Frank Catalano

Green Mill

The most famous bar in Uptown if not all of Chicago, the Green Mill is one of notorious gangster Al Capone's former speakeasies from the Prohibition-era roaring '20s (check out his photo on the baby grand behind the bar); it was also a fav of Charlie Chaplin and Gloria Swanson. The oldest jazz club in the US (and presumably the world), under Dave Jemilo's care, it remains one of the city's liveliest jazz venues and still serves a mean Manhattan and martini. The history preceeds its mobster-studded days. Opened in 1907 as Pop Morse's Roadhouse, "happily morose" was the name of the game, as it served as a stopping place for mourners "to celebrate the passing of a friend" before proceeding to St. Boniface's Cemetery. A scant three years later, new owners converted the roadhouse into the Green Mill Gardens, emphasis on the "garden." Lantern-lit outdoor dancing ran into the wee hours, carried by headliners like 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," says the Mill's Web site. Not exactly the Chicago you know, eh? So it's appropriate that once across the threshold, you step into another era. The atmosphere makes you want to kick back with a few martinis and hear some cool jazz, both of which are superb here. The blues, big band and swing bands are also great; the list of folks who have held down a weekly gig at the Mill is worthy bunch. The Sunday night poetry slam (the world's first) is usually exciting and intellectually stimulating. Amateurs are often welcome to participate if they arrive in time to register. Call ahead for info. If you arrive early for music, you can snag a cozy velvet booth, or grab a stool at the long bar. If you arrive late, you'll probably have to stand: The house fills up several nights during the week as well as weekends. For the most part the long bar farthest from the stage fills up with people smoking and talking, while the front is for more serious music listening.

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