Al Capone – also known as one particular of Chicago’s most infamous gangster chiefs – had a wide selection of retreats and getaway spots in which he could unplug from his really hectic existence of murder and mayhem and get pleasure from a tiny peaceful R & R. These include St. Paul MN, Sizzling Springs AR, as properly as some lesser regarded hideouts the place he could preserve his anonymity this sort of as French Lick IN, Brookfield WI, Olean NY, Lansing MI, Dubuque IA, and Johnson City, TN. But one of Scarface Al’s all-time beloved stomping grounds were being substantially nearer to his property, in Kankakee, since Kankakee Illinois hospital was perfectly identified to Chicagoans hunting for a good time. Kankakee County’s cities experienced the name in the 1920’s and 30’s as being vast open entertaining places wherever anything went.
The Kankakee County motto was “Just an hour from Chicago, but a world aside.” In accordance to Jorie Walters, a researcher at Kankakee County’s Museum, there is not a lot penned documentation of Al Capone’s affect in the region, but every person knows the genuine fact. Walters’ information and facts was collected from guides, historical past columns in the Kankakee Every day Journal Newspaper, oral histories, and from previous museum files. She states that some of the area dives which were owned or frequented by Scarface Al contain Bradley Illinois’ Hawaii Motel a protected dwelling in L’Erable on the Iroquois River which was incredibly effectively fortified from unexpected and unwanted site visitors Nel Clark’s, a brothel in Kankakee which is now named the Town Tavern The Sahara Cafe on Kankakee’s Fifth Avenue and the Radeke Brewery, also in Kankakee, which was secretly owned by Al Capone in the 1920’s and 30’s. Kankakee was also the hometown of Fred Burke’s moll. Burke was Capone’s main enforcer who prepared and executed the St. Valentine’s Day massacre in 1929 against Bugs Moran’s gang.
An additional of Scarface Al’s preferred hangouts was the Miami Gardens close to Peotone Illinois healthcare facility, which was the two a bar and brothel in Prohibition Days and is called Edwin’s bar now. Scarface Al had the name of staying the foremost sampler of the wares he purveyed in his brothels. The Miami Gardens had superior, ornate ceilings designed of tin, and there was a mystery garage with place for 20 automobiles in the basement of the developing which is scarred with bullet holes in its walls. It is rumored that gangland executions were carried out in this hidden garage. An additional favored hangout was Club 54 Cafe in the vicinity of the Manteno Illinois healthcare facility (just south of Manteno exactly where Governor’s Highway fulfills 500E). This cafe was essentially a brothel.