Tied To Little Village

I remember back when telling strangers or friends that I was from Little Village brought a frown or some kind of horrible story that formed a relation to this particular neighborhood. Hipsters have transitioned the response as of late. Truth is, Little Village has an awesome history, if you hate history I'd advise you stop reading this post and hope for a less informative post to follow. My first home in the city was a tied-house. Of course, I was a newborn so I don't actually remember. I always enjoy learning though, about my personal history as well as Chicago history but this is not all about me so let me introduce or re-introduce you the the "Tied House". Little Village was once home to a few of the many tied-houses in Chicago. These are the easiest to access during my spare time (pics). A “tied house” was a type of saloon that originated in England, but became well known in pre prohibition America. They are currently illegal with all the post-prohibition regulations. Actually tied-houses were one of many factors leading to national prohibition in 1919. This was all due to the way they functioned. If you owned a saloon/public house of this kind you were required to purchase your product from a specific brewery. See the problem with that? of course. Like reliving the old "taxation without representation" days, with the only difference being, having a "elected" government. Coincidentally I love Boardwalk Empire. (No need to thank me for the free advertisement HBO) These pics are the two tied-houses I found in the area where I grew up but amongst my extensive research I found another on Whipple and 25th St and one down Western Ave but here is a map of the rest of them, some of the better maintained too. Enjoy.