#den one disco

Ad for Our Den AKA Den One(1355 N. Wells, Chicago, IL).

Located in Chicago’s Old Town neighbourhood, Den one was a gay venue catering to a mixed black and white clientele. In 1977, 19 year-old House pioneer and legend Ron Hardy would establish his first DJ residency at Den One (see Jacob Arnold’s excellent article about Ron Hardy’s Den One residency at RBMA).

At the time of this ad however, its DJ was Artie Feldman, a regular Chicago contributor to Vince Aletti’sDisco File columns in Record World. By 1978, it would become Carol’s Speakeasy, named after its owner Richard Farnham AKA Mother Carol. Its closure in 1991 appears to have been precipitated by its unfortunate connection to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, when it was found that Dahmer picked up one of his victims, 23 year-old Jeremiah Weinbergerthere.

Even as the neighbourhood gentrified around it, 1355 N. Wells would remain abandoned until around 2016 or so, the last time the building appears on Google Street View. By 2017, the building appears to have been demolished.