April 15, 2008

Fred Mann's Rainbo Gardens

Here is a series of three postcards showing the interior of Rainbo Gardens. The location was a top Chicago entertainment destination for about a hundred years, and it was here that vaudevillians Ted Healy and Moe Howard asked Larry Fine to join their comedy act that eventually became The Three Stooges.

Host to a variety of amusements and some of the early twentieth century's best-known celebrities, Fred Mann's Rainbo Gardens was one of Chicago's premier entertainment venues. Located at 4812-36 North Clark Street, Rainbo Gardens lured patrons from across the city with its eclectic mix of traditional vaudeville acts, trendy jazz bands, extreme sports events, and easy-going dance and liquor policies...

For more, go to Jazz Age Chicago.




Today, the site is home to Rainbo Village. For a series of images of the demolition of the original building, go to Landmarks Preservation Council.

Postcard images courtesy J.C.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I recently found a program called “Rainbo Topics” listing the entertainment for the evening (no date given). One of the main acts listed were dances by The Rainbo Girls with music by the Rainbo Garden Orchestra. It was a thrill to see my mother’s name listed as one of the dancers as I knew she had been in show business, but I didn’t know where.

Omid Ghamami said...

Great article and pics! Actually it was Ted Healy and Shemp Howard (not Moe Howard) that met and asked Larry Fine to join them. It was March 1928 and Moe had temporarily and unsuccessfully left show business and was doing real estate at the time.

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