London House (Chicago)

The London House was a jazz club and restaurant in Chicago located at the corner of Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue, in the London Guaranty and Accident Company Building, 360 N. Michigan Ave. It was one of the foremost jazz clubs in the country, once home to such luminaries as Oscar Peterson, Ramsey Lewis, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, Marian McPartland, Dinah Washington, Cannonball Adderley, Erroll Garner, Ahmad Jamal, Nancy Wilson, Barbara Carroll, Bobby Short and many others. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary in November 1966, Frank Sinatra, Jr. headlined the club in his Chicago debut.

Renovated in 1946 by George and Oscar Marienthal, the club was crafted from the original Fort Dearborn Grill. Known as a "famed dining spot" the club was revamped in 1955 to include jazz music and stay open until 4 A.M. rather than be a strictly dining establishment that closed at 10 P.M. After jazz had finally waned as popular music, losing out to rock and roll, The London House closed during the early 1970s. The space later became a Burger King restaurant. It is now a Corner Bakery restaurant location.

Several live jazz albums were recorded there, including The Sound of the Trio and The Trio by Oscar Peterson, and After Hours at the London House by Sarah Vaughan, Gin and Orange by Brother Jack McDuff and Barbara Carroll "Live" Her Piano and Trio by Barbara Carroll.

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