Chicago loves booze, and nothing illustrates that fact more than the sheer number of bars in the city that can trace their roots back to the era of Prohibition. On December 5, Chicago will join cities across the country in celebrating Repeal Day, a time when drunkards and history buffs, alike, come together to toast their mutual disdain for the temperance movement over a neatly prepared, room-temperature Old-Fashioned.
This year marks the 83rd anniversary of the repeal of prohibition. This popular chapter in U.S. history is best known as the time between 1920 and 1933, when the only way to get a drink was to best Steve Buscemi in a game of pinochle. When the ill-fated ban on alcohol was lifted, the country immediately began celebrating. And, the party hasn't stopped.
If you’ve never observed Repeal Day and would like to learn more about the history behind the half-cut holiday, consider attending the Chicago History Museum's annual prohibition-era themed event, “The Last Speakeasy: On the Eve of Repeal.” The museum will stage a party with everything from 1930s-inspired music and dancing to cocktails and a variety of activities designed to explore prohibition's past.
But for those readers who'd rather go straight to cocktails, bring your Repeal Day celebration to one of these historic Chicago watering holes—all of which date back to a time when gangsters ruled the Windy City and your favorite hangout spoke easy.
Berghoff Restaurant
Originally opened in 1898, the Berghoff is famously one of Chicago’s oldest restaurants. Up until prohibition began in 1920, the bar sold original owner Herman Joseph Berghoff’s famous Dortmunder-style beer for a nickel a glass. The Berghoff actually abided by the 18th Amendment’s ban on alcohol sales, staying afloat by serving low-alcohol “near beer” and Bergo soda pops. When Prohibition ended, this Loop staple was issued Chicago’s first liquor license.
The Green Mill
During the Prohibition era, this popular Uptown jazz club operated as a speakeasy that was partly owned by infamous Chicago mobsters such as Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn. According to the Chicago Bar Project, the establishment was able to operated openly by paying off police officers—a brazenness that (along with frequent performances by Joe E. Lewis) made the Green Mill one of Al Capone's favorite hangouts. In fact, many reminders of Green Mill's speakeasy legacy have survived to the present day. The most telling of these remnants is a trapdoor located behind the bar that leads to a network of underground tunnels, where the speakeasy's notorious clientele gambled, trafficked booze and vacated the building when a quick exit was required.
Photograph: Mark Wright
The Hangge-Uppe
A speakeasy operated out of the basement of this self proclaimed Gold Coast “dive club,” but that’s not all. The spirit of woman who was murdered in what is now the Hangge-Uppe is said to still inhabit this former Prohibition hangout, according to the Chicago Architecture Blog.
Photograph: Jonathan Samples
Emmit’s Irish Pub
Formerly O’Sullivan’s Tavern, the site of Emmit’s Irish Pub didn’t become a bar until the 1930s. During Prohibition, the first floor of Emmit’s operated as a bank, which the pub’s owners say stored cash for a number of Chicago gangsters. Tunnels connecting the tavern to other buildings in the neighborhood are said to have been constructed during this time, leading Emimit’s owners to boast the building's Prohibition history.
Green Door Tavern
Like Green Mill, the Green Door Tavern was another famous gangster hangout during prohibition. In fact, the bar’s name is a reference to (what else) its green door, which at the time was a subtle hint that a speakeasy was located inside.
Photograph: Jonathan Samples
John Barleycorn
John Barleycorn Memorial Pub officially opened in the 1960s, but the building that houses the Lincoln Park bar has a typical Prohibition-era story. A Chinese laundry occupied the east side of the current restaurant, acting as a front for bootleggers. An adjacent saloon, which was “closed” after 1920, benefited from this convenient set up. Its owners established a speakeasy, which patrons discreetly entered through the laundry.
Photograph: Zach Long
Hideout
From a balloon-frame house built in 1890 to an illegal establishment run by Irish bootleggers, the Hideout already had quite a history before it became a legal bar in 1934. The Hideout most likely began catering to working-class Irish immigrants around 1919, according to the Chicago Tribune, and continued selling alcohol after prohibition began a year later.
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