The Roaring Twenties have often been portrayed as a time of wealth, glamor, and social change. Technological advances, including more widespread electrification and increased use of automobiles, plus the growth of mass media such as radio and movies, drove a booming economy—though then as now the benefits were inequitably distributed. Inspired by movie stars and […]
Tag: prohibition
Posted inArts & Culture
The lingering spirits of the California Clipper
The neighborhood tavern may be closing, but it’s forever a part of Chicago’s boozy, haunted history.
Posted inColumns & Opinion
Winners and losers in the war on drugs
When it comes to marijuana, big-money political donors win while the rest of us keep losing.
Posted inNews & Politics
The First Family of pinball: Meet the local wizards behind the game’s huge resurgence
America is going full-tilt for pinball again and the resurgence is being led by the sons of a legendary Chicago pinball wizard.
Posted inBlogs
Should we stop using the word ‘marijuana’?
The term was popularized by the racist progenitor of the country’s war on drugs.
Posted inFilm
Live by Night is a period piece, but the period is right now
Ben Affleck’s new drama about 1920s bootleggers has a remarkably modern mindset.
Posted inBlogs
The Chicago Police Department once published a magazine featuring crime-fighting tactics—and casserole recipes
CPD printed the glossy lifestyle magazine Main 13 between 1921 and ’23.
Posted inBlogs
Gentlemen Bootleggers: How the town of Templeton, Iowa, united around whiskey
Bryce T. Bauer’s Gentlemen Bootleggers: The True Story of Templeton Rye, Prohibition, and a Small Town in Cahoots does a remarkable job of illustrating the history of Templeton, Iowa, and the Templeton whiskey brand.
Posted inBlogs
Marijuana legalization needs to be a gateway to broader drug reform
A new stance on pot can lead the nation’s retreat from its misguided drug war.
Posted inBlogs
Reader’s Agenda Wed 12/4: Joe Henry, “Lunch Drawings,” and Speakeasy
What’s on the Reader‘s Agenda for Wednesday, December 4
Posted inBlogs
Renee Rosen’s Dollface captures Prohibition-era Chicago in all of its flappery, gangstery glory
And the author has multiple readings in the forthcoming days ahead.
Posted inArts & Culture
The migration of the hipster
The migration of the hipster: A Chicago history, 1898-present
Posted inFood & Drink
Alone and unsure at Untitled
Hopeless service subverts grand ambitions at massive speakeasy Untitled
Posted inNews & Politics
The puzzler and the puzzled
A Reader staffer searches through, down, and across the history of crosswords to construct his own
Posted inNews & Politics
Zoom in: Lake View
Zoom in: Schubas is a Chicago landmark for its old ties to Schlitz brewing