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Speakeasies in the Roaring Twenties
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Speakeasies Facts for kids: Fast Fact Sheet
Fast, fun facts and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
about the Speakeasies.
What were the Speakeasies of the 1920's? The Speakeasies
of the 1920's were bars and nightclubs that
sold illegal (bootleg) liquor supplied by
the Prohibition gangsters
Why were they called Speakeasies? They
were called
Speakeasies (speak-easies) as secret codes
where spoken to gain access to a drinking
joint and patrons were told to 'speak easy'
about the bars in public.
Where were Speakeasies located?
The Speakeasies were located in major
northern cities, such as Chicago and New
York. Cellars were often converted into
speakeasies.
When did
Speakeasies start?
The Speakeasies started when the 18th
amendment on Prohibition was passed and was
enacted by the Volstead Act on January 29,
1920.
Speakeasies
Facts for kids
The following fact
sheet contains interesting facts and information on Speakeasies
for kids.
A list of the most famous Speakeasies in New York and Chicago are
detailed at the end of the Facts sheet.
Facts
about the Speakeasies for kids
Speakeasies Fact 1:
Prohibition and the Volstead Act
opened the nation to unintended consequences such as
bootlegging, speakeasies, gangsters and the rise of
organized crime.
Speakeasies Fact
2: Speakeasy clubs claimed to sell soft
drinks and coffee, but served alcohol behind the scenes
- some famously served in coffee cups.
Speakeasies Fact
3: There were different types of
speakeasies in most major cities that varied in quality,
size, and the types of people
that visited them. The speakeasy created an environment
where gangsters, the wealthy, and the lower classes
could all drink and socialize together. There were
speakeasy clubs located in attics, basements, office
buildings, rooming houses and private homes.
Speakeasies Fact 4:
Many speakeasies issued Membership
cards. Complete strangers were admitted only if they
knew the owner, knew the password, could produce the
card of a trusted reference
Speakeasies Fact 5:
New York City had nearly 100,000
speakeasy clubs in the 1920's - the names of most famous speakeasies
in New York, such as The Stork Club, The Cotton Club and Connie’s
Inn are detailed below.
Speakeasies Fact 6:
Chicago had more than 7,000
speakeasies and drinking parlors in the Roaring Twenties - the names
of most famous speakeasies in Chicago, such as the Green Mill and
Butch McGuire’s are detailed below. By 1926, there were an estimated
17,000 speakeasies in Detroit.
Speakeasies Fact 7:
Many movie stars and
Famous Flappers
of the Prohibition era, such as Barbara Stanwyke, Gilda
Gray and Josephine Baker started their careers singing
and dancing in the high quality speakeasies of the
1920's.
Speakeasies Fact 8:
Important Government officials and
wealthy celebrities frequented the clubs and politicians
like Jimmy Walker, the mayor of New York City throughout
most of Prohibition, was well known for attending
different high quality speakeasies. Whilst he was in
office Jimmy Walker actively discouraged the police from
enforcing Prohibition law .
Speakeasies Fact
9: The terms "blind pig" and "blind
tiger" were used to describe low class establishments.
The poorest quality speakeasies were given the nickname
“clip joints” and were notorious for their violence and
other crimes.
Speakeasies Fact
10: The cabaret form of entertainment
began in New York City in the high quality speakeasies
of the Prohibition era and provided many jazz musicians
with new venues.
Speakeasies Fact 11:
Cocktails were a huge fad in 1920s
and served in the upper class 'speakeasy' during the
Prohibition Era. The names of some of these famous
cocktails included Gin Rickeys, Stinger, Manhattan,
Rattlesnake, Manhattan, The Martini
Sidecar, Southside, the Mary Pickford and the
Dubonnet Cocktail.
Speakeasies Fact 12:
The lower classes, who could not
afford quality liquor, were sometimes sold poisoned
alcohol or “cut” liquors in the speakeasies. The most
common poisoned alcohol was Jamaica Gin, more commonly
known as “jake”
Speakeasies Fact 13:
Jazz music developed in the speakeasy
cellars of the cities of New York and Chicago.
Speakeasies Fact
14: Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong he met
other jazz musicians such as Hoagy
Carmichael, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington and Bix Beiderbecke in the Chicago
speakeasies
where he accompanied blues singers such as Bessie
Smith and Ma Rainey.
Speakeasies Fact 15:
Al
"Scarface" Capone and his
Chicago Mafia were
pulling in approximately $60 million per year in 1927 and
controlled the sale of liquor to over 10,000
speakeasies in Chicago and other cities.
Speakeasies Fact 16:
Government Agents from the Bureau of Prohibition,
notably
Eliot Ness and "The
Untouchables", attacked Al Capone's illegal
liquor empire by raiding speakeasies, stills and breweries for
alcohol. The G-Men located the speakeasies by tailing the trucks
that collected empty beer barrels
from speakeasies and returned them to Al Capone’s
breweries.
Continued...
Facts
about the Speakeasies for kids
Speakeasies
The info about the Speakeasies provides interesting facts and
important information about this important event that occured during the presidency of the 28th President of the United States of America.
Facts
about the Speakeasies for kids
The following fact
sheet continues with facts about Speakeasies for kids.
Facts
about Speakeasies for kids
Speakeasies Fact 17:
Massive profits were made via the 'speakeasies'
which led to bitter rivalry between gangsters who attempted to take
over 'territories'. The hostility between crime bosses Al "Scarface"
Capone and George “Bugs” Moran led to the infamous
1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
Speakeasies Fact 18:
One of the most common forms of
preventing Prohibition agents and police from
discovering the illegal alcohol was the secret
compartments within the speakeasy. The “21” Club in New
York City had better hidden compartments than most other
clubs. Their secret compartment was the size of a small
warehouse and was located in the basement of the “21”
Club and had a hidden locking system. The two ton door
to the secret 'warehouse' was designed to look like the
surrounding brick wall.
Speakeasies Fact 19:
More and more speakeasy clubs were
established with every year that passed during
Prohibition. As fast as the police closed down one
venue, another would spring up in its place. It is
estimated that for every bar that closed during
Prohibition, 6 new speakeasies opened in its place.
Speakeasies Fact 20:
The high quality Nepenthe Club in New
York, owned by Jim Brinckner, sold alcohol, food and
entertainment and had enough tables for 80 people.
Speakeasies Fact
21: The Green Mill Jazz Club on Broadway
in Uptown, Chicago was one of Al Capone’s favorite
hangouts. Singer Joe E. Lewis had his throat slashed by
Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn for leaving the Green Mill to
sing at a rival speakeasy.
Speakeasies Fact
22: Kelly’s Pleasure Palace operated as a
speakeasy and run by a Chicago mobster. It had tunnels
that run under the building and street.
Speakeasies Fact
23: The Stork Club, on East 53rd Street
in New York, was a high quality speakeasy owned and
operated by John Sherman Billingsley. The Stork
Club was always a celebrity hot spot and Billingsley
courted his wealthy clientele with gifts such as free
champagne, neckties for the men and gold compacts for
the women.
Speakeasies Fact
24: The famous Harlem Cotton Club, on
Lenox Avenue in New York City, was home to the
greatest African American entertainers of the
Prohibition era, including Lena Horne, James P. Johnson,
Fats Waller, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis
Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. It was owned by the
bootlegging gangster Owney Madden and attracted famous
movie stars and celebrities of the period who wanted to
enjoy the best jazz performances in New York.
Speakeasies Fact
25: The Casa Blanca on 33 West 56th
Street in New York City, was owned by gangster and
bootlegger Larry Fay. Larry Fay threatened his staff
with a wage cut and was shot dead by his doorman in
1932.
Speakeasies Fact
26: The Twin Anchors speakeasy in
Sedgwick Street, Chicago operated from the back exit of
the building while the front windows were boarded up.
Speakeasies Fact
27: The No Name speakeasy in Chicago was
originally a grocery store until it opened a speakeasy
in the basement, with access via the alleyway entrance.
Speakeasies Fact
28: Marge’s Still was a speakeasy located
in N Sedgwick Street in Chicago that served gin made in
the second floor bathtub!
Speakeasies Fact
29: The John Barleycorn located on W
Belden Avenue in Chicago was in the back room that was
disguised as a Chinese laundry.
Speakeasies Fact
30: The Hideout speakeasy in W. Wabansia
Avenue in Chicago was run by bootleggers, gin
runners, and gangsters who used the club as a base for
gambling and running numbers.
Facts
about Speakeasies for kids
Facts
about
Speakeasies for kids: Prohibition
For visitors interested in the history of
Prohibition refer to the following articles:
Speakeasies
Facts for kids: Famous Speakeasies
The most famous
speakeasies were located in New York and Chicago. Many of the names
of the most famous speakeasies are detailed on the
following list, a description of some of the can be found
in the facts file.
List of Names of Famous
Speakeasies in Chicago Green
Mill Jazz Club ● The
Burwood Tap ● Chipp Inn ● Kelly’s
Pleasure Palace ● Halligan
Bar ● Durkin’s ● The 226
Club ● The
Hideout ● John
Barleycorn ●
Schaller’s Pump ● The
Edgewater Lounge ● Green
Door Tavern ● Marge’s
Still ● Rainbo
Club ● No Name
ClubRainbo
Club ● Twin
Anchors ● Southport
Lanes ●
List of Names of Famous
Speakeasies in New York 21 Club
● The Stork
Club ● The
Cotton Club ● Casa
Blanca ● 300 Club ● Nepenthe
Club ● Club
Intime ● Landmark
Tavern ● Chumley’s ● Connie’s
Inn
Famous Speakeasies
Speakeasies - President Woodrow Wilson Video
The article on the Speakeasies provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Woodrow Wilson video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 28th American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1921.
1920's Speakeasy and Prohibition
●
Interesting Facts about the Speakeasy for kids and schools
● Bootleggers and the
Speakeasy for kids
●
The Speakeasies, a major
event in US history
●
Woodrow Wilson Presidency from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1921
●
Fast, fun facts about the Speakeasy
●
Prohibition in the 1920's and the Speakeasy
● Woodrow Wilson Presidency and
the Speakeasy for schools,
homework, kids and children |
