"Playboy Club The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first club opened at 116 E. Walton Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States, on February 29, 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room, and a Club Room. Members and their guests were served food and drinks by Playboy Bunnies, some of whom were featured in ""Playboy"" magazine. The clubs offered name entertainers and comedians in the Club Rooms, and local musicians and the occasional close-up magician in the Living Rooms. Starting with"
"of the first to be granted a gaming license by the Gaming Control Act, in 1960, and served as the official greeter of the ""Sands Hotel and Casino"", in Las Vegas, under Joseph ""Doc"" Stacher. Charles Baron Charles ""Babe"" Baron (b?-d?) was an organized crime figure in Chicago, Illinois. He owned a successful Chicago new car dealership ( Charles Baron Ford) as well as holding the rank of Brigadier-General in the Illinois National Guard. He was involved in illegal gambling as a handbook operator for the Chicago Outfit. Along with Dave Yaras and Lenny Patrick, Baron served as a protégé"
"Chicago by Al Capone. The family name was changed to Chess, with Lejzor becoming Leonard and Fiszel becoming Philip. Leonard and his brother Phil became involved in the black nightclub scene on the South Side of Chicago in 1938 running a series of jazz clubs, culminating in the Macomba Lounge. In 1947, Leonard became associated with Aristocrat Records, increasing his share in the company over time; eventually he and Phil would acquire complete control. The Chess brothers moved the company away from black pop and jazz and other genres into down home blues music with artists such as Muddy Waters."
"Regal Theater, Chicago The Regal Theater, located on Chicago's south side, was an important night club and music venue built in Chicago in 1928. It was designed by Edward Eichenbaum. Part of the Balaban and Katz chain, the lavishly decorated venue, with plush carpeting and velvet drapes featured some of the most celebrated black entertainers in America. The Regal also featured motion pictures and live stage shows. Demolished in 1973, it is now the site of the Harold Washington Cultural Center. Nat ""King"" Cole, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, Dinah Washington, Miles Davis, Sammy Davis"
"Chicago Club The Chicago Club, founded in 1869, is a private social club located at 81 East Van Buren Street at Michigan Avenue in the Loop neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Its membership has included many of Chicago's most prominent businessmen, politicians, and families. In the mid-1860s, a social group formed in Chicago, Illinois that met on State Street. The group later met on the top floor of the old Portland Block on the southeast corner of Dearborn and Washington Streets. Known as the ""Dearborn Club"", members would meet in afternoons to drink and play cards. Members"
"Chez Paree The Chez Paree was a Chicago nightclub known for its glamorous atmosphere, elaborate dance numbers, and top entertainers. It operated from 1932 until 1960 in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago at 610 N. Fairbanks Court. The club was the epitome of the golden age of entertainment, and it hosted singers to comedians to vaudeville acts. A ""new"" Chez Paree opened briefly in the mid-1960s on 400 N. Wabash Avenue and was seen in the film ""Mickey One"" with Warren Beatty. The Chez Paree was originally opened in 1932 by Mike Fritzel and Joe Jacobson. After reported financial problems"
"most popular restaurants in Chicago during the early twentieth century. Caspar Brauer, who died at age 68 on April 29, 1940, was the longtime proprietor of Cafe Brauer. The original restaurant closed in the 1940s. In 1947, Cafe Brauer's second floor ballroom was opened to the public as an indoor recreation room featuring ballroom dancing for children, square dancing, and waltzing. At the time, it was announced that the facility would be renamed the Lincoln Fieldhouse. By the 1960s, the structure was largely used for storage. Part of the second floor was used as a theater, and there was a"
"Savoy Ballroom (Chicago) The Savoy Ballroom in Chicago, United States was opened on Thanksgiving Eve, November 23, 1927 at 4733 South Parkway. Originally featuring primarily Jazz artists, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, Stan Kenton, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman, the Savoy also hosted other activities, such as boxing, figure skating, and basketball exhibitions featuring the Savoy Big Five, who would later change their name to the Harlem Globetrotters. From 1927 until 1940, there was continuous music supplied by two bands per night. When one band took a break, the other would go on."
"Notes Bibliography Chicago Club The Chicago Club, founded in 1869, is a private social club located at 81 East Van Buren Street at Michigan Avenue in the Loop neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Its membership has included many of Chicago's most prominent businessmen, politicians, and families. In the mid-1860s, a social group formed in Chicago, Illinois that met on State Street. The group later met on the top floor of the old Portland Block on the southeast corner of Dearborn and Washington Streets. Known as the ""Dearborn Club"", members would meet in afternoons to drink and play"
"venue, called the Rainbo Fronton. In 1934, during the Chicago World's Fair (Century of Progress), it became French Casino. The French Casino is where John Dillinger spent his birthday, June 22, 1934, a month before he was shot. In 1939, it became Mike Todd's Theater Cafe, which was a popular dinner theater. Tommy Sutton, the Theater Cafe's choreographer, went on to work with Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole, among others. It was also a venue for Championship Wrestling where, in 1955, the first women's tag team wrestling match was held. In 1957, The Theater Cafe was converted"
"cabaret often booked revues, including the 1946 Nan DeMar revue and a 30-performer revue in 1948. Eddie Kaplan was responsible for booking acts to perform at the club in the late 1940s. In 1947 drink prices started at 90 cents at the Clicquot Club, Paddock International, and Club Harlem. Clicquot Club Clicquot Club was a nightclub at 15 North Illinois Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the heart of the city. Billed as the club that ""never closed"", it became notorious as an illegal gambling spot in the city. Operating during the Prohibition era in the 1920s, the club"
"Trianon Ballrooms The Trianon Ballroom was the name given to a number of ballrooms in cities during America's big-band era. The first and most prominent Trianon opened in 1922 in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, Designed by renowned theater architects Rapp & Rapp, it was owned and operated by William and Andrew Karzas, who opened the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago four years later. The Trianon's size, opulence and success led to other ballrooms to be similarly named in identifying with the original. Cleveland, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toledo, and the Los Angeles suburb of South Gate each had a Trianon Ballroom."
"music music canon. The musician and critic Cub Koda described Chess as ""America's greatest blues label."" Chess was based at several different locations on the south side of Chicago, initially at two different locations on South Cottage Grove Ave. The most famous location was 2120 S. Michigan Avenue from around 1956 to 1965, immortalized by the Rolling Stones in ""2120 South Michigan Avenue"", an instrumental recorded there during the group's first U.S. tour in 1964. The Stones recorded at Chess Studios on two more occasions. The building is now the home of Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven Foundation. In the mid-1960s,"
"Billy Eckstine, as well as the dancer - Bill ""Bojangles"" Robinson. And it was ""live"" from The Grand Terrace that the Hines Band became the most broadcast band in America. Sunset Cafe The Sunset Cafe, also known as The Grand Terrace Cafe, was a jazz club in Chicago, Illinois operating during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. It was one of the most important jazz clubs in America, especially during the period between 1917 and 1928 when Chicago became a creative capital of jazz innovation and again during the emergence of bebop in the early 1940s. From its inception, the club"
"has been drastically altered, the facade is in remarkably good shape. Admiral Theatre The Admiral Theatre in Chicago, Illinois opened in 1927 as a vaudeville house. it was designed by Gallup and Joy and acquired by the Balaban and Katz circuit. The Admiral closed sometime in the late 1950s, and remained shuttered for many years until opening in 1969 as an all-cartoon venue. Unable to draw the crowds necessary to remain open, the Admiral closed again. In the early 1970s, the Admiral was opened as an adult movie house. After receiving a facelift in the 1980s, the Admiral continues to"
"opened by Joseph Finocchio and was on Stockton Street. International Settlement's club acts, with their can-can dancers and old-fashioned chorus girls, were unable to compete with the incredible talent and excitement of the emerging Broadway scene, and by the early 1960s their popularity had fallen below a critical level. But despite the brilliance and innovation of Broadway's entertainment scene of the 1950s and 1960s, its live entertainment clubs would also lose their popularity with time. As of the first decade in the 21st century, Broadway had lost its standup comedy clubs and its live music clubs, only to be replaced"
"in danger of closing due to structural issues with their original building, moved to a newly renovated building at 5201 S. Harper Court in Hyde Park. Several years after moving, the club experienced declining attendance and it closed its doors in 2015, after the death of L.C. Thurman. During the club's existence, it frequently hosted musical acts including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Magic Slim and Vance Kelly. Checkerboard Lounge The Checkerboard Lounge was an historic blues nightclub located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was established in 1972, at 423 E. 43rd St., by L.C. Thurman and"
"and Pete Watters; Jeff and Pete are partners in the club now. On September 4, 2012, Larry Boehmer died after struggling with lung cancer. Many not only remember Larry as a visual artist and blues player, but as a community builder. In July 2013, the bar celebrated its 40th anniversary. Zoo Bar (Lincoln, Nebraska) The Zoo Bar is a blues music venue and nightclub located in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, on 136 North 14th Street. Styled around the Chicago blues clubs, it is a long, narrow venue in a building built in 1921. Around 1971, Jim Ludwig, Bill Kennedy, and Don"
"block on Rush Street in Chicago. It had begun in a drugstore, swept through the buildings and completely destroyed Mister Kelly’s. The club reopened on May 15, 1967. It was rebuilt on its original site and redesigned to increase seating capacity at tables from 165 to 180 seats. The old stairways now known as ""bleachers"" were reinstalled with cushions and additional seating space. The bleachers continued to be a no-minimum, no-cover area where a customer could see and hear the show for a price for a drink or two. Among the stars who returned to perform were Woody Allen and"
"during World War II where he saw eight months of action after arriving in Normandy, France immediately after D-day. After the war, he attended the University of Alabama where he played football for two years. Arnie Morton opened his first restaurant, the Walton Walk, between Rush Street and Michigan Avenue in the 1950s. This paved the way for a partnership with Victor Lownes and Hugh Hefner, launching the Playboy Club in 1960. Morton was the right-hand man of Hugh Hefner when he launched the Playboy Empire on February 29, 1960. He served as Executive Vice President of Playboy Enterprises, where"
"on 3 February 1966. During its heyday in the mid 1960s, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, Rod Stewart, the Moody Blues, the Spencer Davis Group, Eric Burdon, the Animals, Sonny and Cher, Inez and Charlie Foxx, Goldie and the Gingerbreads were regular patrons and the Beatles and Rolling Stones were given their own tables. In the mid-1980s the club was closed down. The club was restored and re-opened by a group of investors in January 2012. After a brief collaboration with Parisian nightclub brand Le Baron between April and November 2013, when the club was named"
"Admiral Theatre The Admiral Theatre in Chicago, Illinois opened in 1927 as a vaudeville house. it was designed by Gallup and Joy and acquired by the Balaban and Katz circuit. The Admiral closed sometime in the late 1950s, and remained shuttered for many years until opening in 1969 as an all-cartoon venue. Unable to draw the crowds necessary to remain open, the Admiral closed again. In the early 1970s, the Admiral was opened as an adult movie house. After receiving a facelift in the 1980s, the Admiral continues to thrive as an adult venue and gentlemen's club. While the interior"
"were created at the Trianon than anything else. Good behavior was demanded and enforced. Acting up could result in being banned from the Trianon, sometimes for life! To many, this was the ultimate penalty. The Seattle Trianon today has been converted an office building, (see: Victor Aloysius Meyers). Trianon Ballrooms The Trianon Ballroom was the name given to a number of ballrooms in cities during America's big-band era. The first and most prominent Trianon opened in 1922 in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, Designed by renowned theater architects Rapp & Rapp, it was owned and operated by William and"
"members and painted by world-famous muralist Br. Mark Elder and his mural students from DePaul University. In late 2018, it was announced that two established Chicago entertainment venues were moving to Uptown. The Baton Show Lounge which opened in 1969, has hosted many celebrities, and presents drag performance. The popular indie music venue Double Door (established, 1994) plans to reopen the Wilson Avenue Theater. The Wilson first presented vaudeville in 1910, although its classical architecture caused it to be used as a bank for most of the 20th and into the 21st century. The Rainbo, at 4812 N. Clark Street,"
"Sunset Cafe The Sunset Cafe, also known as The Grand Terrace Cafe, was a jazz club in Chicago, Illinois operating during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. It was one of the most important jazz clubs in America, especially during the period between 1917 and 1928 when Chicago became a creative capital of jazz innovation and again during the emergence of bebop in the early 1940s. From its inception, the club was a rarity as a haven from segregation, since the Sunset Cafe was an integrated or ""Black and Tan"" club where African Americans, along with other ethnicities, could mingle freely"
"formed a connection that brought many revered Chicago artists to the Lincoln club. Because of this connection, the Zoo Bar was the first white club that Magic Slim ever played. In 1975 he had never ventured outside the clubs in Chicago's African-American neighborhoods. In 1977, Boehmer was the sole owner and the Zoo was established as an important stop for bands on the touring circuit. The first band Boehmer booked to play in the club was The Cotton Blues Band in the summer of 1973. The first national act to play at the bar was Luther Allison in September 1974."
"Ike Bloom Ike Bloom (c. 1865 – December 15, 1930) was an American businessman, cabaret and nightclub owner in Chicago from the turn of the 20th century and throughout Prohibition. An early organized crime figure in Chicago, he was associate of ""Big Jim"" Colosimo and owner of some of the city's most popular nightclubs such as ""Midnight Frolics"" and ""Freiberg's"", a well known dance hall in The Levee vice district at 20 E 22nd St. The ""Midnight Frolics"" was the club in which comedian Joe E. Lewis first began his career in 1926. Born Isaac Gitelson Bloom, he ran numerous"
"Chess Records quickly followed with Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers and Howlin' Wolf. Vee-Jay, the largest black-owned label before Motown Records, was among the post-World War II companies that formed ""Record Row"" on Cottage Grove between 47th and 50th Streets. In the 1960s, it was located along South Michigan Avenue. Rhythm and blues continued to thrive after Record Row became the hub of gospelized rhythm and blues, known as soul. Chicago continues as a prominent musical city. Many other artists have left their mark on Chicago's South Side. These include Upton Sinclair and James Farrell via fiction,"
"University Club of Chicago The University Club of Chicago is a private social club located at 76 East Monroe Street at the corner of Michigan Avenue & Monroe Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It received its charter in 1887, when a group of college friends, principally alumni of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, founded the club hoping to further their collegial ties and enjoy intellectual pursuits. Though officially chartered in 1887 by university graduates for ""the promotion of literature and art, by establishing and maintaining a library, reading room and gallery of art, and by such other means as shall be"
"New trends in technology, chaotic streets and bars adding drums to an electric mix, gave birth to a new club culture. One of the most famous was Ruby Lee Gatewood's Tavern, known by patrons as ""The Gates"". During the 1930s virtually every big-name artist played there. What drove the blues to international influence was the promotion of record companies such as Paramount Records, RCA Victor, and Columbia Records. Through such record companies Chicago blues became a commercial enterprise. The new style of music eventually reached Europe and the United Kingdom. In the 1960s, young British musicians were highly influenced by"
"club became known as Clifton's Club Harlem. In July 1940, Club Harlem, Little Belmont, the Paradise Club, and the Wonder Bar were targeted in a midnight raid by police officers, accompanied by the newly elected mayor, Tom Taggart, seeking proof of illegal gambling activities. The police confiscated ""three truckloads of gambling paraphernalia"" and arrested 32 club owners and employees, then shut down the four clubs. The next day the clubs were open for business as usual. In 1946 showman Larry Steele introduced an all-black revue called ""Smart Affairs"" to Club Harlem. The elaborate show, featuring 40 to 50 acts including"
"Stager, Charles B. Farwell, George Pullman, George & David Gage, and Wirt Dexter each lent the club five hundred dollars to cover early expenses. Former state representative Edward S. Isham drafted incorporation papers and Wadsworth delivered them to the state capitol of Springfield. The club then rented the former Henry Farnam mansion on the corner of Michigan Avenue between Jackson and Adams Streets. The first meeting of the Chicago Club was held on May 1, 1869. The first clubhouse was destroyed by fire in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, so the club moved to 279 Michigan Avenue for two"
"London House (Chicago) The London House was a jazz club and restaurant in Chicago located at the corner of Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue, in the London Guaranty and Accident Company Building, 360 N. Michigan Ave. It was one of the foremost jazz clubs in the country, once home to such luminaries as Oscar Peterson, Ramsey Lewis, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, Marian McPartland, Dinah Washington, Cannonball Adderley, Erroll Garner, Ahmad Jamal, Nancy Wilson, Barbara Carroll, Bobby Short and many others. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary in November 1966, Frank Sinatra, Jr. headlined the club in his Chicago debut."