A matchbook memento of Uptown's past. We're not exactly sure when the Back Stage Burlesk held sway at 935 West Wilson, but you can't beat the combination of air conditioning, shapely gams, and burlesque done "the intimate way."
Now the building is part of the JPUSA-owned properties along that block, most recently known as the site of the now-departed Shiller campaign posters.
Thanks to Chuckman's Collection, Volume 12, for the original scan of this fun piece of Uptownabilia.
Update: The Uptown Chicago History blog adds: "We recently learned that speakeasy type murals were discovered in the basement of 935 Wilson during renovation. No word on whether or not the building's owners plan to preserve them or not."
Of course, by today's standards that type of entertainment would probably be PG-13!
ReplyDeleteRemember everyone, until sometime after WWII Uptown was both a middle-class residential neighborhood AND a center of entertainment and commerce. Girlie bars occupied the same streets as lavish movie houses and "legit" vaudeville houses. The archives of many of the lakefront hi-rises show major Hollywood names on the guest lists. (Several of these apartment buildings used to function as "extended stay" hotels.)
My mother has fond memories of trekking from Joliet, with her future husband (my dad) and friends in tow, to attend concerts by Benny Goodman and Wayne King at the Aragon.