The Levee, Chicago | |
|---|---|
Vice district | |
 South Dearborn Street in the Levee, c. 1911. The Everleigh Club, a notorious high-priced brothel, is on the far right. | |
 Map of the 19th Precinct and 1st Ward at Chicago by Stead W. T, in his book "If Christ came to Chicago! A Plea for the Union of All Who Love in the Service of All Who Suffer", records 46 saloons, 37 "houses of ill-fame", and 11 pawnbrokers in 1894. | |
  Location of the Levee within Chicago | |
| Coordinates: 41°51′22″N 87°37′44″W / 41.856°N 87.629°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| City | Chicago |
The Levee District was the red-light district of Chicago 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 four blocks in Chicago's South Loop area, initially between Harrison and Polk, between Clark and Dearborn, and then the newer Levee district, between 18th and 22nd streets.[1] 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.[2]
- ^ Baldwin, Peter C. Vice Districts. Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
- ^ Blair 2010, p. 146.