{"id":33370,"date":"2024-07-03T07:12:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T07:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/?p=33370"},"modified":"2024-07-03T14:51:34","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T14:51:34","slug":"where-to-experience-chicagos-mob-history-a-travel-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/where-to-experience-chicagos-mob-history-a-travel-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Where To Experience Chicago\u2019s Mob History: A Travel Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For more than a hundred years, Chicago has had a reputation for organized crime and Mafia violence. In 1919, Al Capone moved from New York City to Chicago to head the mob\u2019s \u201cbusiness dealings\u201d and heads began to roll. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sound interesting? It is! While Chicago may not have an official mob museum like Las Vegas<\/a>, we have the actual places where all of this went down. And you can visit them today for a little mob history and lore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a local, I\u2019ve visited many of these historic places and highly recommend getting to know Chicago\u2019s darker side from back in the day. Ready to get started? Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A little mob history  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before you find out where to go in Chicago today to get a glimpse of Mafia history, here\u2019s a short synopsis of the organization\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mob in Chicago was better known as the Chicago Outfit, thriving during the Prohibition Era from 1920 to 1933 when alcohol was illegal. Along with traditional gambling and brothels, this gave way to a whole new underground industry called bootlegging. The most heinous act happened on Valentine\u2019s Day in 1929 when seven mobsters from the Bugs Moran gang were murdered gangland-style at their base of operations on Clark Street. Al Capone was rumored to have ordered the hit but was never formally charged. It remains an unsolved crime today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competition over territories soon started to heat up, and that brought increased violence. Control of the Chicago Outfit passed through many criminal hands over the decades that followed, but this is no longer the era of illegal gambling and drinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, you might want a taste of mob history and lore when you visit the Windy City. If so, here are the nine experiences to add to your must-do list.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Sit in Al Capone\u2019s favorite booth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Green
Credit: Kenneth C. Zirkel \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Green Mill in Uptown was once best known as a former speakeasy and mob hangout for Al Capone and his gang run by Capone associate \u201cMachine Gun\u201d Jack McGurn during Prohibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can still see Capone\u2019s private booth and sit there if you like, just past the corner of the bar. What\u2019s cool about this booth is that you can see all the exits in case trouble comes a callin\u2019, which it invariably did. One exit supposedly led to a basement tunnel and into a nearby building. This guaranteed a quick getaway during a raid or to smuggle alcohol into the bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Visit Harry Caray\u2019s Steakhouse, former mob headquarters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A post shared by Harry Caray\u2019s Restaurant Group (@harrycarays)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>