Quote:
Originally Posted by edale
I seem to remember hearing on a Chicago River architecture cruise that Al Capone operated a speakeasy in that domed area, or is that another building?
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That's an urban legend (and one often repeated by lesser river cruise tour guides).
You have the right building, but the story simply isn't true.
The building did once have a restaurant up in the dome called the Stratosphere Club, but it didn't open until 1937, long after prohibition had ended and after capone was in prison.
decades later, famed chicago architect Helmut Jahn once had his showroom inside the dome.
a true fun fact about the building: it once contained an interior elevator for cars that served the first 23 floors and facilitated safe transfers for jewelry merchants and their precious merchandise.