Author: Robert Loerzel

The Aragon Ballroom, Dance Watchdogs, and Weird Echoes

CHAPTER 35 of THE COOLEST SPOT IN CHICAGO: A HISTORY OF GREEN MILL GARDENS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF UPTOWN PREVIOUS CHAPTER / TABLE OF CONTENTS / NEXT CHAPTER Just 12 days after the Uptown Theatre opened amid a burst of hoopla in August 1925, the city issued a building permit for a dance hall down the… Continue reading The Aragon Ballroom, Dance Watchdogs, and Weird Echoes

Ted Newberry, Alleged Green Mill Mob Boss

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

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

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