HI-FI Tavern Bombing on March 26, 1961.

On Friday night, March 26, 1961, surgeons removed the right arm and both legs of Charlene Frazer, 23, and both legs of Martha Jackson, 26, from a bomb explosion in the basement of a popular Chicago tavern.

The interior view shows blast damage to the floor and ceiling of a near northside. Note the Jukebox in the background.

The Jukebox was blaring something called "Nutville," and a score of 20 or more merrymakers were dancing in the HI-FI Tavern at 943 North Wells Street, at Walton Street, Chicago, when the explosion happened. Dozens more were in booths or on bar stools sipping drinks.

NUTVILLE — with Billy Cobham - Horace Silver

Bill Hardman - Bennie Maupin - John Williams

Mary Petty, 24, whose father, George, 54, owns the place, said she was behind the bar when "suddenly, there was a terrible noise, and the lights and music went out." People were hurled into the walls, and the bomb in the basement blasted a 15-foot diameter hole in the tavern's floor upstairs. The first floor is a 30 by 50-foot tavern floor upstairs. People were rescued from the basement.

Miss Leona Thames, who lives at 947 North Wells Street, said she was thrown from her chair as she watched television. She said clouds of smoke were pouring from the tavern when she looked out. The second deputy fire marshal John Scanian said no fire followed the blast.

Ambulances and Squadrols[1] began removing the injured to nearby hospitals. The fire department sounded an extra alarm, and police blocked off the area from spectators and cleared traffic for emergency vehicles.

One of the victims, Cyrus Leatherman, 34, of 923 North Sedgwick Street, was questioned by police in Wesley Memorial Hospital, said:

"I was dancing when the whole floor just came right up. I went clear to the ceiling and I thought I was going to remain hanging there. It was the craziest rock 'n' roll I ever anced."

First floor looking at the 15-foot diameter hole in the floor and the damage to the ceiling. 

Edward Neville, the detonation expert of the police bomb squad, said the explosion apparently occured in the basement of the three-story brick building. Neville said it positively was a bomb. 

Captain Robert Thomsen said an outside basement door had been forced open before the blast, and it had been wired shut, but the wire was cut with a sharp instrument.

The first 12 people removed were taken to Henrotin Hospital. The following 22 were sent to Wesley  Memorial Hospital, five were taken to Passavant Hospital, and one was sent to Grant Hospital.

Only three uninjured people were in the tavern: the owner's daughter, Miss Mary Petty, and the two bartenders, Sylvester Green and Clarence Bell. They were shielded from the effects of the blast by the bar, which remained intact.

The concussion threw people into the apartments above the tavern from beds and chairs, but none were injured. No one on the street was hurt by the blast.

Fire Department officials concluded that the blast was definitely caused by a dynamite time bomb.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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[1] Squadrols are vehicles used by police as both squad cars and ambulances. The Chicago Police called them "Paddy Wagons."

Illinois' Driftless Region Explained.

The driftless region or zone consists of the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois, southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, and northeastern Iowa. Illinois' driftless region borders are not well defined. Generally, they contain all of Jo Daviess and Stephenson Counties and the western portions of Carroll County near the Mississippi River.

The Upper Mississippi Region, about 15,000 square miles, was miraculously left untouched by glacial erosion and sediments during the last ice age.

Galena, Illinois, is a perfect example of a driftless region. "Driftless" refers to the geological history of the area; its ground hasn't been eroded by glaciers in the Pleistocene (last) Ice Age, nor does it have rocks or sediments (termed drift) transported by the moving glaciers. 

The driftless region is characterized by steep hills, forested ridges, deeply carved river valleys, Karst[1] geology with spring-fed waterfalls, and cold-water trout streams.

The Illinois Counties in the Driftless region.

As in Wisconsin, the Illinois portion of the driftless area became a significant center for Lead and Zinc Mining in the 1800s. The city of Galena was named after the lead sulfide mineral Galena.

In Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, the Driftless Brewing Company took advantage of the fresh, naturally filtered water. The great-tasting spring water is crucial to brewing their beer brands, and they chose to pay homage to the driftless area they occupy.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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[1] Karst is an area of land made up of limestone. 

Limestone, aka chalk or calcium carbonate, is a soft rock that dissolves in water. As rainwater seeps into the rock, it slowly erodes. 

Driftless area in southwest Wisconsin.

Karst landscapes can be worn away from the top or dissolved from a weak point inside the rock. Karst vistas feature caves, underground streams, and sinkholes on the surface. Where erosion has worn away the land above ground, steep rocky cliffs are visible.

                   ██  Karst Landscapes in Illinois.

Sears Tower - The History of the First Sears Tower.

The Sears Tower (now Willis Tower), 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, was once the tallest building in the world, 1,729 feet at the highest point, with 108 floors until 1998. It is easily one of Chicago's most recognizable buildings. However, the 'Loop' Sears Tower was not the first Sears Tower in Chicago.

In 1904, the company purchased over 40 acres of land on Chicago's West Side and embarked on one of the most significant retail development projects. The Sears Merchandise Building Tower complex occupied an area bounded on the north by Arthington Street, the south by Fillmore Street, the east by Spaulding Avenue, and the west by Central Park Avenue. 

The Sears Merchandise Building Tower at 925 South Homan Avenue, Chicago, is a fourteen-story structure with a limestone base and Chicago Common Brick walls. It is crowned by a Classical Revival top floor round-arch windows and a modillion cornice. It housed water tanks for firefighting, offices, and secretarial training facilities on the upper levels. It also housed the early radio broadcast facilities for WLS-AM.

The centerpiece of the company-owned "city within a city" was its central administration building, a merchandise development house, a mail-order processing facility, and a power plant large enough to provide electricity and heat to the entire complex.

The full extent of the Sears, Roebuck, and Company Complex (towering cluster of buildings in the center) circa 1950.
CLICK FOR A FULL-SIZE PICTURE

The Print Shop then turned into the Merchandise Development Laboratory, was an L-shaped, six-story building finished in Chicago Common Brick. It housed the print shop for the Sears catalog from 1905 to 1926. It served for about forty years as its principal product testing laboratory.

By 1926, the first ground-level parking lots replaced the athletic fields. This happened when a strategic shift from catalog sales to retail stores started with easy auto travel, making travel to a store more practical. 

By 1943, the complex had become a city within itself. Sears created their own services for practical use, which were well advanced in what was required at the time, including:

• A company fire department with volunteer firemen and early fire sprinklers.
• A 200,000-gallon water tank is also used for fire prevention purposes.
• A newspaper publicity office.
• A cafeteria serving breakfast and lunch—initially, men and women were separated.
• A private bank offering discounted services for employees on-site (today, a Credit Union).

The company's growth continued through the 20th century, and by the 1960s, it was the largest retailer in the world.

The company's growth continued through the 20th century, and by the 1960s, it was the largest retailer in the world. Changing trends in retail sales and methods led to a decline, and the company's mail-order business was scaled back in 1987, moving out of these premises. The corporate headquarters had been moved to the new Sears Tower in 1973.

The complex stood vacant for nineteen years. 

The abandoned complex presented the City of Chicago with a redevelopment quagmire. In 1992, a nonprofit partnership organized by former Sears management began to redevelop the site named Homan Square. The mail-order merchandise building was demolished, except for its main tower, and its land has been redeveloped to include new residences, retail, and a community center.

The "John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols Tower at 925 South Homan Avenue, Chicago

In 2015, the tower was renamed the "John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols Tower, which restored the building. It is now a hub for nonprofit arts, multi-media education, youth leadership development, job training, and more. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago has its classroom on the 12th floor. The Sears Roebuck plaque is still visible on top of the building.

The surviving buildings can be seen from Homan and Arthington. 

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.