The Dil Pickle Club or Dill Pickle Club was once a popular Bohemian

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

between 1917 and 1935. The Dil Pickle was known as a

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States ...

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and was influential during the "Chicago Renaissance" as it allowed a forum for free thinkers. It was founded and owned by ''

Wobbly The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

'' John "Jack" Jones and was frequented by popular American authors, activists and speakers. The club's legacy has seen several reincarnations, including Chicago Dil Pickle Club, the Dill Pickle Food Co-op, Dil Pickle Press, and the Dill Pickle Club of Portland, OR, "an experimental forum for critiquing contemporary culture, politics and humanities."

History

In 1914, John "Jack" Jones, a former organizer for the

Wobblies The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

(

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

(IWW) had started several weekly forums at the Radical Book Shop on North Clark Street in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The forums discussed labor issues along with social concerns of the day. Soon, in early 1915, Jones needed a new venue as the capacity was exceeded at the forum. To accommodate increased participants, Jones found a decrepit barn on Tooker Alley, off of Dearborn Street in downtown Chicago that he named the Dil Pickle Club. Soon after, fellow labor organizer from Ireland,

Jim Larkin James Larkin (28 January 1874 – 30 January 1947), sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party along with James Connolly and Willia ...

joined Jones, along with the "hobo doctor" and anarchist

Ben Reitman __NOTOC__ Ben Lewis Reitman M.D. (1879–1943) was an American anarchist and physician to the poor ("the hobo doctor"). He is best remembered today as one of radical Emma Goldman's lovers. Reitman was a flamboyant, eccentric character. Emma Goldm ...

. Reitman became instrumental in getting regular news coverage of the Pickle in the

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Doughert ...

and

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

. The news coverage helped increase the club's following and, by 1917, Jones created the Dil Pickle Artisans by officially incorporating it as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

to promote arts, crafts, science, and literature. Jones said of his new club: During the early years of the Dil Pickle Club, Jones began the Dil Pickle Press which produced material to promote the club. The press printed the ''Dil Pickler'' newsletter and ''The Creative World'' bulletin, along with Jones' book, ''Tech-Up.'' It also printed

Arthur Desmond Arthur Desmond (c. 1859 – 23 January 1929?), also known as Arthur Uing, Richard Thurland, Desmond Dilg, and Gavin Gowrie, was a political activist, poet, and author. He lived for periods in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and Engl ...

's ''Lion's Paw,'' Ragnar Redbeard's '' Might Is Right'' and works by Sol Omar and J. Edgar Miller. Much of the literature was crudely designed but easily reproduced. It contained humor and often typos. Admission to the club and refreshment sales helped it survive financially. Jones may have also printed counterfeit out-of-print books in order to make additional money. The club reached its pinnacle by serving not only as a place for debate and idea-sharing, but also as a host for one-act plays, poetry readings,

jazz dance Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the mid 20th century. Jazz dance may allude to vernacular jazz about to Broadway or dramatic jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of danc ...

s, and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, along with other acts. The Dil Pickle Players was formed to perform original works by local authors, as well as contemporary playwrights. Jones remained active in the club, building the stage and wiring the lighting, as well as writing, directing, and acting in many productions. During the Great Depression, the Dil Pickle Club began to decline. By the early 1930s, the club was frequented more by Chicago

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

s than the usual free-minded Bohemian attendees. Soon the club lost its unique taste and personality, as rent rates in Chicago rose. Tax difficulties in 1933 proved the end of the Dil Pickle Club. Despite Jones' efforts to save the club, which included the sale of the wooden Du Dil Duck toy, the Dil Pickle Club closed in 1934. Jones struggled financially thereafter until his death in 1940. Jack Sheridan, who had been attending the Dil Pickle Club since boyhood, tried to revive the club in 1944 in the Tooker Alley premises, but the building was condemned as unsafe.

Characteristics

The Dil Pickle Club was almost hidden from the outside and was considered a "hole in the wall" in Tooker Alley. The entrance was marked by a "DANGER" sign that which pointed to the orange main door which was lit by a green light. On the door, it read: "Step High, Stoop Low and Leave Your Dignity Outside." Once inside, another sign read "Elevate Your Mind to a Lower Level of Thinking" before you entered the main part of the club. Immediately inside was a large main room with a stage. The room was decorated with brightly painted chairs and partially surrounded by counters where drinks and sandwiches were sold. The rest of the club was also decorated by its attendees and contained a tearoom and art exhibitions. Altogether, the club had reported standing capacity for 700 people.

Popular attendees

The club was frequented by many radical American activists, political speakers and authors. It was accepting of homosexuals. Among the American activists and speakers was

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of t ...

, Emma Goldman,

Big Bill Haywood William Dudley "Big Bill" Haywood (February 4, 1869 – May 18, 1928) was an American labor organizer and founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a member of the executive committee of the Socialist Party of ...

Hippolyte Havel Hippolyte Havel (1871–1950) was a Czech-American anarchist who was known as an activist in the United States and part of the radical circle around Emma Goldman in the early 20th century. He had been imprisoned as a young man in Austria-Hung ...

Lucy Parsons Lucy Eldine Gonzalez Parsons (born Lucia Carter; 1851 – March 7, 1942) was an American labor organizer, radical socialist and anarcho-communist. She is remembered as a powerful orator. Parsons entered the radical movement following her marriage ...

and Nina Spies. American authors included Pulitzer Prize winner

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in sever ...

along with

Sherwood Anderson Sherwood Anderson (September 13, 1876 – March 8, 1941) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and ...

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

, Ben Hecht,

Vachel Lindsay Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (; November 10, 1879 – December 5, 1931) was an American poet. He is considered a founder of modern ''singing poetry,'' as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted. Early years Lindsay was bor ...

Djuna Barnes Djuna Barnes (, June 12, 1892 – June 18, 1982) was an American artist, illustrator, journalist, and writer who is perhaps best known for her novel ''Nightwood'' (1936), a cult classic of lesbian fiction and an important work of modernist liter ...

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

, Kenneth Rexroth and

Vincent Starrett Charles Vincent Emerson Starrett (; October 26, 1886 – January 5, 1974), known as Vincent Starrett, was a Canadian-born American writer, newspaperman, and bibliophile. Biography Charles Vincent Emerson Starrett was born above his grandfathe ...

. Other common attendees were poet, writer and Wobbly, Slim Brundage, speaker Martha Biegler, speaker Elizabeth Davis, artist Stanislav Szukalski, Harry Wilson and egoist F. M. Wilkesbarr (aka Malfew Seklew). A club for people with ideas and questions, it often attracted a mixed crowd.

Scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

s, panhandlers, prostitutes,

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

s, anarchists,

con men A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have de ...

, tax advocates, religious zealots, social workers and hoboes were commonly at the club. Chicagoan George Wellington "Cap" Streeter was also said to have visited and spoken at the Dil Pickle Club.Selzer, Adam. Chronicles of Old Chicago: Exploring the History and Lore of the Windy City. Chicago: Museyon Inc, 2014. Internet resource.

Notes

*Original Dill Pickle Club address: 10 Tooker Place, Chicago, Illinois

References

External links

Picture of Dil Pickle Club - Chicago Public Radio
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Dill Pickle Club Records
at

the Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...

Images from the Dill Pickle Club
from the exhibitio

Chicago’s Dill Pickle Club: Where Anarchists Mixed With Doctors And Poets - Curious City
1915 establishments in Illinois Debating societies Dining clubs Freethought organizations Industrial Workers of the World in Illinois Literary circles Non-profit corporations Organizations based in Chicago Writing circles Speakeasies 1935 disestablishments in Illinois