The Green Mill Cocktail Lounge (also known as the Green Mill Jazz Club or simply Green Mill) is a bar and entertainment venue on Broadway in Uptown, Chicago.
The Green Mill's origins can be traced to the late 1890s. Over the years its name, ownership, and building have undergone numerous changes, but it has remained on the same city block since its inception, and in same building (albeit different subsections) since 1921.[1] The current venue opened in 1935.[1]
The Green Mill is known for its jazz performances, along with its connections to Chicago mob history. It is considered one of the most famous bars in the United States and the most iconic in Illinois.[2][3]
History
Morse family origins
The Green Mill traces its roots to Pop Morse's Roadhouse, a saloon founded by Charles E. "Pop" Morse at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Broadway (then known as Evanston Avenue).[1][4] While commonly said to have opened in 1907,[5][6][4] city records indicate the saloon opened in 1898.[1]
The saloon became a popular spot for mourners from the nearby Graceland and Saint Boniface cemeteries.[4] After Morse died in 1908, his son-in-law Charles Hoffman assumed control. In 1909, together with his brother Frank, Hoffman added a beer garden to the property in and renamed it the Hoffman Bros. Saloon.[1]
Thomas Chamales & Prohibition
In 1910, real estate developer and tavern owner Tom Chamales began leasing the property from the Hoffmans.[1][6] Chamales changed the name to "Morse's Cafe & Garden."[1] In 1914, after acquiring adjacent land to the west, Chamales demolished the original venue and replaced it with a large, two-story complex that he named the Green Mill Gardens[1] as a nod to the famous Moulin Rouge ("Red Mill") of Paris.[7] Chamales chose the color green to avoid association with a nearby red-light district.[4]
The Green Mill Gardens complex included offices, a restaurant, an indoor ballroom, an outdoor beer garden, and a huge green windmill.[8] The beer garden featured a large open courtyard and stage for live entertainment.[8] In 1921, Chamales constructed a new addition and facade along Broadway, which still stands today.[1] The namesake gardens on the western edge of the property, however, were demolished in 1924 to make space for the Uptown Theatre;[7][9][8] the green windmill was removed around this time as well.[1]
In its early years, the Green Mill was a popular hangout for movie actors from nearby Essanay Studios.[10] However, in 1923, the Green Mill Gardens briefly shut down. A former manager, Henry Horn, reopened the venue under a new name, the Montmartre Cafe.[1] In 1926, a judge ordered the closure of the Montmartre Cafe for violating Prohibition laws.[1] Later that year, it reopened as the New Green Mill Cafe.[1]
It is alleged that Al Capone's favorite booth is still in the establishment, located directly west of the short end of the bar. However, the current-day Green Mill did not exist at that site until 1935, several years after Capone went to prison, leaving Chicago for good.
It is also alleged that, during Prohibition, patrons of Green Mill Gardens could escape through a series of coal tunnels that run under the entire block, which also connect to the present day Green Mill jazz club through a trap door behind the bar.[11]
The Green Mill
Vibraphonist Thaddeus Tukes on stage
At the bar. At left is a small table behind the bar honoring Al Capone.
Later years
After the end of Prohibition, the Green Mill became a more reputable establishment, attracting many popular jazz acts including Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Al Jolson, along with cabaret icons like Texas Guinan: a onetime rodeo rider and vaudeville performer, Guinan reinvented herself during Prohibition as a bawdy, breezy master of ceremonies for cabaret shows at spots like the 300 Club in New York before coming to Chicago for a brief period from 1928 to 1930.[6][12]
The business began to struggle following World War II. In 1940, the Green Mill was purchased by the Batsis brothers, who sold it in 1960 to Steve Brend. Brend had worked for Jack McGurn as a youngster and was called the "Mayor of Uptown" for his gregarious nature and proclivity for storytelling. During that period, the Green Mill went from a nightlife hub to a place where day drinking and drug use were the norm, but was purchased and revitalized in 1986 by Dave Jemilo, a south-sider and owner of the bar Deja Vu.[6][10]
On Sunday nights, the Green Mill became home to the Uptown Poetry Slam, the longest-running poetry slam in the country.[13]
Chicago-based comic Whitney Chitwood recorded her 2019 album The Bakery Case live at the Green Mill; the album reached No. 9 on the Billboard comedy chart[14] and was the first comedy album to be recorded at the club.[15]
Recently the Green Mill hosts performers ranging from jazz quartets to swing orchestras who frequently play to a packed house.[16] During quieter performances, staff may ask patrons to put their phones away and refrain from loud talking.[16] Behind the bar stands a small table with a shrine to Al Capone as a tribute to the earlier days.[16]
In the Star Trek Voyager episode "Course: Oblivion" the Green Mill is mentioned by the character Tom Paris as a "Genuine speakeasy". In the Chicago PD episode "We Don't Work Together Anymore" main characters Voight and Olinski enter the Green Mill to question a man. When they 1st enter, they tell the guy he must think he's a big shot because he's hanging out in "Al Capone's old joint."
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