Gangster Roger Touhy Arrested in Uptown

View of the apartment house located at 5114 Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, where Special Agents of the FBI arrested Roger "Terrible" Touhy, Basil "The Owl" Banghart, and Edward Darlak on December 29, 1942.

Image available at time of writing from eBay: http://bit.ly/1bXQDJy

Roger Touhy was an Irish-American mob boss and prohibition-era bootlegger from Chicago, Illinois. He is best remembered for having been framed for the 1933 faked kidnapping of gangster John "Jake the Barber" Factor, a brother of cosmetics manufacturer Max Factor, Sr.

The Factor kidnapping was a frame-up. Factor and Al Capone had arranged to fake the kidnapping and produce evidence implicating Touhy in order to eliminate him, so as to assume control over his organization. Despite unreliable testimony, a jury convicted Touhy and his associates; Touhy was sentenced to 99 years in prison and was incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center.

Roger Touhy's FBI mugshot

On October 9, 1942, Touhy and six other men escaped from Stateville. Eventually, they were discovered living in an Uptown Chicago boarding house. Touhy and three of those with him surrendered peacefully; the others were killed while trying to fight their way out. Touhy re-entered Stateville on December 31, 1942, and was sentenced to an additional 199 years in prison for the escape. A later court acknowledged the hoax, and Touhy was released from prison in 1959. Just three weeks later, Roger Touhy and his bodyguard were killed in a mob hit.

Lawrence and Kenmore, Uptown Chicago, 1941

At left is the New Lawrence Hotel, so the perspective is towards the east. A popular swimming pool was housed in the basement of the New Lawrence.

Kenmore South from Leland a Hundred Years Ago

An idyllic stretch of Kenmore a hundred years ago, before most of the big entertainment venues, including the Uptown Theatre, were built.

Father Joseph Hai, Uptown Chicago, 1977

eBay item 251063292910. Original caption in the Daily News read: Father Joseph Hai, a refugee who headed a Catholic High School at Binh-Tuy, is now attached to St. Thomas of Canterbury Church, 4827 N. Kenmore in Uptown. 

 

The Viceroy Hotel at Lawrence and Kenmore and Duke the German Shepherd, Uptown Chicago

Bill Matteson
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent

The Viceroy Hotel on the S.W corner of Kenmore and Lawrence changed it's name to the Wilton and then to the Lorali. The Viceroy was a swank place, but not as a swanky as the New Lawrence Hotel.
On the Lawrence Ave. side of the Viceroy was a restaurant that featured Friday night fish fries. It was a treat to eat there.

A World War 2 Vet lived in the Viceroy with his German Shepard "Duke," and the neighborhood story was  Duke was in the German Army and was saved by the WW2 Vet, or he saved the vet, it was never clear as to who saved whom, but to us kids, it was the stuff movies were made of.

In those days guys hung out on corners or in front of the Viceroy Door. Just to the south of the Viceroy was an empty lot, and a lot of guys would stand around there swapping war stories, smoking cigarettes, and drinking wine with the bottles in paper bags. I never could figure out why they went through all that trouble to disguise the wine. Everyone knew what was in the bag. You could always tell the wine connoisseurs in the neighborhood, they used clean bags.

Duke and his owner were always there. Myself and all the neighborhood kids liked Duke. We would walk by and pet him or at least say hi when we walked by.

One day Duke and his owner were outside when some idiot drunk walked by and threatened Duke's owner. The Owner said something in German to Duke. Duke's facial features changed to wolflike characteristics, fangs were bared, and the meanest low growl came out from the inside of Duke.
We all stood there in amazement, the drunk took off very quickly; I think he had a very sobering moment.
Duke got a pat on the head, and was back to being Duke.

That's all anyone ever knew of Duke and his owner. But we always felt there was a fantastic story about them finding each other.

The empty lot was our domain. Baseball, football, ring a leave o, catch one catch all, kick the can, draw around circle and hide and seek. I don't think kids know what games those are today; we had no cell phones even a phone in the house was rare, so if you wanted to talk to a friend, you walked to see them, usually into the back yard, and then it was "yoohooooooo Johnny oollie ollie oceans freeee."

One day, we found some refrigerator packing cases in the alley and they were made out of sturdy plywood. So with a few more pieces of scrap lumber and some Kenmore Avenue ingenuity, we built a club house. Well that only lasted until the older boys in the neighborhood took it over for drinking and shooting craps. One night it burned down. I figured some neighbors did it to get rid of problems it caused. Maybe it was the first Uptown Urban renewal project.

Kenmore and Leland, 1980s

pre-condo, a photo by Jonie Snake on Flickr.

Used with permission of flickr's "Share on Blogger" feature. Check out Jonie Snake's photo stream for more excellent photos of Uptown in the eighties.

Today:


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1025 – 1031 W. Lawrence, Uptown, Chicago, c. 1906

Ilfracombe Apartments
1025-1031 W. Lawrence

A very early view of the SE Corner of Lawrence and Kenmore, where Dib now stands. (Also see Lawrence and Kenmore, 1959 for a later view.)

From Inland Architect and News Record, 1906.

Lawrence and Kenmore and Part Time Bootlegging

Bill Matteson
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent

About 1949, I was lucky enough to land a job at Gary's Payless Drug Store that was in Wilton Hotel, which was known earlier as the Viceroy Hotel and was situated on the S.W. corner of Lawrence and Kenmore, just kittycorner from the New Lawrence Hotel.

My friend Bobby Johnston was moving away and he recommended me to Gary the Pharmacist. The job was to keep the coolers filled with beer and pop, sweep up, take orders, and make deliveries. I remember they sold a lot of Rhiengold, Tavern Pale, Fox Deluxe beer, and Ballantine Ale.

Now, concerning the deliveries, it was illegal for a minor to handle or deliver alcohol. So, I had to carry $2.00 in my back pocket, and If I was stopped by the cops I was to tell them that "some guy" I never seen before gave me the two dollars to make the delivery.

I made a lot of deliveries in the area and the tips were pretty good, except when I delivered to the 910 Lawrence Building, they had a doorman who wouldn't let me inside; he would take the package up to the apartment, collect, then give me the proper change. He kept the tips.

One day I made a delivery and told the doorman that the customer had to sign for their prescription. He let me in, delivered the package, and told the customer that the doorman was taking the tips. I got a good tip and he got in trouble.

One day I was near the phone and no one was around. I took an order for a bottle of gin and some 7-up.
The customer told me to bring change for a twenty. I put the bottles in a bag, found Gary the druggist and explained the situation to him. He thanked me for being such a conciseness kid and I made the delivery and brought him the change.

One day, one of the older boys in the neighborhood wanted to know if I knew an old "Muskhead" that could get him some beer. I said sure, I can get you the beer, and I would even deliver it. Now, I could get 5 quarts of Prima Pilsner beer for a $ 1.25, a 5th of Guckenheimer whiskey was $1.98.

I would take orders from some friends I knew, making a modest markup, and life was good.

A Muskhead was a guy who only drank "Muscatel" or 'Muskiedoodle," as we called it those days. Those who drank Port wine were just plain old winos.There was always a couple of winos hanging out on the corner they could get us anything we wanted, for a price.

Well, I put them out of business.

Bill Matteson

Lawrence and Kenmore, Uptown Chicago, 1959

I had to do a double take when I saw this image. It's the corner of Lawrence and Kenmore, currently occupied with a strip mall and the restaurant Dib. The old terracotta was stunning. Get the original image on eBay.

Here's the Google street view:


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Leland and Kenmore, 1914

A rare view of the intersection, currently on eBay

Here's how it looks today:


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Sunnyside and Kenmore, Uptown, 1961

Original caption is: Jean Durochak eating pancakes sold by Boy Scouts at the Uptown Folk and Art Fair at Kenmore and Sunnyside in Chicago, August 26, 1961. (Unfortunately, I don't know which one Jean is, or who the other girl is.)

Original image available from here: Sunnyside and Kenmore

Uptown Folk Fair, Kenmore and Sunnyside, Chicago 1961

Judy Alt, an employee of the Uptown Federal Savings Bank, enjoying some cotton candy while the Uptown Folk Fair goes on beneath her, August 26, 1961 at Kenmore and Sunnyside in Chicago.

Original image available (at time of posting) from here: Uptown Folkfest

Shenandoah at Sunnyside and Kenmore

We've featured this image before, but I wanted to give readers a head's up that there is another original postcard available of it on eBay. Go here: The Shenandoah

Sunnyside and Magnolia, Uptown, Chicago, 1958

The Adolph Mueler Square War Memorial on the southeast corner of Sunnyside and Magnolia celebrates a rededication ceremony with Dr. Robert Bleier, the Illinois Commander of the Jewish War Vets. April 13, 1958.

Original photo available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Sunnyside and Kenmore

Nuns Baking Pumpkin Pies in Their Apartment on Kenmore, 1965

Original image available (at time of posting) from here: Kenmore Nuns

Kenmore and Winthrop to Go One Way, 1951

Mrs. Violet Rubecamp reading one of the notices from the Chicago Police Department informing citizens that Kenmore Avenue and Winthrop Avenue would be one way streets during the repaving of Sheridan Road, October of 1951. The note also reminded people that there are several NO PARKING signs on Kenmore and Winthrop that are being ignored.

Original image available (at time of posting) from here: Winthrop and Kenmore

6200 Kenmore, Sovereign Hotel

The Sovereign Hotel, at 6200 Kenmore, as it looked in 1957. The Sovereign was designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager. Ahlschlager was the architect who designed the elaborate terracotta Broadway Building, the Sheridan-Plaza Hotel at Wilson and Sheridan, and the Pantheon Theatre (torn down) on Sheridan, just north of Wilson.

To see the original floor plans of the Sovereign, go to Walter Ahlschlager PDF.

Kenmore South from Thorndale, Chicago: Then and Now

Purchase original postcard at: Kenmore South from Thorndale

Google's Streetview screen capture:

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5943 N. Kenmore at Thorndale, Edgewater, Chicago

5943 Kenmore (at Thorndale); image available at auction

A great image from when Kenmore had a large number of mansions. Today, this stretch is filled with apartment buildings, as seen on Google maps:



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Hotel Commodore, 5547 Kenmore, Chicago

 

Today, the former hotel is home to Bryn Mawr Care, an Intermediate Care Facility with 174 beds for the chronically mentally ill. Google street view of same address:

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Click link below for additional buildings on Kenmore.