O'Banion's was a

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

located at 661 N. Clark St. in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

River North River North is a Chicago neighborhood located north of the Chicago River, south of Division Street, and west of Wabash Avenue. It is adjacent to the Magnificent Mile retail and tourism corridor. River North has become one of Chicago's top n ...

neighborhood. Named for Chicago Irish gangster

Dion O'Banion Charles Dean O'Banion (July 8, 1892 – November 10, 1924) was an American mobster who was the main rival of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone during the brutal Chicago bootlegging wars of the 1920s. The newspapers of his day made him better know ...

, it was established in June 1978, inside what had formerly been ''McGovern’s Saloon'' (itself an infamous Chicago gangster bar where a young O'Banion had performed as a singing waiter) as well as a series of strip clubs and gay bars. Chicago's first Punk club ''Le Mer Viper'' had burned down two months prior, and O'Banion's began to form the epicenter of the city's early Punk scene in what was then a notorious

skid row A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...

area as well as hire many of the former employees of ''Le Mer Viper''. The club promoted shows by national-touring acts including

Toxic Reasons Toxic Reasons were an American punk rock band, formed in 1979. The band released nine full-length studio albums between 1982 and 1995. History Toxic Reasons formed in Dayton, Ohio, in 1979. The founding members were Bruce Stuckey (bass guitar ...

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardc ...

, The Replacements, and

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

. Additionally, numerous bands from Chicago's own music scene began playing shows there before achieving wider success, including

Naked Raygun Naked Raygun is an American punk rock band that formed in Chicago in 1980. The band was active from 1980 to 1992, along with reunion shows in 1997, and since 2006. Naked Raygun have cited various bands as influences, including Buzzcocks, Wire, ...

Strike Under Strike Under was an influential Chicago punk rock band of the early 1980s. It was started by Steve Bjorklund (singer-guitarist) after the demise of his previous band, The Rabbits. The principal musicians, besides Bjorklund, were his brother Chris ...

, Ministry, and

Skafish Skafish is an American, Chicago-based punk band, fronted by Jim Skafish, cousin of Chicago area DJ Bobby Skafish. The band was formed in 1976 and had their first performance that November. In 1977, ''Billboard'' magazine printed a review of ...

. In 1979, the club began hosting newly popular new wave bands after a series of difficulties with their earlier clientele, but owner Rus Cramsie closed the venue in 1982 after encountering financial difficulties. The building was eventually renovated into The Kerryman bar and restaurant as River North began to gentrify in the 1990s.

References

Buildings and structures in Chicago Music venues in Chicago Nightclubs in Chicago Punk rock venues New wave music Underground culture 1978 establishments in Illinois 1982 disestablishments in Illinois {{chicago-stub