Chapter 7 of The Coolest Spot in Chicago: A History of Green Mill Gardens and the Beginnings of Uptown <— PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER—> Around 1913, as Tom Chamales began making plans to transform the old Morse’s roadhouse into the larger and more lavish Green Mill Gardens, some people wanted… Continue reading Cabarets, Gardens, the Dance Craze, and That Paris Thing
Category: History
The Battle Over Beach Rowdies, B-Girls, and Disorderly Women
Chapter 6 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 September 1910, Tom Chamales began leasing the saloon formerly known as Pop Morse’s roadhouse.1 Less than four years later, he would build the larger… Continue reading The Battle Over Beach Rowdies, B-Girls, and Disorderly Women
The Early Years of Green Mill Founder Tom Chamales
Chapter 5 of The Coolest Spot in Chicago: A History of Green Mill Gardens and the Beginnings of Uptown <— PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER—> The man who created Green Mill Gardens—the forerunner of the Green Mill jazz club—was Greek immigrant Tom Chamales. More than anyone else, he was the guiding… Continue reading The Early Years of Green Mill Founder Tom Chamales
The Sunnyside, Cemetery Saloons, and the Rise of Ravenswood
Chapter 4 of The Coolest Spot in Chicago: A History of Green Mill Gardens and the Beginnings of Uptown <— PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER —> When I moved to Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, one of the local legends I heard involved Abraham Lincoln. Supposedly, he’d stopped at a local saloon called… Continue reading The Sunnyside, Cemetery Saloons, and the Rise of Ravenswood
Topography, Tombs, and Tolls
Chapter 3 of The Coolest Spot in Chicago: A History of Green Mill Gardens and the Beginnings of Uptown <— PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER —> The land in Chicago looks flat. There are no mountains on the horizon. And when you go around the city, you might not notice any… Continue reading Topography, Tombs, and Tolls
Piecing Together the Green Mill Puzzle: Updated
UPDATED CHAPTER 2 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER UPDATED! This chapter now includes more pictures, maps, and historical documentation, which I’ve found since originally posting this in March 2023. (You can read an archived… Continue reading Piecing Together the Green Mill Puzzle: Updated
Addendum: The “L” Arrives at Wilson
An Addendum to Chapter 1 of The Coolest Spot in Chicago: A History of Green Mill Gardens and the Beginnings of Uptown <— CHAPTER 1 / TABLE OF CONTENTS / CHAPTER 2—> May 31, 1900, was one of the most momentous days in the development of Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. This was when the first elevated trains… Continue reading Addendum: The “L” Arrives at Wilson
Pop Morse’s Roadhouse and the Myth of 1907
Chapter 1 of The Coolest Spot in Chicago: A History of Green Mill Gardens and the Beginnings of Uptown <— INTRODUCTION / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER (coming soon) —> The Green Mill did not open in 1907. Maybe you’ve heard that it did. Many articles say 1907 was the original founding date for… Continue reading Pop Morse’s Roadhouse and the Myth of 1907
The Coolest Spot in Chicago
A History of Green Mill Gardens and the Beginnings of Uptown By ROBERT LOERZEL Photographs by Robert Loerzel (except historic images) (Jump ahead to the TABLE OF CONTENTS) INTRODUCTION When Green Mill Gardens opened in June 1914, an advertisement called it “the coolest spot in Chicago.” That was surely just a reference to the temperature… Continue reading The Coolest Spot in Chicago
Another Deadly Chicago Heat Wave: 1916
Scroll down or click these links for appendixes on CHICAGO MORTALITY TRENDS and WEATHER RECORDS; and SOURCE NOTES. THIS MONTH—JULY 2020—WAS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF CHICAGO’S MOST NOTORIOUS HEAT WAVE, which killed an estimated 700 people during a scorching week in 1995. While that tragedy is well documented, a similar catastrophe from earlier in the… Continue reading Another Deadly Chicago Heat Wave: 1916