I have been a Dillinger buff since I was knee high. I am 60 now and am just as fascinated by his story as I was then. My interest started when my Uncle Fred, a former boxer who enjoyed hanging out with 1920’s gangsters, regaled me with his his personal Chicago gangland stories. The one that enthralled me the most were his stories about his playing poker with John Dillinger.
My first visit to the Biograph Theater was in the early seventies. My dad took me to a screening of 1927’s ‘Wings’ with Clara Bow and Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers (I also had always loved silent movies). At that time the Biograph was privately owned by W.L. Durant, an old movie buff, and he would only screen classic films. The theater at that time was pretty run down. The famous marquee had been revamped as' The New Biograph' and was a faded mint green color. The former tavern next door was an optomitrist’s office and the National Tea store next to the alley was now just a Ma and Pa type neighborhood grocery. The building opposite that, across the alley, was still a Chop Suey restaurant.
Inside the lobby of the Biograph greeting the patrons as they walked in, was a life size stand up cutout of John Dillinger brandishing a machine gun. There was also a small display on the wall of Dillinger photos and of the Biograph from that fateful night in 1934. The walls around the lobby were plaster board panels with huge images of Chicago’s number one TV news team at the time, Fahey Flynn and Joel Daley from ABC Channel 7 posing as 1920’s gangsters complete with guns, cigars and flashy getaway cars. All in all it looked pretty cheesy. After the movie, my father and I ate at the Seminary Restaurant, a favorite of Dillinger’s, just down the street. We also walked by the Biograph Barber Shop, where Dillinger had his last shave and haircut. Hanging out with my Dad and experiencing all that great history was a happy day I will never forget.
David Jendrycki
Chicago
I love the artwork. The building designated as Woolworth’s was actually a National Tea Grocery store at the time of Dillinger’s demise. Does anyone know if that building changed afterwards? The cars in the painting look like they are from the forties.
David Jendrycki
I have been a Dillinger buff since I was knee high. I am 60 now and am just as fascinated by his story as I was then. My interest started when my Uncle Fred, a former boxer who enjoyed hanging out with 1920’s gangsters, regaled me with his his personal Chicago gangland stories. The one that enthralled me the most were his stories about his playing poker with John Dillinger. My first visit to the Biograph Theater was in the early seventies. My dad took me to a screening of 1927’s ‘Wings’ with Clara Bow and Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers (I also had always loved silent movies). At that time the Biograph was privately owned by W.L. Durant, an old movie buff, and he would only screen classic films. The theater at that time was pretty run down. The famous marquee had been revamped as' The New Biograph' and was a faded mint green color. The former tavern next door was an optomitrist’s office and the National Tea store next to the alley was now just a Ma and Pa type neighborhood grocery. The building opposite that, across the alley, was still a Chop Suey restaurant. Inside the lobby of the Biograph greeting the patrons as they walked in, was a life size stand up cutout of John Dillinger brandishing a machine gun. There was also a small display on the wall of Dillinger photos and of the Biograph from that fateful night in 1934. The walls around the lobby were plaster board panels with huge images of Chicago’s number one TV news team at the time, Fahey Flynn and Joel Daley from ABC Channel 7 posing as 1920’s gangsters complete with guns, cigars and flashy getaway cars. All in all it looked pretty cheesy. After the movie, my father and I ate at the Seminary Restaurant, a favorite of Dillinger’s, just down the street. We also walked by the Biograph Barber Shop, where Dillinger had his last shave and haircut. Hanging out with my Dad and experiencing all that great history was a happy day I will never forget. David Jendrycki Chicago
I love the artwork. The building designated as Woolworth’s was actually a National Tea Grocery store at the time of Dillinger’s demise. Does anyone know if that building changed afterwards? The cars in the painting look like they are from the forties. David Jendrycki