adds the bank’s old vault is now one of Venue 404’s cocktail lounges, called “The Speakeasy.”
He says many Oshkosh residents love having the building around.
“Everybody in Oshkosh has a little connection, it seems like, to this building,” McHugh continued. “Either they worked here, their parents worked here or they banked here, or they were an extra in the movie [Public Enemies], or they just see it as they pass it every day, wondering ‘What’s going on in that building?’ So when people find out that we’re working on restoring it and turning it into an event space, it’s just been really popular with the public,” McHugh adds.
The free event also included music, food and drinks.
