The Levee

The Levee District was the red-light district of Chicago, Illinois, from the 1880s until 1912, when police raids shut it down. The district, like many frontier town red-light districts, got its name from its proximity to wharves in the city. The Levee district encompassed 4 blocks in Chicago’s South Loop area, between 18th and 22nd street. It was home to many brothels, saloons, dance halls, and the famed Everleigh Club. Prostitution boomed in the Levee District, and it was not until the Chicago Vice Commission submitted a report on the city’s vice districts that it was shut down.

The Levee District opened in the 1880s and was home to many brothels, saloons, dance halls, and similar places. These businesses ranged from rough dives, like Pony Moore’s or the Turf Exchange Saloon, to prestigious, infamous clubs like The Everleigh Club.

In order to receive protection, Levee inhabitants would annually attend the biggest event in the district, The First Ward Ball. The First Ward Ball was an event in which Levee residents gathered to celebrate the triumphs brought to them by Michael 'Hinky Dink' Kenna and “Bathouse” John Coughlin. Madams, corrupt businessmen, dance-hall owners, saloon owners, prostitutes, brothel owners, and gamblers attended the event to support their aldermen for continuing to protect them from the law. The money they raised came from the purchase of tickets for the event and alcohol. When anti-vice reformers protested the ball, Kenna justified it as benefiting the people in the district through education and community programs. The First Ward Ball of 1908 was the most significant ball because it was the last that the most prominent figures of the Levee attended. That year, anti-vice reformers had tried to stop the ball by bombing The Coliseum, the arena where it would be held. The ball still went on and was successful. The following ball would prove otherwise. The First Ward Ball of 1909 was unsuccessful because anti-vice reformers worked towards getting the city to revoke the event's alcohol license. They succeeded, and about 3,000 people attended, less than a quarter of the attendance of the previous balls. That year, reformers like the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), worked towards stopping events like these because they felt that they harmed the families in the Levee.

Anti-Vice Reformers

...
Wikipedia