Green Door Tavern
 The interior, in February 2012 | |
| Formerly | Huron-Orleans Restaurant |
|---|---|
| Company type | Tavern |
| Founded | 1921 |
| Founder | Vito Giacomoni |
| Headquarters | , |
| Website | greendoorchicago |
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
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i Parnell, Sean. "Green Door Tavern". The Chicago Bar Project. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Green Door Tavern, River North". Metromix Chicago. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ Gerzina, Daniel (2015-01-20). "Former Speakeasy The Drifter, Blind Chef's Restaurant, Burger Bar South Loop, More". Eater Chicago. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Gerzina, Daniel (2015-01-12). "The Drifter to Combine Cocktails, Quirky Performances and Artifacts in an Old Speakeasy". Eater Chicago. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Gentile, Raf Miastkowski, Jay (2018-11-26). "How to Get Into Chicago's Secret Bars". Thrillist. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
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