This is the Chicago Theatre, opened in 1921. Look at that marquee. It's one of the most photographed signs in the city.
But we're not here for the sign. We're here because this theater was neutral ground.
During the gang wars, there were places in Chicago where no violence was allowed. Certain restaurants. Certain churches. And this theater. Capone and his rivals could attend the same show and nobody would get shot.
There's a story that in 1929, Capone and Bugs Moran were both in attendance for a Vaudeville show, three months after the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. They sat five rows apart. Neither acknowledged the other. After the show, they used different exits.
The show, by the way, was a comedy revue. Both men reportedly laughed at the same jokes.
Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to be a performer that night. Knowing two men who wanted each other dead were both in your audience. Laughing.
The Chicago Theatre is still here. The gangs are not. Make of that what y
ou will.
— From the tour: Bootleggers, Bullets & Baloney
