Summer beer gardens and commercially operated picnic groves were popular in Chicago prior to Prohibition and the widespread use of air conditioning. They were festive places, characterized by the lively music of old-world bands, the dancing of waltzes and polkas, the smell of grilled meats and smoked sausages, and an endless supply of locally brewed lagers. Often they were owned and operated by German-American families, who carried the traditions of community-based merry-making with them from the old country to the United States. Indeed, the majority of the city's largest beer gardens and picnic groves were located on the city's north side, home to a large German-American population.
Nevertheless, the gardens often attracted non-German Chicagoans. Some stopped in for refreshment during day-long trips to and from the city's outlying cemeteries, others to escape the heat of the city and the strict Sabbatarianism of its more conservative residents. Patrons particularly enjoyed the Continental atmosphere of the beer gardens and picnic groves, where Sundays were seen as a day of pleasure and merriment rather than a day of self-conscious religiosity. Against a growing national temperance movement, Chicago's beer gardens and picnic groves kept the traditions of vibrant, community-based festivals alive, at least until the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919. A few, however, grew to become full-fledged amusement parks.
The following were some of Chicago's more notable early twentieth-century beer gardens and picnic groves:
Atlas Grove
Atlas Grove was the southernmost of three large picnic groves along
the east side of North 40th Avenue (now Pulaski Road) that catered to
summer revelers and visitors on their way to and from nearby Montrose,
Saint Lucas, and Bohemian National Cemeteries. (See also
Nagl's Grove and
Scheiner's Grove.) Atlas
Grove was bounded roughly by Nagl's Grove on the north, Springfield
Avenue on the east, Argyle Avenue on the south, and 40th Avenue on the
west. The Atlas Grove restaurant and tavern fronted 40th Avenue, behind
which the picnic grove was located. The grove featured an outdoor dance
floor, a bowling alley, a beverage bar, access to a small pond, and
shady areas for picnicking. During its heyday, in the 1900s and 1910s,
Atlas Grove would have attracted patrons from across the city's north
and west sides.
Bismarck Gardens
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Bismarck Gardens, ca. 1915 |
Bismarck Gardens was located at the southwest corner of Grace and
Halsted Streets in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. It was opened in
1895 by brothers Emil and Karl Eitel to serve the sizable number of
German-Americans living on Chicago's North Side. The park quickly became
one of the city's most popular summertime beer gardens. It featured
ample shade trees, electric lamps, an outdoor stage and dance floor, and
plenty of German beer and music. An attractive beer hall was also built
so as to permit year-round operations. Bismarck Gardens was renamed
Marigold Gardens in 1915, in response to rising anti-German sentiment in
the city during the First World War. For a time during the early 1930s,
the gardens became known as Vanity Fair. The Bismarck's elegant and
shady gardens have long since been paved over by a parking lot, but
parts of the former Marigold Gardens dance hall complex still stand, now
converted to other uses.
Belmont Grove
Belmont Grove was one of several small outdoor beer gardens that
operated in Chicago's predominantly German-American Lakeview
neighborhood during the 1890s. (See also
Millers Garden and
Paradise Garden.) It
occupied a small parcel of land on the northeast corner of Belmont and
Western Avenues, and extended as far north as Melrose Avenue. The garden
featured a dancing pavilion, open bar, and a bowling alley. Opened no
later than 1894, the beer garden had ceased operations by the early
1920s. The property, however, remained largely undeveloped in 1923, save
for a couple of stores, a meeting hall, and a storage shed.
Brands Park
Brands Park was located at the southeast corner of Elston Avenue
and School Street on the city's northwest side. Early features of the
park included a tavern and dancing pavilion. Over time, several rides
and attractions were installed around the periphery of the property. By
1913, these included a merry-go-round, a bowling alley, a shooting
gallery, a photo booth, several game booths, a beer hall, several
free-standing bars, and a restaurant with a canvas-covered seating area.
The centerpiece of the park, however, remained the steel-truss-roofed
dancing pavilion. In 1927, the Chicago River Park District, a
predecessor to the Chicago Park District, purchased and redeveloped the
site, transforming the old picnic grove into a modern public park that
featured a playground, an athletic field, tennis courts, and horseshoe
courts.
Elm Tree Grove
Elm Tree Grove was located at the southest corner of Irving Park
Boulevard and Neenah Avenue in the Dunning section of Chicago. In 1905,
the picnic grove included a dancing pavilion, restaurant, and small
bowling alley, all of which remained in place until at least 1924. The
picnic grove was bordered on the south by Mount Olive Cemetery and on
the north by the Cook County Mental Hospital.
Kolze's Electric Park
Kolze's Electric Park was located along the south side of Iriving
Park Boulevard just east of North 64th, or present Narragansett, Avenue
in the sparsely developed Dunning section of Chicago. It was operated by
Henry J. Kolze, who owned a two-story roadside restaurant and tavern on
the site to serve visitors to nearby cemeteries and the Cook County
Mental Hospital. The extension of streetcar service to the area in 1896
boosted traffic along Irving Park Boulevard and enhanced the commercial
possibilities of the site. Kolze responded by developing a picnic grove
in the wooded area behind his restaurant. By 1905, the park featured a
dancing pavilion, a shooting gallery, various concession stands, and
bright nighttime illumination. Attendance at the park steadily increased
during the 1910s and 1920s, leading Kolze to undertake additional
expansion of the park. By 1924, several new booths and refreshment
stands had been added. Records also indicate that Kolze acquired
additional property to the south of the original park, pushing its
southern boundary to present Byron Avenue. The picnic grove remained in
operation until the late 1940s. In 1950, the Chicago Park District
acquired the property and announced plans to convert the picnic grove
into a public park. In subsequent years, the park district demolished
most of the structures on the property and replaced them with athletic
fields, tennis courts, and a children's playground. The new park became
known as Merrimac Park.
Marigold Gardens
See Bismarck Gardens.
Millers Garden
Millers Garden was one of several small beer gardens that dotted
the Lakeview neighborhood landscape during the late nineteenth century.
(See also Belmont Grove
and Paradise Garden.) It
occupied the northeast corner of Belmont and Leavitt Avenues and opened
no later than 1894. The garden included a dance hall and a small outdoor
dancing pavilion. By 1923, Millers Garden had closed and been replaced
by residences.
Moulin Rouge Gardens
See Rainbo Gardens.
Nagl's Grove
Nagl's Grove was one of three large picnic groves located along
North 40th Avenue (now Pulaski Road) that served visitors to the nearby
Montrose, Saint Lucas, and Bohemian National Cemeteries. (See also
Atlas Grove and
Scheiner's Grove.)
Nagl's occupied a site on the east side of 40th Avenue, about 150 feet
south of where the road crossed the north branch of the Chicago River.
The grove featured a restaurant and tavern, bowling alleys, two outdoor
dancing pavilions, beverage bars, access to the river and a small pond,
and several game booths and other amusements. By 1913, the restaurant
and tavern had been demolished, and the Bohemian Old People's Home and
Orphan Asylum occupied part of the site.
Paradise Garden
Paradise Garden was one of several small beer gardens that operated
in the Lakeview neighborhood during the late nineteenth century. (See
also Belmont Grove and
Millers Garden.)
Consisting of little more than a dancing pavilion and a patch of open
ground, it stood at the northeast corner of Melrose and Oakley Avenues.
The garden opened no later than 1894 and closed by the early 1920s,
replaced by residences.
Pilsen Summer Garden
During the early twentieth century, the Pilsen Brewing Company
operated a summer beer garden, at 3101 West 26th Street, next to their
brewery at 3045-3057 West 26th Street. It included a dance hall, banquet
hall, and outdoor beverage bars.
Pilsener Summer Garden
The Pilsener Summer Garden occupied a roughly triangular piece of
land between Montrose, Elston, and North 40th (later Pulaski) Avenues in
the old Irving Park neighborhood on the city's northwest side. In 1905,
the resort featured a dancing pavilion, bowling alley, and at least two
refeshment bars. By 1924, however, Pilsener's had given way to urban
growth, replaced by a filling station and new commercial storefronts
along the increasingly busy Elston and Montrose Avenues.
Rainbo Gardens
See Rainbo Gardens.
Sans Souci
See Sans Souci amusement park.
Scheiner's Grove
Scheiner's was one of three picnic groves along North 40th Avenue
(now Pulaski Road) that catered to summer revelers and visitors to the
nearby Montrose, Saint Lucas, and Bohemian National Cemeteries. (See
also Atlas Grove and
Nagl's Grove.) The picnic
grove was located immediately south of Bohemian National Cemetery, on
the east side of 40th Avenue, and straddled the north branch of the
Chicago River. Present-day Foster Avenue forms what would have been the
grove's southern property line. During its heyday, in the 1900s and
1910s, Schiener's Grove offered patrons a wide variety of activities and
amenities. There was a restaurant and beer hall facing 40th Avenue, from
which visitors could walk to a foot bridge that led to the picnic grove
on the other side of the river. The picnic grove featured the standard
dancing pavilion, bowling alleys, and beverage bars. Scheiner's also
offered complimentary parking; patrons could park their horse-drawn
carriages in the grove's own buggy shed.
Sharpshooter's Park
See Riverview amusement park.
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Illustration: "Bismark Garden, Chicago, Ill." published by V.O. Hammon: #235 (n.d.).
Sources: Sanborn Fire Insurance Company maps.
Page authored: 27 April 2002
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