AtDDtA1: That Sinister Quarter

[Otto]

Very interesting stories!

"Another of Chicago's early vice districts was named the "Willows." It
was the headquarters of one of Chicago's first crime czars, Roger
Plant (Nash, 1981:57-59). Plant ran a saloon at Monroe and Wells known
as the Barracks. The Barracks was an around-the-clock gambling den and
bordello. The Barracks, like most of downtown Chicago, was built upon
the wetlands that surrounded the Chicago River's entrance into Lake
Michigan. As a result, the streets surrounding the Barracks, and much
of the rest of Chicago, were notorious for their muddy conditions. In
an effort to eliminate this quagmire, the City decided to raise the
level of many Chicago streets making it necessary to raise the
foundations of the buildings along the newly upgraded roadways. In
some cases, whole blocks were raised as much as ten feet. The end
result was the creation of underground passages, streets, and earthen
rooms. This subterranean area was controlled by Plant and became home
to the many thieves, pickpockets, and muggers who frequented his
saloon. Some say that the many underground rooms that existed beneath
the Barracks gave rise to the term "underworld" as a description for
that segment of society that engaged in organized criminal activity."

> http://www.ipsn.org/genesis.htm


2007/1/25, Tim Strzechowski <dedalus204 at comcast.net>:
> > "that sinister quarter"
> >
> > What quarter?  Tim?  Anyone?  Doesn't "speak for itself" to me, and I
> > live ninety miles away.
>
>
> My guess is, he's making a subtle reference to The Levee, i.e. the First
> Ward, which was notorious for it's brothels, bars, and First Ward Balls that
> were thrown by its local Chicago pols, Bathhouse John Coughlin and "Hinky
> Dink" Kenna.
>
> [...] The Levee
>
> "Hinky Dink" Kenna and "Bathhouse" John Coughlin, as they were called,
> controlled politics and vice in Chicago's downtown area and Near South Side,
> which was commonly referred to as the Levee. Kenna was reportedly nicknamed
> after the waterhole he swam in as a youngster. He began his working career
> as a newsboy and eventually became a successful saloon keeper and
> politician. Kenna's saloon at 120 East Van Buren was called the "Workingman's
> Exchange" (Lindberg, 1985:122). Its second floor was home to unemployed
> vagrants, panhandlers, tramps, card-sharps, and down-on-their-luck gamblers
> who formed a well disciplined army of voters on election day. Kenna
> reportedly spent campaign money feeding his hungry army and satisfying their
> thirst. When asked why by a French writer, Hinky Dink replied that politics
> is business and that is how he made votes. [...]
>
> http://www.ipsn.org/genesis.htm
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Coughlin_(alderman)
>
> http://www.prairieghosts.com/bathhouse2.jpg
>
>