December 8, 2010
Motor Coach Bus, Edgewater Beach Hotel, Sheridan, Chicago
Yacht Club, Edgewater Beach Hotel
A fun postcard image of the Yacht Club at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, taken at a later date than most of the cards I've seen. If I'm not mistaken, I think that's a mannequin in a sailor suit off to the right.
December 3, 2010
Andersonville History and Culture
A nice article in the Trib today about Andersonville. Here's an excerpt:
Andersonville...the North Side neighborhood that started as a modest Scandinavian settlement after the Great Fire of 1871 and boomed in the early 20th century to boast the largest concentration of Swedes this side of Stockholm. Like so many developments, the initial draw was location, location, location — in this case, a farming area far enough from downtown's post-fire regulations against building wooden houses. The Swedes knew how to work and live off the land, and the more who settled in that stretch a few miles north of downtown, the more attractive it was for others to immigrate. These days, Andersonville draws in part for its residual Scandinavian heritage (there are little clues everywhere, from the decoratively painted wooden dala horse to a Swedish flag welded from neon), but mostly because of that small-town aura that it has managed to maintain...
Read the whole article here: Small Town in the City
Image above courtesy Flickr by user
The French Casino (Rainbo Gardens) -- Lawrence and Clark, Uptown Chicago
From: JazzAgeClub.com
"In the summer of 1934 the Rainbo Gardens in Chicago re-opened as the French Casino. The venue sited at Lawrence Ave and North Clark Street had been closed in 1932 but had been taken over and completely revamped and redecorated by Jules Stein and Corlett Huff. Jules Stein was an interesting character – reputedly one of the richest men in the USA and president of the Music Corporation of America who controlled the careers of scores of celebrated radio and cinema stars and bands. Stein engaged the legendary booking agent and producer Clifford Fischer to mount an ambitious production for the new venue. The show called the Revue Folies Bergere was devised in Paris at a cost of $60,000 and featured many performers from Europe... It was as if the Paris music hall had been transplanted to Chicago and the Chicago Tribune reported ‘it is the most ambitious café entertainment now on view in Chicago.’ Needless to say attendance ran at capacity and it became the ‘wow’ of Chicago nightlife."
Read more of this entertaining and informative article at: JazzAgeClub.com
(Under Creative Commons License)
More about the venue location from Wikipedia:
The Rainbo
The Rainbo, at 4812 N. Clark, was purchased in 2002 and torn down to make way for a new condo and townhouse development. At one point, however, it was a very popular outdoor music garden, fashioned after the Moulin Rouge Gardens in Paris, which is the original namesake for what was then called "Moulin Rouge Gardens."
Investors bought the Moulin Rouge Gardens property and spent one-million dollars to expand the facility. Opened in 1921, Mann's Million Dollar Rainbo Room, named after Fred Mann's wartime service in the U.S. Army's 42nd Infantry or "Rainbow" Division, was said to be the largest nightclub in America, featuring some of the biggest names in Vaudeville and musical entertainment. Larry Fine was performing there the night he was asked to join The Three Stooges. The Rainbo Room had a revolving stage to allow for continuous entertainment. There was table seating for 2,000 patrons and space on the dance floor for an additional 1,500. Until 1927, WMAQ radio shared the 670 kilohertz frequency with station WQJ, which was owned by the Rainbo and Calumet Baking Powder Company; it broadcast music of the Rainbo's performers as a form of promotion.
In 1927, during prohibition, it was converted to a major casino and sports venue, called the Rainbo Fronton.
In 1934, during the Chicago World's Fair (A Century of Progress), it became French Casino. The French Casino is where John Dillinger spent his birthday, June 22, 1934, a month before he was shot.
In 1939, it became Mike Todd's Theater Cafe, which was a popular dinner theater. Tommy Sutton, the Theater Cafe's choreographer, went on to work with Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole, among others. It was also a venue for Championship Wrestling where, in 1955, the first women's tag team wrestling match was held.
In 1957, The Theater Cafe was converted to an ice skating rink, called Rainbo Arena, which was a practice rink for the Chicago Blackhawks including the year they won the 1961 Stanley Cup. The Rainbo Arena was also a training rink for several Olympic figure skaters, housed a pro bowling alley and the original Kinetic Playground music venue.
In the 1960s and thereafter, The Rainbo was a popular late night roller rink until it was torn down for a new housing development called Rainbo Village.
Wavy Gravy Conspiracy Stomp Benefit Concert Poster for The Chicago Eight at the Aragon Ballroom
The Chicago Seven (originally Chicago Eight, also Conspiracy Eight/Conspiracy Seven) were seven defendants—Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner—charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to protests that took place in Chicago, Illinois on the occasion of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Bobby Seale, the eighth man charged, had his trial severed during the proceedings, lowering the number from eight to seven.
Original poster available at time of posting from here: Chicago Eight Poster
Learn more about the Chicago Eight here:
Voices of the Chicago Eight: A Generation on Trial (City Lights Open Media)
Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8
Bryn Mawr Hotel, Bryn Mawr Historic District, Edgewater
Check out the map on this one. It shows the Uptown Theatre, Aragon, and Cubs Park.
Original available for purchase at time of writing from here: Bryn Mawr
The Prince of Wales Slept Here -- Advertisement with Sovereign Hotel
Hotel Sovereign, 6200 N. Kenmore, Edgewater, Chicago. The Sovereign was designed by Walter Ahlschlager, who designed the Broadway Building and the Sheridan Plaza Hotel.
Original advertisement available at time of posting from here: Sovereign Hotel Chicago
Here is another ad featuring the Sovereign.
This one is available here: Sovereign Hotel Chicago
Sheridan Plaza, Sheridan and Wilson, Uptown Chicago
East Lounge of the Edgewater Beach Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
See larger view or buy the original, available at time of posting, here: Edgewater Beach Hotel Lounge
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