Green Door Tavern
FormerlyHuron-Orleans Restaurant
TypeTavern
Founded1921 (1921)
FounderVito Giacomoni
Headquarters
Chicago
,
United States
Websitegreendoorchicago.com

The Green Door Tavern is reputedly Chicago's oldest surviving drinking establishment.[1] It opened in 1921, but the building dates from 1872.[1][2]

History

The building, at 678 N. Orleans St. (700N, 300W), Chicago, Illinois, United States, was erected in 1872 by James McCole, just one year after the Great Chicago Fire.[1][2] It has a wooden frame, a building technique outlawed in the Central Business District by an ordinance passed by Chicago City Council shortly afterwards.[1] The original tenant was Lawrence P. Elk, who used the ground floor as a grocery store and lived upstairs.[1] It was converted to a dining establishment, the Huron-Orleans Restaurant, run by Vito Giacomoni, in 1921. His sons Jack and Nello ran it as a speakeasy during the prohibition.[1]

In the 1930s, the bar acquired the nickname "The Green Door", and this was eventually adopted formally.[1]

George Parenti purchased the bar from the Giacomoni brothers in August 1985.[1]

The structure developed a lean from plumb in its early years, due to the construction techniques used at the time, and this is still noticeable.[1]

In January 2015, a small, speakeasy-like space opened in the basement known as "The Drifter."[3][4] A rotating cocktail list is featured on tarot cards.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Parnell, Sean. "Green Door Tavern". The Chicago Bar Project. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Green Door Tavern, River North". Metromix Chicago. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Gerzina, Daniel (2015-01-20). "Former Speakeasy The Drifter, Blind Chef's Restaurant, Burger Bar South Loop, More". Eater Chicago. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  4. ↑ Gerzina, Daniel (2015-01-12). "The Drifter to Combine Cocktails, Quirky Performances and Artifacts in an Old Speakeasy". Eater Chicago. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  5. ↑ Gentile, Raf Miastkowski, Jay (2018-11-26). "How to Get Into Chicago's Secret Bars". Thrillist. Retrieved 2019-10-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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