In a city gleaming and growing with architecturally modern clubs, condos and cafes, Timers bar in Walker's Point feels like the tavern that time forgot, and that's just the way that new bar manager Frank Zoboroski likes it.

Taking over the tavern at 739 S. 1st St. while owner Mike Pelsey -- who has owed and operated the bar for 25 years -- focuses on farming in La Crosse, Zoboroski is ready to breathe new life into the place while retaining much of its historic charm.

"Mike wanted to get the place going again," says Zoboroski, 27, who used to sling drinks at the bar while it was only open on the weekends. "But he's been doing this for too many years, so he asked me to come on board and manage the place while he farms."

The past two weeks have seen Zoboroski at the helm, allowing Timers to be open Tuesday through Saturday. So far, he says, the weeknights have been pretty quiet.

"It's been closed for so long during the week that no one even thinks about coming here anymore," he says. "It's nothing fancy, but it's fun. I keep it simple -- I pour a mean shot and I serve a hell of a beer."

He's hoping that the Spring Kick Off event planned for Saturday, April 22 will remind Milwaukee of the local landmark.

"We didn't want to do anything cheesy, but wanted to have a party. From 9 to 11 p.m. we're giving away rooftop tickets to the Brewers vs. Cubs game in Chicago and a coach bus ride with free food and free beer."

Even with its new lease on life, Timers remains one of Milwaukee's traditional watering holes -- something increasingly harder and harder to come by as old structures are constantly converted for contemporary use. At 101 years old, the large, cream city brick building is modestly adorned with historical décor -- mostly antiques and Milwaukee collectables, like the 1950s Schlitz advertisements Zoboroski found in the basement of the building. Three brass cash registers -- the kind that rattle and ding with each transaction and look as if they weigh 200 pounds -- sit atop the solid wood bar, also a gorgeous original dating back to 1908.

Zoboroski says he's working with owner of the soon-to-be Milwaukee Beer Museum to put together a visual history of the bar, too. And though a classic look at a 1950s beer-centric Milwaukee may make for interesting interior eye candy, Zoboroski says that the '80s were actually a much more relevant time for the bar. It was then that Timers earned its reputation as a South Side hotspot, and the now completely warn varnish on the bar and tables reflect a wilder time when it was normal -- encouraged, even -- for customers to throw back a few shots and dance on the bar.

"I'm told that this used to be the place to go, back in the day," he says. "There'd be a line to get in, girls dancing on tables, it was crazy."

Later, when Water Street became the city's new focus for the bar scene, many drinkers abandoned Walker's Point for Downtown. But now that the area is attracting development and entertainment attention again, and is conveniently sandwiched between two hot neighborhoods -- Bay View and the Third Ward -- Pelsey and Zoboroski see it as a perfect time to revive the great Milwaukee tavern.

Zoboroski's not looking to rehash the past, but he is hoping to re-establish Timers as a place where people know they're going to have a good time and can indulge in its rich history.

"I don't like the way Milwaukee's going with all the new clubs. You walk in, it's loud, crowded and there's immediately this pressure on you -- it's uncomfortable. Here, you walk in and there's no pressure, no dress code, no loud music. It's an old-school Milwaukee boozin' saloon and it's just real cool."

Timers is located at 739 S. 1st St. The phone number is (414) 276-0000.