THE DIGITAL RESEARCH LIBRARY OF ILLINOIS HISTORY JOURNAL™ PRESENTS
THE LUNCHTIME THEATER.
The Great Chicago Fire 1871
Presented to the Great Lakes Historical Society, Cleveland, 1971.
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Lockwood Castle Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor, Chicago, Illinois.
Lockwood Castle was on the northwest corner of Devon and Central Avenues (5400 West Devon) in Chicago. The restaurant had booths in the front with large windows to look out on Central and Devon Avenues. In the back of the restaurant were tables for large groups.
Famous for their "Giant Killer," a 24-scoop sundae topped with Hot Fudge, Strawberry, Marshmallow, Carmel, tons of cherries, and vanilla wafers. Topped off with sparklers and an American Flag, served in a 9"x13" glass bowl on a pedestal. It was usually ordered for birthdays or groups. The menu stated it served 4-6 people, but parties of 8 or more would order it for their dessert after dinner. If one person could eat it in one sitting, you were given a free Giant Killer sundae the next time you visited.
On February 23, 1983, Lockwood Castle was visited by Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne, and a photo was taken of her drinking an Ice Cream Soda. Business boomed when the photo (by Al Podgorski) was published in the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.
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| Double the size of this 12-scoop sundae, and you can imagine what the "Giant Killer" would look like. |
Friday, May 25, 2018
The Famous Smoke-Ring Blowing Billboard on the North-East Corner of State and Randolph Streets in Chicago.
The famous Winston smoking billboard was on the northeast corner of State & Randolph streets in Chicago. Circa 1967. A billboard like this was featured in the movie "Take the Money and Run (1969)," where the smoke rings were blown directly into Woody Allen's apartment window.
If I recall correctly, this sign was a steaming cup of coffee advertising a brand of canned coffee before it was the Winston sign. The same principle as Leave it to Beaver's Steaming Bowl of Soup Billboard.
Take the money and run.
Smoking Billboard Scene at 3:45
Leave it to Beaver
Steaming Bowl of Soup Billboard Scene
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| Note the Magikist Rug Cleaners Sign. |
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| Note the Mattel Lighted Animated Sign Board on top of the Walgreens. |
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Monday, May 21, 2018
Richard J. Daley was elected to his first political office... as a Republican in 1936.
If anything in Illinois history fits the “believe it or not” category, this is it.
Richard J. Daley; future Democrat boss; future Chicago mayor, future father of a future Chicago mayor; was elected to his first political office... as a Republican on November 3, 1936.
The election was for the Illinois House of Representatives from the 9th district. In 1936 the state was divided into 51 legislative districts. Each district sent three reps to the state House.
The Republican and Democratic parties had a cozy arrangement back then. In each of those 51 districts, the Democrats would run only two candidates, and the Republicans would run only two. That way, whichever party wound up in the minority would get at least one-third of the total seats.
The 9th district was the area around Bridgeport, heavily Democrat. David Shanahan had held the “Republican” seat without much effort since 1894. Fifteen days before the 1936 election, Shanahan died.
It was too late to print new ballots. Shanahan’s name would stay. So the Republicans named Robert E. Rogers as their replacement candidate, and organized a write-in campaign.
With Shanahan dead, the Democrat leadership felt free to mount their own write-in campaign for the Republican slot. Their candidate was Cook County Treasurer Joe Gill’s 34-year-old private secretary. That was Richard Joseph Daley.
The Republicans screamed that the “gentlemen’s agreement” was being violated. But there wasn’t much they could do about it.
On November 3, 1936 President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a second term in a landslide. The Democrats were triumphant almost everywhere.
Buried among the returns were the write-in results from the Illinois 9th. Daley outpaced Rogers, 8539 to 3321. The Tribune noted that even though he’d run as a Republican, “it is understood that Daley will caucus with the Democrats.”
When the House convened the next January, the Democrats offered a resolution asking that Daley be seated on their side of the aisle. The Republicans were still angry about how they had been out-maneuvered.
“I don’t care about the resolution,” the Republican leader declared. “I want to know where Representative Daley wants to sit. Where do you want to sit, Representative Daley?”
The rookie rep pointed to the Democrat side of the chamber and softly said, “There.” Then he walked over to join his new colleagues and never looked back.
Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Richard J. Daley; future Democrat boss; future Chicago mayor, future father of a future Chicago mayor; was elected to his first political office... as a Republican on November 3, 1936.
The election was for the Illinois House of Representatives from the 9th district. In 1936 the state was divided into 51 legislative districts. Each district sent three reps to the state House.
The Republican and Democratic parties had a cozy arrangement back then. In each of those 51 districts, the Democrats would run only two candidates, and the Republicans would run only two. That way, whichever party wound up in the minority would get at least one-third of the total seats.
The 9th district was the area around Bridgeport, heavily Democrat. David Shanahan had held the “Republican” seat without much effort since 1894. Fifteen days before the 1936 election, Shanahan died.
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| David Shanahan Statue |
With Shanahan dead, the Democrat leadership felt free to mount their own write-in campaign for the Republican slot. Their candidate was Cook County Treasurer Joe Gill’s 34-year-old private secretary. That was Richard Joseph Daley.
 |
| Richard J. Daley, 1936 |
On November 3, 1936 President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a second term in a landslide. The Democrats were triumphant almost everywhere.
Buried among the returns were the write-in results from the Illinois 9th. Daley outpaced Rogers, 8539 to 3321. The Tribune noted that even though he’d run as a Republican, “it is understood that Daley will caucus with the Democrats.”
When the House convened the next January, the Democrats offered a resolution asking that Daley be seated on their side of the aisle. The Republicans were still angry about how they had been out-maneuvered.
“I don’t care about the resolution,” the Republican leader declared. “I want to know where Representative Daley wants to sit. Where do you want to sit, Representative Daley?”
The rookie rep pointed to the Democrat side of the chamber and softly said, “There.” Then he walked over to join his new colleagues and never looked back.
Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.
The Original Chicago Thin Crust Pizza at Home Run Inn.
In 1923, the original Home Run Inn location opened as a small tavern on Chicago’s South Side.
Founded by Mary and Vincent Grittani, the tavern received its’ name one fateful day when a baseball from the neighborhood park smashed through one of the tavern’s windows, a home run for some young slugger on the sandlot.
In 1947, Mary Grittani and her son-in-law, Nick Perrino, formed a partnership and together developed the recipe for their pizza, and still used today, best known for saucy thin crust pies.
Since then, hundreds of pizzerias have popped up all over the city and suburbs.
Frozen Home Run Inn pizzas are available at retailers throughout the nation.
INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.
INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.
Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.
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