Forget the towers (Sears & Water), this is part of a series
bringing seekers to landmarks from the notorious underbelly of this
city’s rich history.
Big Al was ingesting spaghetti;
Machine Gun McGurn, surprisingly still
Said to Joe E, "You'll look like confetti
If you try to leave the Green Mill."
Throughout
its uproarious history, The Green Mill Jazz Club has played host to
a number of famous - and often infamous - celebrities. Opened in
1907 as Pop Morse's Roadhouse, the "Mill" was a stopping place for
mourners to celebrate the passing of a friend before proceeding to
St. Boniface's Cemetery. By 1910, new owners had converted the
roadhouse into the Green Mill Gardens, complete with lantern-lit
outdoor dancing and drinking areas, and boasting such headliners as
Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker. Actors Wallace Beery and
Bronco Billy Anderson also visited the Gardens, hitching their
horses to the outdoor post and settling down for a drink after a
days work filming westerns at nearby Spoor and Anderson Studios.
The Green Mill Gardens was also a favorite of Charlie Chaplin and
Gloria Swanson.
As the twenties roared, The Green Mill became mobster territory
when Al Capone's henchman, "Machinegun" Jack McGurn, gained a
twenty-five percent ownership of the club. The Mill became the
favorite hangout of Capone, who was frequently found in the center
booth in front of the bar where he could keep an eye on the door.
Capone owned a speak-easy in the basement of a building across the
street, but he preferred the Green Mill because the police had been
paid off, permitting "wide-open" action.
When Capone and company really wanted to swing, they opened a
trap door behind the bar and descended into rooms in the basement
where they could escape, if need be, through a series of tunnels.
But mostly, "Big Al" just liked to hang out quietly and listen to
the music of his favorite performer, Joe E. Lewis, who was
earning the phenomenal fee of $650 a week.
In
1927, however, Lewis got greedy and took a job at the New
Rendezvous Club for $1,000 a week. It was a big mistake. A week
later, an outraged McGurn dispatched three thugs to visit Lewis.
The three smashed Lewis' head, slit his throat, cut out part of his
tongue and left him for dead.
Lewis survived, and a compassionate Capone gave him some money
to get by on. Although it took him three years to learn to talk,
Lewis made a comeback as a comic — at the Green Mill. The story was
made into a 1957 movie, "The Joker Is Wild," with Frank Sinatra
playing the part of Joe E. Lewis.
The club operating today is only a small part of the original
sprawling complex. Adjacent to the club was an elegant restaurant,
which was joined to a ballroom. A second-story ballroom called the
Rhumba Room offered Latin music. The first-floor ballroom opened
onto elegant gardens, and in the early years, tuxedoed men and
women in evening gowns danced the night away to the tunes of
leading orchestras. (The oldest ad for the Green Mill is for Paul
Whiteman and His Orchestra in 1915.) If you visit the Green Mill
today, you can still sit in Capone's booth at the center of the
bar.
To find the final location of this cache, note the green awning
that is directly to the right of the Green Mill sign. On this
awning are six digits in white print in the format: ABCC-CD
The cache is located at the following coordinates:
N41 5B.DDA W87 39.57A
Difficulty level on this cache is due to the high number of
muggles in the area. Please use extreme stealth while retreiving
and replacing the cache. Cache contains only a water-proof log, so
please bring your own pen (felt or ballpoint work best).
There isn't much parking near the first waypoint for this cache,
but there is a parking lot near the final location that you
shouldn't have any trouble using. There is also a bit of free and
metered parking in the area if you keep an eye out for it. This
cache is also reachable by the Red Line train (Lawrence stop) or
Broadway (#36) or Lawrence (#82) buses.
