How Milwaukee has changed since the Bucks' last finals in 1974

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee's Turner Hall Executive Director Emilio De Torre says Milwaukee was just as excited to grab a beer near Turner Hall in 1974 as they are for the 2021 finals.

"It was reveling," De Torre said. "You had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is not only a luminary in basketball, but a radical philosopher. Had just starred with Bruce Lee."

Restaurants like Mader's, the oldest in the city, have been a couple blocks from every Bucks arena since 1974, from the MECCA, to the Bradley Center, to Fiserv Forum. They have enjoyed the boost in customers the entire time. 

"It's been terrific," owner Kristin Mader said. "It's like a rising tide lifts all ships."

Some things have changed dramatically. Major Goolsby's was getting rolling during the Bucks run through the 70s. In the 80s, Celtic's legend Larry Bird would stop in after the games.

"He would come in here, and customers would enjoy the fact that they could say hi to some of those guys like that, that you think are untouchable," Major Goolsby's co-owner, Pat Murphy, said.

Puddler's Hall in Bay View, a favorite location of union steel workers in the 1890s, said some of the bar's changes over the last 47 years are for the best.

"Back then, definitely would have been a 24-inch, or maybe a smaller tube TV," owner Casey Foltz said.

One thing all Bucks fans hope changes from 1974 is that the Bucks win the finals this time around.