On this day in 1958, BoozeTown was scheduled to open its golden gates to the drinking masses. So, what was BoozeTown? Well, it was the fantastic fever dream of entrepreneur Mel Johnson. Mel was obsessed by a vision of a resort entirely centered on the culture of alcohol. A boozer’s paradise built expressly to facilitate drinking and the good times that naturally follow. Where the bars, clubs and liquor stores never close. Where the police force is there to help drunks, not hassle them. Where even the street names salute sweet mother booze: Gin Lane, Bourbon Boulevard and Scotch Street. An adult playground like no other. Unfortunately, his Hometown for Hooch Hounds never got fully off the ground and Mel ended up dying in an insane asylum. Fun fact: Proposed sites for BoozeTown include central Ohio, the middle of the desert in southern Nevada, a bayou in Louisiana and an island off the coast of Mexico.
