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.

1922 Press Club of Chicago Article on Rainbo Gardens

MANN'S RAINBO GARDENS MAGNIFICENT

MANN'S RAINBO GARDENS MAGNIFICENT strikes a new note in American entertainment—bringing to Chicago the sumptuous, cultivated forms of gaiety heretofore found only in the capitals of the Continent.

Located at Clark street and Lawrence avenue, near enough to Lake Michigan to have the pleasant lake breezes without the disadvantage of sudden climatic changes, Mann's Rainbo Gardens Magnificent achieves its every justification. Entering the outdoor gardens, one finds himself in a realm of exotic loveliness. In the afternoon sunlight, the green hedges stand out in sharp contrast to the shining expanse of the dancing floor, the brick walks and the gay massed flowers. The gardens are entered through broad French windows at the west end of the Rainbo room opening directly on a veranda. The stage opens on both the Rainbo Room and the Gardens and the entertainment is offered simultaneously. Below the stage is the wide dancing floor surrounded by low terraces and, at the far end, a rich and glowing grotto with trickling cascades, illuminated by colored lights, forms a rare background for the entire scene. Hedges cut up the Gardens into small areas for serving private parties and tiers of tables are ranged along the paths and at the sides of the dancing floor.

The story of how the Rainbo Gardens got its name is timely and interesting. After operating for a time under the name of Moulin Rouge, Mr. Fred Mann, the proprietor, determined in 1918 that the character of the Gardens demanded a name more appropriate to a city so essentially American as Chicago. At that time, his son, Alexander Mann, serving as a Signal Corps photographer with the A. E. F., wrote his father that he had been attached to the Rainbow Division during the Meuse-Argonne drive. Mr. Fred Mann, forthwith, gave the name Rainbo Gardens to the place.

The management holds a high ideal for the Rainbo Gardens. It is primarily for the pleasure and comfort of its patrons and nothing is spared to this end-

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.

Rainbo Arena, Clark at Lawrence, Uptown Chicago

In 1957, Mike Todd's Theater Cafe (formerly the French Casino, Rainbo Gardens) 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.

Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Rainbo Arena

Mann's Million Dollar Rainbo Room, Chicago

Currently on eBay

Mann's Million Dollar Rainbo Gardens was on Clark at Lawrence. Click label links below for more info on the Rainbo.

And the Crowd Goes Wild at the Rainbo, Chicago, 1952

Sun-Times' Fun Club boys enjoying the Jimmy Martinez and Chester Mieszala fight at Rainbo Arena, December 8, 1952 in Chicago.

Get the original image here: Rainbo Fight Night

Wrestling Comes to Chicago

Bill Matteson
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent
June 22 2011

In about 1948, TV came to Chicago, which really didn't do anything for us kids until it brought wrestling with it. I still don't know if wrestling made TV popular or TV made wrestling popular.

I had never seen a wrestling match in my life until I saw one through the store window at an appliance store on Broadway next to the Riviera theater.

One day I went down to Barney's Tavern, which was on the N.E Corner of Leland and Kenmore. I knew my dad was in there and drinking; I also knew he was a soft touch depending on the amount he had to drink. Well, I walked in, and there he was, his usual place at the end of the bar, talking with some long haired, strange looking guy. This guy had his middle two fingers missing. Dad introduced him as Tarzan Zimba. Wow, Tarzan Zimba right there in front of me. Problem was, I never heard of Tarzan Zimba.

Dad said him and I were invited to watch Tarzan Zimba wrestle that night at the Rainbo Arena. We went on the Lawrence Ave street car up to Clark St. and walked in with Tarz. I could call him Tarz, now that we were buddies.

Tarz fought some guy; I thought they were going to kill each other. Tarz was the mean wrestler, and he was disqualified, then we all took the street car home, even the guy I thought Tarzan tried to kill. They were laughing and telling jokes and it took me too long to figure out what was going on.

Tarzan Zimba who's real name was Eddie Pottsman; he came from Canada. Sometimes he wrestled with his brother Jack as a Tag team. Jack Zimba. I would think anyone using a name like Zimba could come up with a more exotic name than Jack.

Wrestling hit Chicago big time. Three nights a week the Rainbo Arena, Marigold Arena, and the Chicago Stadium. My dad even bought an Admiral 9" TV From Goldblatt's to watch the matches.

Tarz lived on Lawrence Ave Between Kenmore and Winthrop; he had a one room apt. and my job was to make sure he was awake in time to get to the arena.

Now, most of the wrestlers had a gimmick to set them apart from the other wrestlers.
And Tarzan Zimba was no exception. He had long hair around the sides but was bald on top. He had three toupees made, one was red, one black and one blond. He had a pair of wrestling shoes to match each wig, not to mention matching robes and trunks.
So if he wore a blond wig, he had golden shoes and a golden robe and gold-colored trunks.

Tarzan would enter the arena to jeers of the fans. My Sister Edwina would follow, carrying a small pillow. I came behind her with a folded towel.

Tarz would climb in the ring and make a big display of taking off his top piece, this he made look more difficult than it was, because of his missing fingers. He would place the wig on the pillow, held by my sister; he would then take off his robe which he gave to me as I handed him a small towel to mop the top of his head. I would fold his robe. Sis and I would sit near Tarz's corner. After the match, I would give him his robe, Sis would give him his hair, and we would march back up the runway.

Now, I never made any money with this wrestling gig, but I had every autograph of every wrestler that came through our area. Well, almost all, and because of this I was the envy of my class.

Tarzan was one of the few wrestlers to have a contract; he made three hundred a week and wrestled who, when, and where they told him.

There was always a grudge match going on. This one night Tarz was going to fight the wrestler who bit off his fingers (he actually lost them in a wood cutting accident,
but stories mattered and facts didn't).

I miss Tarz and I wonder whatever happened to him.

Ralph Williams and His Rainbo Orchestra "Prince of Wails," 1924

It's Friday night, so let's get the party going with another group that performed at Rainbo Gardens (Clark at Lawrence) in the 1920s...


I've been looking for a photo of this band, so if you have one, let me know!

Fashion Show at Rainbo Gardens

This picture shows two Uptown flapper girls at a fashion show at Rainbo Gardens, located at Clark and Lawrence. Flapper girls were a "new breed" of young women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for the traditional roles society tried to push them into. They were seen as "fast" for wearing too much makeup, drinking, smoking, indulging in casual sex, and (gasp!), driving automobiles. My own great grandmother Marta would go out drinking with her girlfriends, and once drove up to Waukegan on a whim to get married to a boy she just met that night. But that's another story for another time.

Rainbo Gardens in "Silent Movie," a Work in Progress

Thanks to Dave S. for the head's up on this one. On Live Journal there is a novel in progress called Silent Movie, part of which takes place in Uptown's Rainbo Gardens:

Silent Movie

Chapter thirty-four

November 21, 1923, Uptown, Chicago, Illinois

Outside the hotel, the Uptown streets were lit up with a neon glow. Men and woman walked the snowy sidewalks arm in arm, bundled up in their winter coats, trying to stay warm as they headed out to enjoy the city's nightlife. And one thing was for certain, the bad weather wasn't going to put a damper on anyone's night.

The front door of the Sheridan Plaza Hotel opened. Bam and Ville ran out to the awaiting taxi, with smiles on their faces, and quickly got inside...

Read more at Silent Movie

Rainbo Gardens Menu, 1924, Clark and Lawrence, Uptown Chicago

As early as 1894, there was a restaurant at this site. By 1905, there was a two-story beer hall, a bowling alley, and an outdoor dance floor. Generations of Chicagoans from all across the city would come here to be entertained. Jazz Age Chicago has an excellent history of Rainbo Gardens that is a must read for Uptowners.

This is just the cover of the 64-page menu/booklet. We hope to publish more images in the future and, if there is any interest, to release it as an eBook.

Rainbo Gardens Ad, Republican National Convention Program, 1920

After attending the daily sessions of the convention the question will arise: Where shall we spend the evening? We therefore suggest that you spend some of your time with us, where the best meals are served at moderate prices, with music pleasant and popular, together with dancing if you like. The atmosphere and surroundings of our place are the environments of comfort, pleasure, refinement and a personal attention seldom found outside your own home.

While away from your home, wile away a few leisure moments, where one visit will mean your frequent attendance. We are within a half hour of your hotel, and convention hall. Clark street cars take you direct to our door and a taxicab affords you a drive thru Lincoln Park and Sheridan Drive, which leads to us

Ask any Chicago resident about
Mann & Jackson's Rainbo Gardens!

Jeff Beck Group at the Kinetic Playground (Rainbo Gardens) Chicago

A vintage poster from the Kinetic Playground on Clark, in the home of the old Rainbo Gardens. Available here: Kinetic Playground

Isham Jones Orchestra - "Do You Ever Think of Me" (1921)

One more for the night, you say? Absolutely! Here is the Isham Jones orchestra. Jones, born in Ohio and raised in Saginaw, Michigan, moved to Chicago in 1915 and used it as his home base until the 1930s. I have a number of Isham Jones 78s that I inherited from my grandfather, so hearing the band always makes me a bit nostalgic. You can listen to many of Jones' recordings with the Rainbo Orchestra on YouTube.



The member who uploaded it to YouTube and put together this excellent video had this to say:

The video features tuba/Sousaphone player John Kuhn. also known as "Chief Red Cloud." Kuhn was born on the Sioux Reservation in Montana, and by 1920 was considered one of the very finest performers on this instrument. While attending the Haskell Institute in Kansas he studied modern music and had lessons on the tuba. He later joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and toured with the band in Europe. After returning to the United States, he joined the Dennison Wheelock Indian Band and then was discovered by John Philip Sousa who recruited him for the famous Sousa Band. Kuhn was with the Sousa Band from 1915 to 1919. In 1920 he joined Isham Jones' Rainbo Orchestra in Chicago and played the Sousaphone for Isham Jones during the early 1920s. Tom Lord's jazz discography credits Kuhn with 41 recordings between 1920 and 1929. He was also noted for authoring music instruction methods for the tuba, some which are still being sold. I could not find any biographical information beyond 1930.

Sun Parlor, Rainbo Gardens, Chicago

A new acquisition to my personal collection. It shows the Sun Parlor of Mann's Rainbo Gardens, which once stood at Lawrence and Clark.

Frank Westphal and His Rainbo Orchestra "Don't Bring Me Posies" (1922)

In 1921, Frank Westphal became established with his own dance orchestra at the newly opened Rainbo Gardens in Chicago at Lawrence and Clark. The open-air entertainment venue had a revolving stage to allow for continuous entertainment, table seating for 2,000 patrons, and space on the dance floor for an additional 1,500 guests. Westphal's band became popular for its "crisp, clever arrangements and superb musicianship."[5] Westphal's musicians included, at various times, Charles Burns and Austyn Edwards (trumpets), Herb Winfield (trombone), Bill and Jack Richards (saxophones), John Jensen (tuba) and Earl Roberts (banjo). The band recorded in Chicago for Columbia Records regularly between 1922 and 1924, recording over 50 tracks of which 34 were issued. These included "Bugle Call Rag", "Two Time Dan", and "Oh! Sister, Ain't That Hot!", as well as novelty piano pieces played by Westphal in the style of Zez Confrey and Edward Claypoole such as "Pianola" and "Dusting The Keys", which are "testimonies to his immense skill at the keyboard". Information from Wikipedia.

A collection of Westphal's recordings can be purchased on Amazon: http://bit.ly/14PrGGk

Skating at the Rainbo, 1992

A full-size image is available as a print from the Chicago Tribune.

Mann's Million Dollar Rainbo Gardens, Clark and Lawrence, Chicago

An interesting postcard of the gardens.

Uptown History Article Featured in Chicago Now

Montrose and Broadway, 1928

"People from all over Chicago came to Uptown for entertainment. The action centered around the Broadway-Lawrence intersection. The major movie palaces included the Riviera and the 4,000-seat Uptown, the city's largest. For dancing there was the Aragon ballroom. The Green Mill was the place to go for hot jazz, and over on Clark Street, the Rainbo Gardens complex offered assorted cabaret shows. After a busy Saturday night, there were churches available. All Saints Episcopal and Our Lady of the Lake Catholic were architectural treasures. The biggest congregation gathered at the People's Church, where flamboyant Unitarian pastor Preston Bradley held forth. Summer Sundays might also include a visit to Lake Michigan, for fishing off the Horseshoe or swimming at Montrose Beach. And when you died, you could still find what you needed in Uptown. Graceland Cemetery, the city's most fashionable burying ground, was located in the community..."

Read the rest of the article and see dozens more photos of Uptown here: Uptown in Chicago Now.

Uptown Chicago History Tours

Thanks to the folks at Uptown United for letting us know about these great Uptown-based spring tours, hosted by the Chicago History Museum: http://www.chicagohistory.org/planavisit/upcomingevents


My Kind of Uptown

Thursday, May 14, 6:45 p.m.

On this walking tour, discover this North Side neighborhood's gangster past as well as its energized entertainment, including the Riv, the Rainbo, and Essanay Studios.

Cost:
$25; $20 members


Graceland Cemetery

Sunday, May 31, 1:00–3:00 p.m.

Experience the history of old Chicago as you venture through one of the country's most famous cemeteries. Al Walavich takes you on a fascinating tour through the graves of Graceland Cemetery, including famous Chicagoans Marshall Field, Louis Sullivan, Potter and Bertha Palmer, and George Pullman.

Location:
Tour begins at the cemetery entrance, corner of Irving Park Road and Clark Street.

Cost:
$15; $10, members