Everleigh Club, Chicago, Illinois - The Digital Research Library of

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Everleigh Club, Chicago, Illinois
Most Famous Brothel in USA History.
Sisters Minna and Ada Simms Everleigh (Lester) became madams of the most famous
brothel in America. The Everleigh Club was located in Chicago's notorious Levee district
at a double brownstone at 2131-33 South Dearborn. Erected in 1890, the house was
originally designed to accommodate the many male visitors to the 1893 World’s
Columbian Exposition.
Sisters Minna (1866-1948) and Ada (1864-1960) Everleigh ran the “club.” They hosted
senators, foreign dignitaries, literary icons, actors, business moguls, and on and on.
Edgar Lee Masters, Theodore Dreiser, Ring Lardner, John Warne Gates, Jack Johnson,
Diamond Jim Brady, Prince Henry of Prussia and Marshall Field Jr. (who was shot
there) went to the Everleigh Club.
The Brothel opened February 1, 1900. Their phone number was CALumet 412.
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The Everleigh “butterflies” as the girls were called, pocketed from $100 to $400 each
week-an unthinkable salary in other houses. They were expected to be well read and
were even tutored in Balzac [1]. Other requirements were:
· look good in an evening gown
· be polite
· be there of their own free will (they wanted nothing to do with parents selling their
children, white slavers, etc.)
· be at least 18 years old
· visit their doctor (that they kept on retainer) at least once a month
· no drug or alcohol use
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Butterflies included the legendary
Suzy Poon Tang, one of the club’s
most popular girls and a big draw.
Hailing from China, Poon Tang was
infamously good at satisfying the
clientele, so much so that her name
would later become synonymous
with the now sullied term of
“poontang.”
The Everleigh Club might be the only
brothel in American history that
enhanced, rather than diminished, a
man’s reputation. Clients reportedly
boasted, “I’m going to get
Everleighed tonight," which helped to
popularize the phrase “get laid.” A
man wouldn’t want to be seen at the
“lower” houses, however.
The early history of the sisters is
wrapped up in the War Between the
States. The fortune of their family reflected what was happening financially to families all
across the south.
Harold Woodward wrote, “a grim reality of poverty & decay … Once-fertile fields were
covered with scrub oaks and stunted pines, the landscape dotted with decayed fences,
half-starved cattle, ramshackle houses and the remnants of crumbling mansions.”
The sisters’ grandparents died. Their dad had to stop practicing law and farm the land.
Agricultural prices were low. Taxes & interest were high. Income was scarce. Their
father’s brother had stolen most of the family money secretly and moved to Missouri.
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Their mother and little sister died when Ada was 12 and Minna was 10. Baby brother
George was given to an aunt to raise. The sisters began to detach themselves from life.
The family moved to Madison County (VA) where their neighbors were former Virginia
governor & confederate general (with 5 children). Visits to his mansion reminded them
of everything they lost.
Lula, another sister, died and the family moved from Virginia to Warrensburg, Missouri,
where their father had relatives. They grew up believing daddy was the only man that
mattered … why marry?
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Minna & Ada did marry, but needed to flee for their lives because of physical abuse.
The sisters concluded from their experiences that men were greedy, brutal, spend
thrifts, and not to be trusted. A niece, Evelyn Diment, would later write to Irving Wallace
in 1989 about her great aunts; “They were struggling because they were at the end of
the Civil War and there were very few ways to make money. Their plantation was lost
because they couldn’t pay taxes. They began as prostitutes and they became madams.
They inherited approximately $35,000 from their father. Then these women made a
marvelous success out of what they knew best. Southern families have a way of
keeping things very quiet. And if anyone knew anything, they kept their mouth shut.”
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The sisters provided for their family in the only way they knew how. They changed their
last name. Their grandmother signed all correspondence with “Everly Yours” and the
name of their new club was established, "Everleigh."
Their creation was nothing less than luxurious with its spectacular furnishings and
upscale requirements. They provided only the best for their customers making the
Everleigh Club an extravagant attraction for its time. Prior to relocating to Chicago, the
Everleigh sisters toured brothels in many cities trying to find a location which had "plenty
of wealthy men but no superior houses." They were directed to Chicago by Cleo
Maitland, a madam in Washington, D.C., who suggested they contact Effie Hankins in
Chicago.
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After buying Hankins's brothel at 2131-2133 South Dearborn Street, they fired all the
women and completely redecorated the entire building with the most luxurious
appointments available. Prior to the opening of the Everleigh Club, Ada was responsible
for recruiting talent for the club. She started by contacting her former employees in
Omaha and spreading the word through brothels across the country. She conducted
face-to-face interviews with all the applicants.
The two buildings provided 50 rooms, including 12 soundproof reception parlors where
three orchestras played, 30 bedrooms, a library, an art gallery, a dining room, and a
Turkish ballroom complete with a huge fountain and a parquet floor.
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Silk curtains, oriental rugs, mahogany and walnut paneling, tapestries, oriental rugs,
statuary, mahogany tables, gold rimmed china and silver dinner ware, and perfumed
fountains in every room. A $15,000 gold-leafed piano ($420,165.00 in today's dollars)
stood in the Music Room, mirrored ceilings, a library filled with finely bound volumes, an
art gallery featuring nudes in gold frames. No expense was spared.
While the heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson thought the $57 gold spittoons in his café
were worth boasting about, the patrons of the Everleigh Club were obliged to
expectorate in $650 gold cuspidors. The Everleigh Club was described by Chicago's
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Vice Commission as "the most famous and luxurious house of prostitution in the
country."
On the other hand, not many women who participated in this sort business had it that
easy. Prostitution during the early 1900's in Chicago was a very rough experience for
most women. While the Everleigh Club charged men fifty dollars for secluded time, most
prostitutes were only paid about twenty-five cents for their work. Many of these young
women were beaten and taken advantage of by the men who worked for the brothels.
Being sold to other brothels was very common. Even though a few women were lucky
enough to partake in the glamour that the Everleigh Club had to offer, the majority of
prostitutes in used this business as a way to be self-supportive, to get by during hard
times, or escape family or spouses.
At a time when the average wage per week was $6, those visiting the Everleigh Club
found they were spending anywhere from $200-$1500 per visit. If a patron only spent
$50, they were asked not to return. The business management skills and acumen of the
sisters is undebatable.
The sisters' annual operating expenses were $50,000-$75,000. These included $6,000
for rent, $20,00 for servants, plus the salaries for 15 to 25 cooks, three orchestras, the
official piano player (nicknamed the "professor"), and the dancers for the circuses. Still,
the annual profit was approximately $150,000 ($4,201,640.68 in today's dollars).
Clad in a silk gown, bedecked in jewels, including a diamond collar, half a dozen
diamond bracelets and a ring on each finger, Minna greeted the gentlemen customers
at one of the two hallway entrances.
The 12 parlors were orientated on the first floor. Each parlor consisted of a certain
theme: Gold Room, Silver, Copper, Moorish, Green, Rose, Red, Blue, Egyptian,
Chinese, Japanese, and Oriental, all of which appealed to the varying groups of
clientele the club received. The upstairs of the Everleigh Club held the private bedrooms
where the clientele would experience a more personal encounter with the women of his
choosing alongside luxurious divans, damask easy chairs, gilt bathtubs, fresh-cut roses,
warbling canaries, and push-buttons to ring for champagne.
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The dining room's design emulated a private Pullman car with the corresponding ornate
gold and mahogany trimmings. The menu featured only the finest entrees such as:
duck, caviar, lobster, deviled crab, fried oysters, goose capton, and an excellent
selection of wine and champagne. No other liquors were permitted. The club employed
15 to 25 cooks and maids.
· Everleigh Club Admission: $50
· Bottle of Champagne in the parlors cost $12 and $15 per bottle in the private rooms
upstairs.
· Dinner: $50
· Dinner in the club’s Pullman Palace Buffet: $150.
There were three orchestras, and musicians played constantly, usually on the piano
accompanied by strings. Publishing houses would publicize new songs by having them
played at the Everleigh Club. The house was heated with steam in the winter and
cooled with electric fans in the summer.
The Everleigh quickly gained a reputation as an upscale gentleman's club, so much so
that the Everleigh sisters were forced to turn away prospective clients even on opening
day on February 1, 1900. The club's extensive popularity afforded Minna and Ada the
opportunity to select their clientele. Only those men deemed suitable by Minna and Ada
gained admittance into the Everleigh Club. The Everleigh sisters deemed a prospective
client "worthy" to be admitted into the club if: the prospective client provided a letter of
recommendation from an existing member, an engraved card, or through a formal
introduction by Minna or Ada. These standards made the club extremely exclusive,
indulging the desires of only wealthy and influential men. The distinction of being let in,
just because they turned down so many people, became an exclusive badge of honor
just to be admitted.
By 1902, the club expanded and the sisters were making donations to the First Ward
Aldermen, "Bathhouse" John Coughlin and Michael "Hinky-Dink" Kenna, to ensure their
continued leeway. After the club was closed, Minna Everleigh claimed in testimony that
she "always entertained state legislators free in the club."
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One of the notorious scandals that surrounded the Everleigh Club concerned the
questionable death of Marshall Fields, Jr. On November 22, 1905, Fields experienced a
fatal gunshot wound. Different theories arose as to how Fields received the gunshot
wound. It was reported that he shot himself accidentally while cleaning his gun before a
hunting trip. However, rumors alleged that Fields was actually at the Everleigh Club
when he was shot and murdered by an Everleigh butterfly. The actual events that led to
the cause of his death still arise suspicion among people.
The murder of Marshall Field Jr caused competitor madames to try and frame the
Everleigh sisters for this high profile crime in order to destroy the Everleigh's dominating
business.
The beginning of the end for the Everleigh Club started in 1910 with the appointment of
a special vice commission by Mayor Fred A. Busse. Dean Walter T. Sumner, of the
Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, was appointed chairman, and the commission included
such other Chicago notables as Julius Rosenwald. Dr. W. A. Evans, and various judges
and civic leaders. The City Council allocated $10,000, and the commission began its
work. In all, it conducted 98 meetings and interviewed people from all levels of vice in
Chicago. Because it was not a prosecuting body, and by its pledge of withholding many
names and keeping them only in code, the commission was able to reach many people
and obtain reliable data.
The report was presented in April, 1911. Entitled "The Social Evil in Chicago - A Study
of Existing Conditions with Recommendations by the Vice Commission of Chicago," the
report, with appendices, ran almost 400 pages and was very thorough. It recommended
the "constant and persistent repression of prostitution" and an ultimate goal of "absolute
annihilation."
The commission s report fueled the fires for a general crackdown on vice, but the
references to the Everleigh Club were particularly bothersome to many Chicago
reformers. Apart from the references in the commission s report, because the club
catered to many reporters. it was often referred to in newspaper stories. The final
straw was the advertising brochure it published in 1911. Filled with 30 photographs, the
brochure was entitled "The Everleigh Club Illustrated 2131-33 Dearborn Street Chicago"
and had a picture of the exterior on the cover.
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While the photos did not depict any girls and, in a strict sense, but the rooms were all
photographed, and many of the photos displayed the famous brass beds. Given the
common knowledge about the club, many people found it extremely offensive. Most
important of all, while on an out-of-town trip, Mayor Carter H. Harrison Jr., who had
recently come into office replacing Mayor Busse, was shown the brochure by an
inquisitive host. The closing of the Everleigh Club was now inevitable.
Although Mayor Harrison had good working relations with many of the corrupt elements,
and especially Bath- house John Coughlin and Hinky Dink Kenna, the embarrassment
of this brochure was more than the mayor could tolerate. On Oct. 24, 1911, at
approximately noon, the mayor issued general orders that the club be closed
immediately. Despite the fact that the order was issued early in the afternoon, however,
the club's members were not to be deprived of one last night.
The orders for closing were received by Ed McWeeny. General Superintendent of
police, and the news spread to the club and many of its patrons immediately. No action
was taken on the order, however, until 2:45 a.m. on Oct. 25. During the last night, many
of the old regulars and, especially reporters flocked to the club. Attempts were made to
contact Mayor Harrison, but he could not be reached: he was supposedly asleep. While
many of the people were sad and melancholy, the sisters, clad in the many diamonds,
refused to be morbid. Minna reputedly said, "If the ship sinks, we're going down with a
cheer and a good drink under our belts anyway." By 1 a.m., cabs were lined up, and
gentlemen in silk hats marched out. None of the patrons nor the girls were arrested. At
2:45 a.m., the club was officially closed.
Within 24 hours, once all the girls understood that the club apparently would not reopen,
each girl reportedly had offers of jobs from respectable clubs all around the country. The
sisters, meanwhile, gathered their re- sources and decided to evaluate the future by
touring Europe. The club was never to open again.
Realizing they could not attain anonymity in Chicago, they retired permanently and
moved to New York, living under the name of Lester. Reputedly, at retirement. Ada and
Minna had $1 million in cash. $200,000 in jewelry, $250,000 in l.O.U.'s that were never
collected, and $150,000 in furnishings, including the gold piano.
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The 43 year old building at 2131-33 S. Dearborn St. was razed in 1933.
---------[1] Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850), French author. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Honore-de-Balzac
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Everleigh Club, Chicago, Illinois - The Digital Research Library of

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