The Blackhawk, Chicago, 1933 1960 Gertrude Stein

Gertrude Stein

A string quartet played during “luncheon” and a dance band livened up the evenings when a range of meals

Courtesy Herbert Beazley Collection

this wasn't San Francisco in the Sixties

becoming the world’s first “celebrity”chef

The Blackhawk, Chicago, 1933 1960 Gertrude SteinThe Blackhawk opened its doors for the first time in Chicago on December 27, 1920, and generations of Americans eagerly gathered around their radios on Saturday nights to listen to its syndicated show "Live! From the Blackhawk!" Carlton Coon Joe Sanders and the Kansas City Nighthawks were the first house band and the actor and jazz singer Mel Torme, nicknamed the Velvet Fog because of the quality of his voice, debuted there in 1929, at the tender age