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
Tag: green mill
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”
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
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
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.”
Ben Hecht and a Flapper Find “Nirvana” in Uptown
CHAPTER 24 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER Sex! Jazz! Booze! Beaches! Shopping! Movie palaces! Chicago’s Uptown had it all. During the Roaring Twenties, people flocked to the neighborhood when they wanted to have fun. “If… Continue reading Ben Hecht and a Flapper Find “Nirvana” in Uptown
The 1920 “Whisky Ring” and the Snitching Golfer
CHAPTER 23 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER As prohibition became the law of the land in 1920, many Chicagoans kept on drinking. “Chicago is as wet as it ever was,” the region’s chief prohibition officer,… Continue reading The 1920 “Whisky Ring” and the Snitching Golfer
Looking for Al Capone
CHAPTER 22 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER If you’ve ever heard anything about the history of the Green Mill, you’ve probably learned about Al Capone’s supposed connections to the place. Legend has it that he… Continue reading Looking for Al Capone
Prohibition’s Dawn and the Great Zion Beer Grab
CHAPTER 21 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 1, 1919, it became a crime to sell alcohol in the United States. Some of Chicago’s drinking establishments started the day by selling beers and… Continue reading Prohibition’s Dawn and the Great Zion Beer Grab