CHAPTER 34 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER In the Prohibition Era, a mobster summoned a Chicago Daily Tribune reporter to sit down for a meeting one afternoon inside the Green Mill. The reporter, James L.… Continue reading Ted Newberry, Alleged Green Mill Mob Boss
Category: Chicago
The Uptown Theatre, a Palace of Dreams
CHAPTER 33 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER “It outdoes your dreams,” the advertisements declared. “IT WILL HUSH AND THRILL YOU. It throbs with beauty—lovely enough to hold the heart of a woman all her life.… Continue reading The Uptown Theatre, a Palace of Dreams
The Montmartre Years: Secret Gambling, Benny Goodman, and Girls Who “Salute”
CHAPTER 32 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER On July 14, 1923, the Chicago Daily News reported that a new nightclub was opening in Uptown. The cabaret formerly known as Green Mill Gardens would reopen on… Continue reading The Montmartre Years: Secret Gambling, Benny Goodman, and Girls Who “Salute”
Capone-Adjacent Guys and Shady Land Deals
CHAPTER 31 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER On July 10, 1922, Catherine Hoffman found herself facing a federal lawsuit.1 The United States government said alcohol was being sold on a piece of property she owned,… Continue reading Capone-Adjacent Guys and Shady Land Deals
Green Mill Gardens’ Showdown With “Count” Yaselli
CHAPTER 30 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER In the spring of 1922, an Italian man wearing flashy clothes showed up in Chicago, spending his nights at the city’s hottest cabarets and cafés, from Colosimo’s on… Continue reading Green Mill Gardens’ Showdown With “Count” Yaselli
Plantation Days
CHAPTER 29 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER Plantation Days opened at Green Mill Gardens in the summer of 1922, becoming one of the biggest hit shows in the club’s history. Unusual for its time, the… Continue reading Plantation Days
When Chicago Shimmied and Toddled
CHAPTER 28 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER In the early 1920s, many Chicagoans started dancing like babies. At least, that’s how some people described the dance craze of that moment in history. One writer said… Continue reading When Chicago Shimmied and Toddled
Cabaret Woes, “Evilly Disposed Persons,” and the Dancing Tenor’s Divorce
CHAPTER 27 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER “Chicago’s cabaret industry was in the dumps to-day,” the Chicago Daily News remarked in April 1921.1 Aldermen were talking about a huge increase in license fees for public… Continue reading Cabaret Woes, “Evilly Disposed Persons,” and the Dancing Tenor’s Divorce
A Sketch of 1920s Uptown
CHAPTER 26 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER Advertisements touted Uptown as a city unto itself. Yes, it was just one neighborhood within the far larger city of Chicago. But if you lived in “The City… Continue reading A Sketch of 1920s Uptown
Cora Orthwein’s Trial: “I loved him and I killed him. It was all I could do.”
CHAPTER 25 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER There was much shouting and commotion at Green Mill Gardens on the night of February 28, 1921. An intoxicated man angrily threw his drink into a woman’s face.… Continue reading Cora Orthwein’s Trial: “I loved him and I killed him. It was all I could do.”