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Neighborhood Character:
The unique architecture and numerous small apartments of our area were a result of the boom of young professionals, mostly single, who came to this "new" area of town and the draw of it's many ammenities--and hot jazz! Uptown was close to the beaches. (note that the beaches were closer than they are now. The Clarendon fieldhouse, for example, was actually a "beach house" before the park was extended!) Uptown also boasted many new theaters, along with dance halls, hotels, nightclubs and urban amusement centers, including Moulin Rouge Gardens (which later became the Rainbo Gardens), was at one time the largest nightclub in the world, with restaurant seating for 2,000 and room for an additional 1,500 on the dance floor! It was converted to a casino and boxing/wrestling arena and later into a dinner theater. Numerous other restaurants, delicatessens, tearooms, orange juice stands, convenience stores, clothing stores, banks and specialty shops could be found along Wilson Avenue and Broadway Avenue (Evanston Avenue). Harmon's Arcadia Ballroom was one of the few spots in Chicago that would book all-black jazz bands, many from New Orleans. The Arcadia became host to a "bohemian" crowd of young and creative late-nighters. The dancers would often dress in creative outfits and invent dance steps in hopes of winning the periodic dance contests. Many "flapper" fashions and dance steps from the Roaring 20's got their start at the Uptown Arcadia. It was said that the people who moved to Uptown in that day, full of youthful enthusiasm, spent more on clothes than anything else.
The development of Uptown's entertainment and retail district happened during the early 1900's. By the 1920's, Uptown was Chicago's fastest growing neighborhood. As developers "gobbled-up" property and built "skyscraping apartments," the overabundance of units caused Uptown to become a very affordable place to live. The Loren Miller & Company department store, which later became Goldblatt's, was considered a major nucleus. The world-famous Uptown Theatre and Riviera Theater were promoted as healthy environments to watch movies, since many theaters at that time had fallen into question as places for lewd behavior. Not in Uptown! The Uptown Theater even had a children's play room with a full-time babysitter. Some wondered if Uptown was to surpass downtown Chicago as the retail center of the region, much like Midtown Manhattan had grown larger than New York's Wall Street area. It maintained it's distinction as one of the most important commercial centers until the 1960's, as the area's population was declining.
The Green Mill Lounge, which is just down the street, at Broadway and Lawrence, started as a road house. It is now a popular club, which hosts jazz performances. It is still very much the same as in the Jazz Age of Capone's Chicago. Al Capone used to frequent the Green Mill Lounge, which was owned by his right-hand man, "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn. North Side gangs were prominent in Uptown, including John Dillinger and Louie "Two Gun" Alterie.
The Uptown Theatre, originally built in 1925 as a "movie palace", was the largest theater in the country, with seating for just under 4,500. It boasted the world's largest Wurlitzer organ, as well as state-of-the-art air-conditioning. According to an article in the Chicago Free Press, (8/7/02) the 8-story tall Uptown "is still the largest free-standing theater in the Untied States, bigger than New York's Radio City Music Hall". The Uptown hosted the popular television show, "Queen for a Day" in the 1950's--for one week each year. This show, filmed inside the Uptown, would shower a needy housewife with all kinds of gifts and surprises during each episode. Later, the theater hosted major rock concerts before it was closed for badly needed renovations. A major fundraising drive was started recently to restore this amazing theatre to its original grandeur. However, the property fell into receivership and the drive halted. The City of Chicago is currently looking into ways to develop a viable theater venue and restoration project.
The Aragon Ballroom was also built in 1925 and is where many famous jazz performers and band leaders got their start. The Aragon management required that no alcohol be drunk on the premises, and dancers were carefully chaperoned to make sure the Ballroom retained it's respectable reputation. Due to the advent of radio broadcasts, people all over the U.S. and Canada heard live broadcasts from Uptown's Aragon Ballroom. Practically overnight, hotels were built to accommodate the revelers, who made their pilgrimage to Uptown Chicago, just to be part of the Big Band Era craze which was sweeping the nation. Now, the Aragon Entertainment Center is home to many nationally-known concert tour performances, as is the Riviera Theater. The Aragon, the Riviera, the Uptown and a small underground club, called the "Kinetic Playground" (a club inside the Rainbo, famous for their concert light shows) also helped launch the Rock Era. Today, a very diverse set of entertainers, from Rock to Latin, World to Country, Indie to BeBop, Hip Hop to Jazz, and Swing to Folk and all kinds of other popular music graces the stages of these still-popular venues.
Other Local History Links: Uptown Historical Society, General History of Uptown, Map of Uptown in the 1920's & 1930's, All Saints Church and Rectory, Arcadia Roller Rink, Leon C. Berry, Organist, Aragon Ballroom, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs--The Uptown Entertainment District, Chicago Jazz Archive, Edgewater Historical Society, Essanay Movie Studios on Argyle Street, Gauler Twin Houses, Goldblatt's Store, Ghost at Montrose Point, Graceland Cemetery, Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, Jazz Age Chicago--Uptown, Lawrence "El" Stop, St. Boniface Cemetery, Uptown Theatre and Center for the Arts, Friends of the Uptown, Where Have All The Movie Theaters Gone--Edgewater Historical Society, Woolworth's, Wurlitzer at the Uptown, Wurlitzer at the Aragon
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